Few things can prepare you for a semester like a nice adventure. Whether a long-awaited homecoming or a refreshing sojourn abroad, an escape from the norm is often all it takes to recharge your batteries. This year, I found myself needing a little extra R and R after an especially challenging Spring. Like many in the Sinclair Community, I felt like a shattered vase by the beginning of May. Knowing me, only one thing would do the trick: a nice little jaunt overseas.
My timing, it seems, could not have been better. I would be going to the UK during Coronation Weekend.
This was a trip I booked months ago, meticulously penciled in to coincide with the semester’s end. But as my travel date crept closer and life repeatedly intervened, it seemed unlikely that I would be heading to London. Just like I learned in class, a bit of grit would go a long way.
Part of the joys of travelling are enjoying the differences between where you are and where you have been, with London offering plenty food for thought. Everything from the fickle weather to the buoyant atmosphere were a stark contrast to the Summer-driven exodus of Dayton.
Even more exciting was just how much London had changed. This was not the city I remembered visiting years ago, when Big Ben was still under renovation and the world’s most famous woman occupied the throne. Nor was it the UK I remembered from the news, the one in mourning for a beloved queen whose reign marked a number of epochal shifts in human history. On Sep 19 2022, the world watched as Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest one final time. Now, the world was coming together to celebrate her son and all things British.
The coronation of the UK’s new king was more than must-see TV or the biggest function on the nation’s calendar. It was a constitutional moment, a time where centuries of tradition would be honored, and the beginning of a new era would be ushered in. The capital was certainly dressed for the occasion.
Banner’s bearing the new monarch’s cypher were proudly displayed, as were Union Jacks and the royal badge. Pictures of the king in braided uniform watched from shop windows and magazine covers. Tourists and Londoners walked the streets with little flags and other memorabilia. From Bristol to Brazil, it seemed as if someone from every part of the globe had arrived to join London’s biggest party in since 1953.
As students, we are told to follow our dreams, to push ourselves, and gain as much experience of the world as possible. Those lessons drove me in the wee hours of the morning of coronation day, fueled my legs during the long walk on Victoria Dock Road and into the red confines of the London Transport Bus. At around four in the morning, I shared that first ride of many with just four other people. At Canning Town Station, that number trebled. Neither would come close to the masses that converged on the Royal Mile less than half an hour later.
Veiled by the dark, hundreds of support staff lined the walkway that connected the tube station to the palace. Despite the cold, all wore smiles that matched the celebratory occasion. It would be hours before the marches that left the gates of Buckingham started, but the wait did nothing to deter the good vibes of the crowd I was in.
Once the march of the soldiers began, the morning fatigue was replaced by an enthusiasm stoked by the stamp of boots and prancing hooves. Amidst the throne, people politely jostled for views of the procession, eager to see history unfolding right before their eyes.
The positivity and excitement reached fever pitch once the royal carriage began making its way out of Buckingham Palace. Somewhere someone shouted ‘God Save the King’s as I looked on.
Speakers overhead allowed us to follow the procession in Westminster itself. As it came to a close, the parade of soldiers intensified and with it a fervor that would follow me across the city and eventually back home.
Trips are not just about where you go but what you do and how it changes you. I’ve certainly brought some of London’s joy with me, a bit of the delight that comes with a once in a lifetime event to keep me smiling till at least the end of the year.
Ismael Mujahid
Staff Writer/Associate Editor