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Blisworth, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee 5th and 6th June, 2012 Our queen has reigned for 60 years and is now aged 86 years - an amazing performance that approaches the record reign of Queen Victoria. In this era of diminished Royal appreciation it was good to see people putting up Union Jack bunting in the week before the Jubilee Day, Tuesday 5th June 2012, so that the Royal Oak, the shop, the Village Hall, the Football Club pavilion and one or two private houses looked the part. There were even a few Union Jacks mounted on the car windows, international football event style. Back in the old days we could lay streams of bunting across the High Street but no-one these days would wish to parlay with the Highways Department for that aim. The village has celebrated in the past the Jubilees for George III, Queen Victoria and George V (run a search for jubilee in the home page search-box). The main thing that makes or breaks any planned celebrations is the weather and, this year, it threatened to ruin things - low temperatures and scattered rain, being an insult after the sweltering 9 days in May. The two main outdoor events were 1. a picnic held on the Football field near the pavilion including events and even one or two races with eating and drinking continuing in the Club Pavilion and 2. on the Wednesday a Mikron Company theatre presentation entitled "Losing the Plot" that was held on the allotments, on a grass patch near the bottom area, with all invited from the village. The main organiser for the picnic event was Estelle Rose but as hinted at above, she couldn't guarantee the weather which turned out to be really cool and breezy. Early in the schedule, about 1pm the Rector, Andrea Watkins, was surveying the field where a few brave picnickers lay on their groundsheets whilst a few more huddled in the marques. There was an encouraging show of picnic food collected in the club-house where most people had assembled out of the cold. Note the "Hey, keep it clean, your missus is coming" moment caught on camera. Villagers were asked to come in suitable Jubilee headgear and there was a friendly competition for the best Jubilee hat, which was won by Maureen Smith. Estelle's must have been a very close second! - but an organiser couldn't been seen winning it. The junior section of the hat competition was won by Maisy Bull. Then there were a few races for the children with the "Catch the Train" relay enacted with some spirit. Later in the afternoon the rain began but the fun continued; Brenda Sheehan's "Blisworth Ballet Dancers" put on a delightful show * followed by some country dancing that involved a fair number of the spectators too. There was also a competition for the "best" dancers in a "Dancing through the Rain" event to tunes from the 1950s to 1980s. This was won by two young ladies; Ellen Harding and Eleanor Hutchinson. Eventually the rain drove everyone either into the warmth of the club-house or into their cars for home. * The ballet dancing wasn't caught by any roving photographer, please let the website know if it, in fact, was photographed. Estelle's organising helpers were (alphabetical!) Matthew Bodsworth, Norma Bull, Linda Hack, Ruth Hazelgrove, Maria McKeown, Ann North, Christine Pinfold, Linda Sanderson, Bev Smith, John and Maureen Smith, Jane Underwood and Bridgette Wells. Others to thank were Mrs. Irwin for the loan of school equipment, Rev. A Watkins and Pastor K. Barker for judging the hats, John Smith looked after sound and served as "Compère", Mary Griffin who organised the country dancing and John Woodhouse for the donation of a vase as the dancing prize, Brenda Sheehan for the ballet dance routines, Bud Rose for the marquees and Trevor Pinfold for the transportation of same, Andy Headland for his vigilance at the St John Ambulance post, Maria for labelling us all so we could "come and go with impunity" and, probably not the last, George Birch as barman in the clubhouse.
On the
Wednesday there was a bright spell in the evening, a clear sky and a good sunset.
The Mikron Company
went ahead with their performance of "Losing the Plot" on the
allotment field, organised by Jane Percival and the allotment
committee. It ran from 7.30pm to near ten o'clock including a halftime
break for wine and nibbles. Stage lights were needed for the second
half, powered from a vehicle some distance away. The play was about a
Yorkshire community that was threatened with the loss of their allotments
due to a desire to develop. The presentation was an
entertaining mix of narrative, comedy and songs. The write-up on the
show, written by Deborah McAndrew, explains, "It told the stories of allotment gardeners, a
rag-tag bunch of diggers and dreamers. Strong
personalities frequently clashed over the best treatment for mealy bugs, and
the annual ‘Heaviest and Longest’ competition was always a time
when old feuds and new flirtations threatened to undermine the fragile
peace. Then a man from the council paid a visit
and the gardeners realised that they must pull together, or forfeit their
precious plot forever. But could they agree on a strategy? How were they to convince
the council of the vital role allotments had played in the life of the
nation for centuries? What were they to do when things inevitably got out of
hand?  |
