Shall we have a brief pause in which you try to decide whatI chose?
On a beautiful summer day - because spring lasted about twoweeks here in Toronto - I grabbedmy camera, a bottle of water and headed for the lovely historical district. I'ddone a significant bit of research prior to leaving and I finally identifiedthe art gallery where the government of Ontarioreception was being held. The official address is on the side of the DistilleryDistrict, by the parking lot. I sat around for a while, watching theregistration table as a truly astonishing number of very well-dressed, sleeklooking people stood around and talked to each other, fervently clutchingofficial invitations.
After a while, it became clear that this was very much aGovernment of Ontario reception, as there was a special slot on theregistration table for MPPs (Member of Provincial Parliament). I didn't recognizeanyone, except David Peterson, a past Premier of Ontario (the gentleman on theright - I felt awkward about very visibly taking pictures of people)
Counted four or five fascinators in total and thisone was the best.
I regretted not switching over to my nice purse, convinced Iwould've been able to crash the party - after all, some friends and I once gotthe opportunity to crash a party for Mikhail Baryshnikov, so why not PrinceCharles' reception? Alas, I had brought the purse we refer to as "The Brick,"an old and well-loved purse which would be a complete giveaway that I was verymuch not on the list.
At one point, I asked a member of the security force if I wasin the right place for gawking and he confirmed that I was indeed located in aprime position. Somewhat later, I had a chat with a nice woman with an officialRoyal Tour ID badge, who told me that no, I should go to the other side becausethe royal couple were walking through the Distillery. This is when I learned myfirst important factor of royal watching: security people either don't knowanything or lie to reduce the throngs. If you want to know where your quarrywill be, ask the harried-looking woman with a clipboard and an ID badge. Shealso told me that she was there to receive the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.I spent a couple of minutes weighing the pros and cons of leaving my post. Mr. Onleyhas a disability and I thought he might, in a fit of solidarity, be willing toinclude me in his entourage. I then remembered what I've read about security onroyal tours and gave up hopes of crashing the reception.
On the other side of the building, it was just me and aphotographer. I asked him if I was in the right place and this is when Ilearned my second fact about royal watching: ask the photographers. They knowwhere they need to be. I waited around for a while and got pretty excited aboutbeing the only person there, thinking it would vastly increase my chances ofactually pressing the flesh of the royal couple (the flesh of their hands), while at the same time feelingbad for them that they didn't have screaming throngs of excited subjects greetingthem. At approximately 12:30 PM,about 15 minutes before the itinerary said they’d arrive, a crowd of securitywalked very purposely around the corner, followed quickly by a running back ofphotographers. Clearly, arrival was imminent.
This was confirmed a few minutes later, when I was told to goto the other side of the small cobblestone street to create a clear path.Security became more visible
And then, clapping started and before I knew it, Camilla wasright in front of me and we shook hands! It all happened very quickly. As shemoved on, I spotted Prince Charles in conversation (that elbow in green belongsto Camilla - her staff need to get a better grip on weather in Torontoat the end of May. She must've been sweltering)
Managed to snap a candid shot of Charles laughing
and a second or two after that, I was shaking his hand, too!Let me add a few more of these !!!!! Yes, I know that's dorky, but c’mon! Ishook the hand of not one, but two members of the royal family! This means I am one degree separatedfrom the Queen! I was impressed with how present he was. He had made a jokewith the people to my left about all of them having cameras and after he shook myhand, he pointed out mine and made a comment about that, as well. We were inthe same little bubble for perhaps 3 seconds in the midst of several hundredpeople and he somehow made me feel completely seen. That's talent. Also, bothof them were very gentle when they shook my hand. I like that they had enoughpresence of mind to be careful.
After they had moved into the gallery for the reception, thecrowd stood around, chatting and waiting for them to come back out. This iswhen I discovered that Charles and Camilla were not the only crowned headspresent. Miss Universe Canadawas also there. My primary impression of her was awed admiration that she couldnavigate cobblestones in these shoes
and that she really needed a sandwich. Way too thin. Lotsof people wanted their picture taken with her and I took pictures of thathappening. This gave her the impression that I wanted my picture taken with herand one of the roaming photographers helpfully offered to take one with mycamera
My somewhat strained smile is due to having not just mycamera pointed in my face (very uncomfortable, it's why I'm usually the onetaking the photos), but also several others. Because apparently Miss Universe Canada- who seemed like a very nice young woman - crouching down next to the poor crippled girl is the kind of shot photographerswant. I suspect I'm on a couple websites and might also have made a newscast. People,people… Must we be so predictable?
After this little moment of being in the spotlight, I lookedaround and realized all the photographer had left. Which told me that the Princeand his lady were not coming back out on the side, but probably leaving on theparking lot side on their way to another engagement. So I hoofed it back there.My spot was nearly as good, but I did get a shot of Camilla’s face (instead ofjust her elbow). The building is in pristine focus, she's not. But at leastshe's recognizable.
And then I drooled at the car. I want a car like that.
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