Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Wow, what a weekend! 4 days of celebrating 70 years of Elizabeth II on the throne. Whether or not you support the royal family, I’m sure most enjoyed an extra day off. Not me, unfortunately, as I had to work over the weekend! Nevertheless, I did manage to get lots of celebrating in with my family and friends.

Getting Ready

Our preparation for the jubilee actually started a few weeks ago! We made a flag, bunting and even a Gold State Coach with paint sticks ahead of the big weekend!

We also practiced Union Flag face paint and Autumn got her royal wave perfect!

Thursday 2nd June

On the first day of the celebrations, we had a slow morning and watched Trooping the Colour in our pyjamas. Autumn enjoyed pretending to march along with me. Even my husband got involved at one point! We watched RAF aircraft from around the country beginning to gather just off the coast of Norfolk on Flight Radar ahead of the flyover. For me, personally, the flyover is always the highlight. Especially when the Red Arrows come out! It seemed Autumn shared my enthusiasm as she kept asking and asking and asking when the Red Arrows were going to be on the TV!

We got dressed in red, white and blue and headed to my parents’ house for party food.

Of course, we had to pose and take some photos by Union Flags my parents had decorated the house with! With the sun shining, it felt like the perfect day for some Pimm’s. I may have had a little more than I could function normally on, but I had a great time!

Friday 3rd June

On Friday, my eyes felt weird and puffy and my head felt a little bit fuzzy when I woke up. Oops, that would be the Pimm’s! Again, we started the day slowly and watched part of the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service. I pointed out bits of it and various people to Autumn as she asked.

If you have a bank holiday, it’s surely the law that you must do either DIY or gardening. Or both! So, in the afternoon, I grabbed a bag of compost and got planting.

I’d had a lovely trip to Springhead Nurseries earlier in the week. As such, I had a lot of work to do. I’d just about finished when Reuben woke up from his nap!

Saturday 4th June

On Saturday, I had to go to work. On my way, I admired the fairground and flags adorning Rochester Castle.

It was great that the Dickens Festival coincided with the Jubilee weekend. However, it was a shame that the weather wasn’t very cooperative! Although it was fairly busy in spots, it was nowhere as busy as I expected it to be.

While I was at work, Autumn did a couple of Jubilee themed craft workshops locally. She made a crown and a mini version of her celebrating the Jubilee. She did a really good job!

Once I’d finished for the day, it was time for a change of clothes to head to a barbecue with some friends. (Well, as the weather was fairly inclement it was actually all cooked indoors in the end!) Autumn and Reuben had so much fun, as did we! I ate and ate until I couldn’t eat another thing. Until I found room for a cupcake and a tiny sliver of lemon cheesecake, that was!

Sunday 5th June

Sunday was another work day for me. Once I was done, I came home to a very excitable Autumn who wanted me to put on the concert from Saturday night. She was delighted, if somewhat confused, by Paddington sharing tea with the Queen. What a lovely sketch! Autumn enjoyed some bits of the show, while there were parts I enjoyed more.

Once the children were in bed, I caught up on the pageant and ate some left over party food we had in the fridge. Some of my highlights of the parade were the Land Rovers, (of course), and the daleks! The whole thing was just brilliant though, with so much colour and dancing. It was wonderful to see the Queen too, smiling and looking beautiful in green.

All in all, we had a lovely weekend! Obviously, it was a shame I was working but that’s just one of those things. My only regret is that I would have loved to have gone to a street party. I did briefly consider organising one for our street. However, I’m tired and stressed enough as it is without adding that to my plate!

This is a once in our lifetime experience and it’s been wonderful to be able to celebrate it with some of those closest to us. Autumn has had a brilliant time and loved it all. That has been so lovely to see.

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