Sunday, June 03, 2012
Jubilee Street Party.
It has been a brilliant day - apart from the lack of brilliant sunshine.
But weatherwise we have been luckier than the Queen. In London it seems to have rained hard. In Crawley there were sporadic attempts at rain, interspersed with dry spells and even some brief glimpses of sunshine.
The only way that the weather slightly spoiled the day was that as people couldn't trust it a line of gazebos appeared and that kept groups a little more separate than everybody would have liked.
As a semi official photographer I wandered and barged my way in to most groups!
So, I met many people that I didn't know and felt surrounded by the ghosts and memories of many that I did know.
In the 1950s I knew all the people who lived in those houses in the street.
I was the only person there who could remember the street at such a time.
There was cooking and eating and drinking.
The home made cakes were judged for their appearance - and later we all sampled and tasted.
A raffle was held with loads of donated prizes. We won a bottle of bubbly.
Children played - enjoying being able to whizz up and down the road on their bikes and scooters.
A guitar player went up on The Royal Oak roof and played The National Anthem - just like Brian May did at the Golden Jubilee; except he was on the roof of Buckingham Palace.
People played badminton in the road or sat and made royal paper chains.
All the children were given Jubilee mugs.
I have masses of photos and I have spent this evening sorting them all.
Mel, who was the chief instigator and organiser of this event has set up a facebook page and was eager to get our photos on there as quickly as possible.
I will use some of them to tell the story of the day, on the blog, tomorrow morning.
We are all tired tonight - but nobody more so than The Queen.
I enjoyed what I saw of the River Pageant.
So British - when the choir on a boat stood there getting soaking wet, hair like rats tails, singing land of Hope and Glory.
Her Majesty stood for 4 hours or so. Congratulations to her.
As I discussed with Felix (aged 5) - The Queen can't actually do what she wants (she might have wanted to abandon ship today and go home for a cup of tea); she actually has to do what the people want her to do and she has done that for 60 years now with grace and poise.
I wore red white and blue to honour her.
But weatherwise we have been luckier than the Queen. In London it seems to have rained hard. In Crawley there were sporadic attempts at rain, interspersed with dry spells and even some brief glimpses of sunshine.
The only way that the weather slightly spoiled the day was that as people couldn't trust it a line of gazebos appeared and that kept groups a little more separate than everybody would have liked.
As a semi official photographer I wandered and barged my way in to most groups!
So, I met many people that I didn't know and felt surrounded by the ghosts and memories of many that I did know.
In the 1950s I knew all the people who lived in those houses in the street.
I was the only person there who could remember the street at such a time.
There was cooking and eating and drinking.
The home made cakes were judged for their appearance - and later we all sampled and tasted.
A raffle was held with loads of donated prizes. We won a bottle of bubbly.
Children played - enjoying being able to whizz up and down the road on their bikes and scooters.
A guitar player went up on The Royal Oak roof and played The National Anthem - just like Brian May did at the Golden Jubilee; except he was on the roof of Buckingham Palace.
People played badminton in the road or sat and made royal paper chains.
All the children were given Jubilee mugs.
I have masses of photos and I have spent this evening sorting them all.
Mel, who was the chief instigator and organiser of this event has set up a facebook page and was eager to get our photos on there as quickly as possible.
I will use some of them to tell the story of the day, on the blog, tomorrow morning.
We are all tired tonight - but nobody more so than The Queen.
I enjoyed what I saw of the River Pageant.
So British - when the choir on a boat stood there getting soaking wet, hair like rats tails, singing land of Hope and Glory.
Her Majesty stood for 4 hours or so. Congratulations to her.
As I discussed with Felix (aged 5) - The Queen can't actually do what she wants (she might have wanted to abandon ship today and go home for a cup of tea); she actually has to do what the people want her to do and she has done that for 60 years now with grace and poise.
I wore red white and blue to honour her.
