Beginning on Thursday. 2nd June and ending on Sunday, 5th June, this was a celebration of HM Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne.
Official Photograph
Thursday,the 2nd
Spent the morning catching up with ‘bits and bobs’ as we only got back from our Scottish holiday yesterday afternoon.
Top Trooping
First of the formal stuff – Trooping of the Colour on TV.
Credit: Daily Telegraph
…then the flypast featuring 70 flying machines…
Credit: Daily Telegraph
Top Gunning
We then caught up with Jo and Janet in the afternoon and went to Odeon, Kettering to see Top Gun – Maverick.
Wow! What a film!!! Easily the best we’ve seen all year!!! A fast-paced action yarn that redefines ‘action movies’! If we could have given it SIX stars, we would! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Top TV
Cheesey-Beans-on-Crumpets for tea and we’re all set to watch EastEnders starring Prince Charles and Camilla!
Top Tree
…followed by the Lighting of the Beacons around the UK and the Commonwealth – 3000 of them! This included the ‘Tree of Trees’ near Buckingham Palace. A very comprehensive guide to the whole Beacon thing is here.
A great day, where even the weather behaved itself!
Friday,the 3rd
The highlight of the day was the Street Party in (lower) Berwick Way – but before all that… food preparation! We were both up early and by 9.30, my Raspberry Cheesecake was chilling in the fridge. Ann followed that with a ginormous Victoria Sponge.
The rest of the morning was pretty ordinary – I caught up with a few TV programmes that I’d recorded whilst we were away last week and we dipped in and out of the Royal Thanksgiving Service from Westminster Abbey. I then mowed the lawn and finally, prepared the ‘countdown’ social media posts for The Rowell Fair – yes, all very ordinary! 😁
Jo dropped in to leave her car on our drive, whilst she and the LowerBerwick Way crowd began preparing the street. I expect to be helping out later.
Jo’s Trifle, My Cheesecake and Ann’s Victoria Sponge
4pm! With Desserts prepared, we walked down to J and J’s for the Lower Berwick Way Street Party!
By 8.30, the temperature dropped quite significantly, and that was the cue to begin the great clear-up. It had all been great fun – we even sang the National Anthem and Sweet Caroline!
Top Treats!
Saturday,the 4th
Plenty of jobs to do around the house before the main event tonight – The Platinum Party at the Palace live, outside Buckingham Palace. Her Majesty had already announced that she wouldn’t be attending (which disappointed some although at 96 years old, it wasn’t a total surprise to anyone).
At 6 o’clock, we took a walk to the other end of Berwick Way, they were doing their own Street Party – and Ann and I were invited by Debbie/Roger and Stella and we were chuffed to be have been asked I think we caught the tail end of it, but it was still a great atmosphere and the cluster of neighbours had done a fine job in decorating the local space. Paul and Karen were delayed because of the imminent arrival of another grandchild!
Platinum Party at the Palace
At 8 o’clock, it was the televised Platinum Party.
But before all that – a big surprise (including HM’s children who were equally surprised as apparently HM had kept it a secret from them too!!) as the Queen appeared with Paddington Bear. A production masterpiece and it probably even upstaged her appearance at the Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony when she parachuted out of a helicopter! 😁
The Mall was certainly packed, and again, the weather played ball!
Let the party begin! Lee Mack introduced the evening and got the audience onside immediately with a gag about ‘Party’ and ‘Gate’! 😂😂. Musically speaking, Queen with Alan Lambert opened the set with their anthem: “We Will Rock You” (fantastic!) and as the two-and-a-half hour event unfolded where a wide range of musical talent followed, spanning the generations. I’d heard of most of them (but not all of them!) and it was all very, very entertaining. Duran Duran, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Craig David, Alicia Keys, Ashley Banjo & Diversity, Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber, George Ezra, Elbow, Sam Rider, Nile Rodgers, Andrea Bocelli, Hans Zimmer, Celeste and Mica Paris plus for the yoof: Jax Jones, Mabel, Stefflon Don, Mimi Webb, Sigala & Ella Eyre. We also had some excerpts from the West End Musicals: Phantom of the Opera, Joseph, Lion King, Six and Hamilton. Rod Stewart was another superstar that struggled to hit the notes, with his rendition of Sweet Caroline, but nobody minded.
As darkness fell, the performers were about to be outdone by the fantastic lighting show, that beamed on the front of Buckingham Palace!
Not only lights but video and slide montages too! Absolutely fantastic and as a one-time organiser of conferences, I can easily imagine the amount of preparation that went into getting it all together.
And if that wasn’t enough, then it was the (700!) drone show above the Palace – and just added to the overall impact of the evening.
The evening concluded with presentations by the Duke of Cambridge and a very heartfelt speech by Prince Charles flanked by Camilla. The whole evening was topped-off with Diana Ross topping the bill with a few of her greatest hits. Some rumour of her miming it all, but it was still good stuff!
That was some concert! Pop, Pomp and Pageantry – we Brits certainly know who to put on a good great show! 👍👍👍👍👍
Sunday,the 5th
The official day for Street Parties, although the weather (judging by the amount of rain overnight) returned to form – that’s also not a good sign for the massive Street Pageant up the Mall scheduled for the afternoon.
Jo and Janet dropped in for a cuppa – and a slice of the leftover cake from the Street Party! 🙂
The Pageant
The Gold Coach with a hologram of the Queen!
The Finalé
The finale began with Ed Sheeran – doing what he does best! A man, a guitar and a great song! 😁
And then, pretty much what everyone had been hoping for – The Queen made an appearance on the balcony!
That sure was some celebration! An event that’s unlikely ever to be repeated – glad I was around for it! 😉.
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
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