Fans of Margaret Thatcher have travelled thousands of miles to watch today's funeral procession.
Crowds were lining the route of the procession from early this morning, with
some dedicated supporters having travelled from abroad or camped overnight.
By 7.30am, the crowds outside St Paul's Cathedral were already two deep,
packed against the crush barriers in anticipation of the day ahead.
Several had spent the night camped outside Christopher Wren's great church to
guarantee a good view.
Margaret Kittle had made the journey especially from her home in Winona,
Canada, just as she had for each of Baroness Thatcher's three election
victories.
The 79-year-old said: "Its tremendously sad but we all make our entrance
and exit on the world stage and Mrs Thatcher's place is guaranteed. I
admired her so much. She did such a lot for the world, bringing the Berlin
Wall down with President Reagan and Gorbachev and freeing the Falklands.
"I was in Smith's Square for each of her victories and it was a sad day when the grey, back room men tossed her out."
Another supporter, John Loughrey, was there because his father would have wanted someone from their family to be present.
"He was a working class lad from Ireland, but Mrs Thatcher transformed his life," said Mr Loughrey, 58, a chef.
In 1979 the Loughrey family exercised their newly won right to buy their council house, a central plank in Baroness Thatcher's strategy to undermine the traditional Labour vote.
"We were a working class family in Wandsworth and suddenly we had something of our own. We had our castle. That meant a lot to my mother and father," he said.
A spectator sporting a Union flag hat and coat at Parliament Square
prior to the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul's Cathedral in
London (PA)
Mr Loughrey had camped out overnight outside St Paul's to ensure a glimpse of Baroness Thatcher's funeral cortège. He now finds it hard to conceive of his life without her.
"We were living in the dark ages and she brought us back into the light," he said. "My father was a guard on London Underground. A working man. He'd voted Labour before, but he was glad when Mrs Thatcher brought in the union laws. The strikes, the rubbish in the streets, he was happy all that came to an end.
"He died in 1988, aged 68, after a life of hard work. But if he'd been alive today he'd have loved to be here to pay his respects. She made Britain great again."
Many also gathered at St Clements Dane church, where Lady Thatcher's coffin will arrive in a hearse and transfer to a ceremonial gun carriage for the procession to St Paul's.
One spectator bore a placard, reading "thank you" across a picture of the Iron Lady, while others had draped Union Jack flags across the barriers.
"I was in Smith's Square for each of her victories and it was a sad day when the grey, back room men tossed her out."
Another supporter, John Loughrey, was there because his father would have wanted someone from their family to be present.
"He was a working class lad from Ireland, but Mrs Thatcher transformed his life," said Mr Loughrey, 58, a chef.
In 1979 the Loughrey family exercised their newly won right to buy their council house, a central plank in Baroness Thatcher's strategy to undermine the traditional Labour vote.
"We were a working class family in Wandsworth and suddenly we had something of our own. We had our castle. That meant a lot to my mother and father," he said.
A spectator sporting a Union flag hat and coat at Parliament Square
prior to the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher at St Paul's Cathedral in
London (PA)
Mr Loughrey had camped out overnight outside St Paul's to ensure a glimpse of Baroness Thatcher's funeral cortège. He now finds it hard to conceive of his life without her.
"We were living in the dark ages and she brought us back into the light," he said. "My father was a guard on London Underground. A working man. He'd voted Labour before, but he was glad when Mrs Thatcher brought in the union laws. The strikes, the rubbish in the streets, he was happy all that came to an end.
"He died in 1988, aged 68, after a life of hard work. But if he'd been alive today he'd have loved to be here to pay his respects. She made Britain great again."
Many also gathered at St Clements Dane church, where Lady Thatcher's coffin will arrive in a hearse and transfer to a ceremonial gun carriage for the procession to St Paul's.
One spectator bore a placard, reading "thank you" across a picture of the Iron Lady, while others had draped Union Jack flags across the barriers.
Source: TELEGRAPH
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