While the Royal family were leading the celebrations in London over the Diamond Jubilee long weekend from 2nd to 5th June 2012, the rest of the country were joining in with street parties, concerts and other events to mark Queen Elizabeth's 60 year reign on the throne. The UK went into Diamond Jubilee meltdown. As a nation we all got into the spirit of it and it really was fun and I loved being a part of it. When asked by neighbours and friends what we (my family and I) might participate in, I said the whole lot. And we did, including my dear old 86 year old mum Andy (bless her, she's got advanced parkinsons and lewy body dementia) and she loved it too.
If you don't live in the UK or any of the countries of the Commonwealth, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Overseas UK Territories, would you like to get some idea of what we all got up to? Want to be a fly on the wall and take a look for yourself?
In the village of Halberton in Devon where my family and I live, a special Diamond Jubilee Concert led the four day celebrations followed by a four day Flower Festival in our local Church – St Andrews, a Hog Roast and Beacon lighting and a Tea Party which ended up in the Village Hall due to the weather deteriorating. That's England for you.
Much fun was had by all as you will see from the pictures. Let's start with the concert where locals were drafted in to entertain. My dear old uncle Johnny played the keyboard (not bad for 90 eh?) The concert was an absolute joy and set a high standard for the rest of the celebrations. You may have already heard my daughter Jess reciting a Diamond Jubilee poem we made up, Easy Viral PDF Brander
want to see Jess and her friends recite the poem in a previous blog post.
Next was the Flower Festival at our local church, St Andrew's. Beautiful church and what an exhibition. So many wonderful floral arrangements including a hand made tapestry depicting places of interest in and around Halberton (you'll see mum and Jess in those pictures).
Then came the Hog Roast and Beacon lighting and that was great as around 300 people from the village and surrounding areas turned out. (I'm beside the bonfire in one picture and my good friends from childhood are in another). The Beacon lighting was one of the 4000 official Beacons to be lit around the UK with Her Majesty The Queen lighting the one in London. The weather held and the beacon was enormous. There was a really happy atmoshphere amongst the villagers and the night was an enormous success. We all wished we didn't have to wait for a Jubilee to have this kind of fun.
Finally came the village tea party and because the weather was bad, it had to be held in the Village Hall. Large numbers turned out and it was a fun afternoon, nevertheless. Our former post-mistress had made a huge Diamond Jubilee cake and it was delicious. To top of the afternoon, the children were all given a Diamond Jubilee commemorative mug so went off happily.
I hope my post has given you a flavour of what we all did over the Diamond Jubilee. It was a very special time and I've never known anything quite like it. Even the Golden Jubilee wasn't quite so spectacular. I'm sure you watched some of the celebrations on the TV. I'd love to hear your comments so please leave them below. Many thanks.
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Yes your blog certainly gave me the flavor of the activities over the Jubilee celebrations…. To the point I actually felt I was actually there. Great post Lindsey.
Lovely post Lindsey, and it’s so nice to see Andy enjoying herself at the festivities – as well as your uncle. Hope I can still remember the keys when I’m 90!
Thanks for your comments Ron. The Diamond Jubilee was really good fun and I remembered what David Wood said to me about just getting something out there. I didn’t spend hours racking my brain trying to find keywords or ages spent on SEO techniques. I just wanted to record the events of those four days in June 2012 just because they meant so much to me.
Much fun was had by all as you will see from the pictures. Let's start with the concert where locals were drafted in to entertain. My dear old uncle Johnny played the keyboard (not bad for 90 eh?) The concert was an absolute joy and set a high standard for the rest of the celebrations. You may have already heard my daughter Jess reciting a Diamond Jubilee poem we made up, Easy Viral PDF Brander 
Yes your blog certainly gave me the flavor of the activities over the Jubilee celebrations…. To the point I actually felt I was actually there. Great post Lindsey.
Thanks for your comments Michael. All the events around the Diamond Jubilee were really special. I’m really glad we took part in them all.
Lovely post Lindsey, and it’s so nice to see Andy enjoying herself at the festivities – as well as your uncle. Hope I can still remember the keys when I’m 90!
Thanks for your comments Ron. The Diamond Jubilee was really good fun and I remembered what David Wood said to me about just getting something out there. I didn’t spend hours racking my brain trying to find keywords or ages spent on SEO techniques. I just wanted to record the events of those four days in June 2012 just because they meant so much to me.