At the Gardens with the Duke and Duchess of Cambride pt 3

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess of Cambridge

And so they disembarked, the Duke went one way; the Duchess went the other. The screams grew louder...as the Duchess approached Alice, the small girl my mum had given the flowers to and she bent down and asked Alice for her name. Alice told the Duchess that she had a pretty dress and the Duchess replied so did Alice.

HRH, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess looking at my sketch

The Duchess of Cambridge accepts my bouquet

The Duchess of Cambridge accepts the flowers and portrait

After spending a few precious moments with the little one Catherine started slowly moving over to our side of the barriers. My Mum and niece beckoned her towards us. Looking at the pencil sketch that I drew, she asked my niece if she drew it. She shook her head and pointed at me and said: "My uncle did." That's when I put my hand up like I was a student in a classroom who couldn't wait to answer the teacher's question to get the reward...

The sketch

 Mum then showed her the photo I had taken of her mother-in-law 20 years ago and asked if she would give it to William.

The photo I took of Princess Diana 20 years ago

"Of course I will," she said...and then that's when my mum also gave her something else..

At the Gardens with the Duke and Duchess of Cambride pt 2

I have to say...the wait for the Duke and Duchess seemed excruciatingly long because of the unbearable heat. I tried to limit my water intake because I didn't want to have to go on a bathroom break only to lose my space along the barriers.  My friends Ray and Chantal joined us, hoping they would get to see the royals too.  As the 10am approached arrived the crowds had swelled exponentially to over a thousand people. I'm grateful that those around me had good personal hygiene and remembered to use their deodorant.  Gardens by the Bay and British High Commission personnel started handing out GB and Singapore flags. I told the girls in front of me not to wave the flags while I was trying to take a picture. They agreed not to. My niece just sighed "Uncle Dave!" Then one of them put her hair up in a bun to beat the heat. Fearful that it would block my shot, I was about to say something but with one:tsk...tsk," and a withering glance from my niece prevented me from doing so.

My niece decided to hand the Duchess the photograph I had taken of the late Princess Diana and the sketch I had drawn of the Duchess, instead of the two bouquets of flowers I had bought. "Everybody gives her flowers," she said.  So my mum gave a small bouquet to a four year old girl named Alice, who was standing nearby with her mum and dad.


I could tell when the press core came streaming into the area that time was close. Then a few trams came down towards the Super Tree Grove. The fans screamed but ah...it was just more press. Then a few minutes later. The Duke and Duchess came into view on their tram. Will and Kate were here! Kids in the crowd were chanting "Will, You're Brill; Kate, You're Great!" Flags started waving all around me. Mum stood up from her chair and I fumbled to turn on my camera...

The Duke and  Duchcess arrive...(Photo: Ray Liw)

At the Gardens with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Princess Diana says she remembers me

It was with great excitement that I headed down to Gardens by the Bay with the hope of meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I've been a huge supporter of the royal family since I was a kid, well since I saw Princess Diana driving through the gates of Buckingham Palace right before her wedding.  Through the years I was fortunate enough to have met her several times and I even curtsied to her in my excitement- that is something I will never live down. By the way she remembered me the next time I met Her because she said "I remember you. You're so sweet you gave me flowers last Tuesday."

So for this visit, I bought two bouquets of flowers, a framed photo that I shot of the late Princess when I met her and one of my children's books that I intended to give the Duchess as a souvenir.  Having conducted a reconnaissance mission of the Gardens with my Mum who said she would go along to meet the Duchess, I was fairly confident that we stood a good chance of doing so. Well OK, I did get a hint as to where to stand because I asked one of the ladies in charge of the tree planting ceremony where I should stand. I explained that my mother was old and it would be nice if she had a chance to meet the royal couple. Without hesitation,  she told me the route that the couple would be taking and told me where we should stand if we hoped to meet them.

So with information in hand I headed home and set the alarm for 6am. Didn't really need it since I was up at 4am as was my mum. Dad agreed to pick my niece up and give us a lift to the Gardens.  So with a folding chair, packets of Ribena, water, and dried apricots we headed down to the venue. Big signs were posted along the route as to where we should go to meet the couple. We got to the Super Tree Grove at around 8am only to find that scores of other fans had gotten there earlier. Thankfully we managed to find a spot along the barricades behind some nice English folk. My niece positioned herself along the barricades and my mum set up her folding chair and sat down for the long wait. We had two hours to go before William and Catherine arrived or so we thought...