In the newest chapter of “respectfully, WTF?” the BBC is live-streaming Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin lying in state in Westminster Hall until her state funeral on Monday.
The public broadcaster said the stream is “for those who want to pay their respects, but who cannot come to London, or who are physically unable to queue”. Touching. And practical, given that the line to view the coffin is, at the time of writing, 4.9 miles long. That’s just shy of eight kilometres. Oof.
It’s actually quite mesmerising, looking into grand Westminster Hall where the coffin, draped in royal standard flag, is standing on a catafalque, guarded by three types of guards (sovereign’s bodyguard, household cavalry and foot guards) whose tour of duty lasts six hours. Mourners shuffle past, some just looking at the coffin, others bowing respectfully, all looking far too calm for people who just spent nine hours in a queue — but I guess that’s the British for you.
But if you’ve seen one hour of a coffin in a hall, you’ve really seen all 120 hours or so. In which case, it might be time to switch from your livestream of the queen lying in state to one of these other live- streaming marvels.
Her majesty the queen’s lying in state queue tracker
So you enjoyed the livestream of the queen lying in state but wanted a slightly different angle? Well, the queue tracker might be to your taste. Not actually a livestream as such, but a live tracker of how long the queue to see the coffin is. It tells you how many miles long the queue is, what the estimated queuing time is, what the nearest landmark at the end of the queue is (currently Southwark Park), and what three words are heard most in the queue (apparently “navy”, “noises” and “overnight”, which paints a farily grim picture.)
There’s also a link to the UK government’s queuing guidelines in there, which should give you a few more hours of Friday night fun.
Live-stream the Las Vegas strip
If you’re after something completely — completely — different, you can watch this live-stream of the Las Vegas strip instead. Night and day, watch people totter around from hotel to casino via four different webcams. One provides an aerial shot, another just shows some giant billboards, and then two more are street-level cameras. Hours of amusement at your fingertips.
Watch brown bears frolic in a stream
If you’re more of a nature lover than a sidewalk watcher, this live-stream of brown bears might be more to your taste. In Brooks Falls, Alaska, brown bears frolic in a stream catching leaping salmon and devour them right in front of your eyes. According to the site, some of the largest and most successful bears can catch and eat more than 30 salmon a day! (Imagine how much that’d cost you at Woolies!) The live cam is actually down right now because of a damaged connection, but the highlight reels are available.
Watch this space
Possibly the most famous live-stream out there (surely not bigger than the live-stream of the queen’s coffin, you scoff… but perhaps, reader, perhaps) is the live-stream from the International Space Station.
When the crew is on duty you can hear conversations between it and mission control. At other times you see beautiful views of earth, with the sun setting every 45 minutes or so. Other times you just kind of see a blue screen. The risk is part of the fun. But honestly, you can get some stunning images if you tune in at the right moment.
Watch grass growing. No, really!
Should it really be a surprise that someone out there has created a live-stream of grass growing? Probably not, the internet is truly a magical place. Over at watching-grass-grow.com you can view at your leisure a little patch of suburban grass ticking away day by day. You will also get the time of day, the temperature, and the number of other people joining you on the stream (12 right now!). The best thing is, if you hang around too long, the site tells you to go outside and mow your lawn. Calming and practical.
It is also a useful source of reassurance that, so far at least, the Queen remains dead. Anyone used to modern tv and film dramas will be well aware that dead characters routinely revive, and not always as zombies. Since most of the audience will have never met the Queen and only know of her through media, it is easy to understand how she can be regarded as just another character in a long running soap opera. Which indeed she is – see The Crown etc. Consider also that this is described as a livestream, not a deadstream. Expect the big plot twist any day now.
But how do you know she’s actually in the coffin?
Thank you, had a big laugh.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention a site much closer to home, the soap opera unfolding at 367 Collins st. A livestream of nesting peregrine falcons where last year’s mum has disappeared, probably killed by current mum who is sitting on 4 eggs. Last year’s dad is still here but seems to be tolerating a new prospective lover who seems to be attempting to set up a ménage à trois.
What3Words is another way of showing location – https://what3words.com/about – in this case it looks like they are using it to show where the endpoint of the line is.
What if Almighty God decided to raise the queen from the dead. That would be worth watching in real time! Give us skeptics something to think about.
serge
Got out of bed this morning, in Adelaide, and the queue had passed my front door. It’ll be in Sydney by tomorrow night.