4th of June

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Last week we had the Eton gala day - it's called the 4th of June, and it takes place on the 28th of May. Obviously. The day began inauspiciously, as Mon and I failed to get up on time to see one of the first acts, a choir concert. As we walked the 53 or so steps it takes to get to the Chapel, we met Mum and Dad coming home. Well done us! Faffing about is a terrible thing.
Subsequent entertainment included a visit to the school library, which contains such stratospherically valuable baubles as an original Gutenberg bible. We lunched at one of the houses with a couple of Eton personalities: an organist who is regularly flown to LA fro weekends to play a 30,000 pipe organ, and a teacher whose weapon of choice for marking papers is a "Shock Horror!" stamp for incorrect uses of English grammar.
The climax of the day is when a bunch of boys row down the Thames and unceremoniously dump a whole lot of flowers into the water. The flowers that were on their straw hats, of course.
It's a wacky day for what is a decidedly alternative place...

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Photos

A tank. On the road.
Only Eton could commandeer a tank for a little war games show...

War games
A show was put on by the military cadets of Eton. Rage Against the Machine was the soundtrack. Defeats irony, really...

Blurry but silly
These chaps did not fall in, disappointingly. Apparently it's the only 10 person boat in the universe.

Boys, hats, water
What else do you need for a fun-filled afternoon ?

Respectful gaze at the proceedings
Needless to say my face was a picture of concentration and childish wonder at this point.