Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Party at Shalfleet.
Sunday 5th June 2022 will go down as one of those memorable days for the residents of Shalfleet. The Village Hall Committee decided to run a traditional street party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by reaching out to the whole village to engender an uplifting of community spirit.
Two of the Village Hall committee members, Clare Wharf and Sue Sleight, organised the street party to celebrate Our Queen’s 70 years reign. They recruited many, many, many volunteers to help with set up and on the day.
All Shalfleet residents were invited to the free tea party. Not many stayed at home as 160 people both young and old came to enjoy the afternoon in the field by the Village Hall.
First to arrive were Tony and Linda in their beautiful Austin 7. Our churchwarden Nick Oulton was MC and opened the afternoon. There was a photo identification quiz hunt for the children and a quiz for the adults testing their royal knowledge over the last 70 years.
Tea started at 3.00pm with lots of sandwiches, cakes, jelly, tea and beer & Pimms for the adults. At 4.00pm we were entertained by the fantastic Company B singers who came all the way from Newbridge. The heavy downpour during the next hour did not dampen the festive spirit as everyone was singing and flag waving. The raffle proved popular and raised £160 for Shalfleet School.
Earlier in May there was a competition at Shalfleet School between each of their eight classes designing a royal crown which was judged by our other churchwarden Henry Blacksell and the winner of each class was awarded with a £10 book token. The afternoon closed with a toast of bubbly to the Queen and a gift of the commemorative book “Our Faithful Queen” to all households who attended.
Over in St.Michael’s Church Chloe Sutherland had on display the 19th century Tithe map of Shalfleet on loan from the county records office. Chloe also put on a wonderful display of old photos from a bygone era in Shalfleet and a few bones and pottery pieces from the graveyard.
This wonderful community event was supported by a generous grant of £200 from the Shalfleet Parish Council, Steve Wharf who supplied the barrel of beer and £984 from the PCC Village Hall Committee.
Shalfleet Jubilee Celebration Tea Party: Table Quiz
ANSWERS
1. Who was Prime Minister at the time of the Coronation in 1953? Winston Churchill.
2. Which cook is credited with the recipe for Coronation Chicken? Constance Spry.
3. Which ‘giant leap’ caused the Queen to say, ‘may this endeavour increase the knowledge and well-being of mankind’? Man on the moon.
4. Which year did the QE2 make her maiden voyage to New York? 1969 (launch was 1967).
5. What was introduced in February 1971? Decimalisation.
6. Which antipodean building was opened by the Queen in 1973? Sydney Opera House.
7. Approximately how many people world-wide watched ‘The Fairy Tale Wedding’ in 1981? (to the nearest million) 750 million.
8. What ‘rare public event’ did the Queen and Prince Philip share on their visit to Canada in 1984? A kiss in public.
9. In 1991, who is said to have charmed their way into a Banquet for Heads of Government, without an invitation? Nelson Mandela.
10. Which event, in 1997, famously caused the Queen to shed a tear? Decommissioning of Britannia.
11. Where, and when, did Prince William and Kate Middleton meet? University of St Andrews 2001.
12. What did Prince Charles present for BBC Scotland in May 2012? The Weather Forecast.
13. In 2017, the Queen fed an animal at Whipsnade Zoo – what was it?
An elephant.
14. How many great-grandchildren does the Queen have (as of today)? She has 12.