Thames Jubilee Pageant now charging boats to take part!!!!!

[st599]

£10 seems cheap.

Olympics accreditation is abou five grand.

[martin]

When I cast my mind back to this time last year when we first heard about this event and the fact that it was just before the Olympics and I remember thinking wow...what a great year this was going to be... I immediately applied to join in and got very excited to be asked to participate in the rehersal....then i was asked not to participate in the rehersal and then I was asked to participate in the rehersal....by that time i had booked a holiday.

While i was away on hols (during the rehersal) i remembered back to another Thames debacle..the millenium evening fireworks. We had eargerly applied for a mooring, we were vetted and then allocated a mooring in the Ar** end of nowhere with restricted views, slowly as the date approached the "participation" criteria became harder and harder to comply with...in place by a certain time, no one allowed off, not allowed to move until some time the next morning..all with a restricted view...in the end, having registered and assured our place in this wonderful celebration we gave up and went in on the train, sat on a bridge and opened a bottle of vintage bolly...watched the fireworks,,.happy days..

When i got back i cancelled our invitation (we still get all the emails though), had a brief disucssion with the marina about berthing arrangements during the coming year...I sold the boat (to avoid the whole London berthing fee ) and booked a holiday for both the pagent and the olympics...thus avoiding the stress and cost of both.

I wish all those that take part in these events well and hope they are a great sucess..but as my wife said.."why put yourself through it..its not like they are trying to make this an enjoyable day for you"...and she is right..this is not arranged for us, its for Her Madge and the crowds...so I guess, you have to be prepared to sacrifice your weekend and wallet and be considerably inconvienenced if you want to take part...It was always going to be that way in the end.....

[gordontytler]

If this is true "....when navigating in a procession of 1,000 boats, enabling them to maintain the Pageant’s formation..." why bother paying the £10? I just skimmed the email but could see nothing in it to detect an unaccredited boat that just happened to be making passage on that day and knew nothing about it.

The time will come when boats will have number plates and bridges have average speed cameras and you get your fine in the post.

If you just turn up what can they do?

[teddington_lock]

I suspect the PLA and if you refuse to pay attention to them , the Police will stop you.

Not sure there will be any boats making passage that day to be honest , can you imagine George and Mildred in their 70ft narrowboat trying to wind their way through it all , going from Limehouse to Teddington ?

[mikemanor]

This, in the pageant instructions:

Police security and identity check

This is a high profile event and consequently security is set at a very high level.
Every person afloat in the pageant (including those in the Avenue of Sail), whether crew
or passenger must have had their identity checked and been security cleared before
being allowed to partake in the pageant. You will have been required to submit your
identity references already and providing you are cleared you will be issued with a
pageant “boarding card”. Immediately following the scrutinising process you and your
crew (plus anyone assigned to and boarding your the vessel will be asked to present
their boarding cards and a photo identity document. On production of this you will be
issued with a security wrist bands which you must wear at all times.
Any additional persons, who may be boarding later, or on the day, will have to present
themselves at one of the boarding points where they will follow a similar process to be
issued with the security wrist band.
No person will be permitted afloat who is not wearing their security wristband and not
carrying a photo identity document (a small child may have their identity confirmed by an
accompanying responsible adult).
Any vessel found to have unaccredited persons on board or without verifiable
identification documents will be removed from the river pageant.

Followed by:

You must fly or display the pageant flag.
Any vessel found not flying the pageant flag will be assumed as not being
authorised to partake and will be removed immediately.

I would not want to risk "joining in" without the proper accreditation.

[Captain Coochie]

Me and Gavi are going in the speed boats . Yeah baby yeah !








PS i have 8 HP ! and an electric outboard just incase the rozzers are looking .

PPS and an oar for when i run out of fuel and have a dead battery at Putney .

[Gavi]

Me and Gavi are going in the speed boats . Yeah baby yeah !








PS i have 8 HP ! and an electric outboard just incase the rozzers are looking .

PPS and an oar for when i run out of fuel and have a dead battery at Putney .

yay, me, my little Broom, and my big Johnson

[oldgit]

spoken in a very quiet voice,virtually a whisper...



Does anybody kno where us undesirables will be watching from yet...?

[Gavi]

spoken in a very quiet voice,virtually a whisper...



Does anybody kno where us undesirables will be watching from yet...?

It would be funny if we were on the Sprit Of Chartwell.... but I doubt it

[oldgit]

That bit of terrace outside the Houses of Parliament would be nice,believe there are several subsidised bars within where a thirsty spectator could drown his sorrows at not being allowed on the parade.