LONDON LIVING:FEW WEEKS ago a note came through my door asking if I would like to make some bunting for the street party. What street party? I wasn't aware of a street party. Then I suddenly remembered the great event looming on London's horizon – the royal wedding was only a month away.
Like most of my friends living in London, I had distanced myself from showing an interest in the hyped-up happiness of William and Kate, but as the city began to perk up in preparation for the big day, so the excitement has become dangerously contagious. It is impossible to ignore the fact that something momentous is about to happen. Mugs, plates, and tea-towels with Kate Wills, Catherine and William or even C and W (brilliant), line the souvenir-shop windows, and the happy couple beam out from the front page of every newsstand, every day. Brightly polished horses stop traffic as they trot to the park to practise their parade, the Mall looks shiny and new, and a replica of the famous blue dress that Kate wore for her engagement photo is now on every high-street clothes rack. The only pieces of wedding paraphernalia that haven’t worked so far are the lurid pink flags on sale on Oxford Street, which may be to the royal wedding what the vuvuzela was to the World Cup.
Anyway, my street is having a party, along with many others streets across the city. We have bunting, a barbecue and a bouncy castle planned, and the terrifying woman in No 43 has taken it upon herself to organise and boss us into industrious committees. For a normally reluctant royal watcher like me, this is surprisingly good fun.
So reluctant was I that when I was asked to be the creative producer on a royal wedding app a few weeks ago, I turned it down flat. I knew nothing about the royal wedding and even less about apps. Now, having been persuaded to do it, I know a vast amount about both and am hooked. I know my Windsor Greys from my Cleveland Bays (the horses that draw the carriages), and I know my UDID from my SEO (tech-speak that I certainly never knew before and will resist explaining). Above all, I have learned that a royal wedding is a rare occasion when London can display its excellence at pageantry: the carriage procession, the choir boys, Westminster Abbey, the fly-by and the balcony kiss combine to make a deliciously theatrical, show-stopping salute to British tradition.
I have lived in London for the best part of 10 years and spring is my highlight. The pubs begin to spill out on to the pavement, the nights begin to sizzle with life and the seediness of Soho comes up for air and on to the streets. Cherry blossoms and magnolias bloom in gardens and, being a bicycle rider, I get to smell the first hints of summer in the parks. A few months ago I cringed at the mention of the royal wedding – I thought of the crowds, the extra one million visitors descending on the city, and planned on flying home to Ireland to escape the madness. Now, I am ashamed to say, I am quite excited. It will be a laugh and once the bunting has been rolled up, the bouncy castle deflated and No 43 has closed her door with a triumphant huff, I hope I’ll be glad I stuck around, and at least I’ll have magnificent May to look forward to.
The Royal Wedding: Your Personal Guide is available on the Apple iTunes App Store
