Stoke Ferry Diamond Jubilee - A Big Thank You

It was 06.00 in the morning on Sunday 3 June when I woke up to the sound of heavy rain.  I knew at that moment that my idea of having a street party to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee with our village neighbours was more fantasy than reality.  Why does the British weather always have to spoil our plans and ruin everything?

Then, I started to think about the time my husband and I visited my sister in Calgary in Canada one Christmas.  Walking along the river there was snow everywhere and it was -15 degrees, however, the Canadians were celebrating the holidays by having BBQ’s and having a wonderful time, they just refused to let the weather interupt their plans.

I was going to take a leaf out of their book, I refused to allow the weather to have an impact on our day so we moved the party to the village hall and we started to get organised.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel the bouncy castle as it wouldn’t fit in the village hall but apart from that everything else worked well.

I was very nervous that nobody would turn up – the weather was atrocious and to be honest I wouldn’t have blamed anybody for snuggling under their duvet and going back to sleep.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  Neighbours started to arrive at 12.30 and they kept on coming , it really was a wonderful day.  The whole point of this exercise was getting to know our neighbours, we have lived in the village for almost 6 years and we only knew a handful of people. The highlight for me was when the 1948 Olympic Torch arrived – those who stayed long enough had their photos taken holding the torch; what a great experience.  We were also lucky enough to raise a surplus of £70 which was donated to Quidenham Childrens Hospice.

The reason for writing this article is to say a big thank you to those people who made the whole day possible:  Elaine Walker, who not only donated money but also helped on the day, Janet Stocking (Thomas Bonnett), Sharon Fletcher (Neo Designer) for their donations, Wayne and Paul Carter who provided the entertainment, Paul Denny on the keyboard, Mally for allowing us to use the village hall, my family, especially my husband Lee, who provided so much support on the day and last but not least my neighbours who attended and joined in on the celebration.

You might also like to know we had our photo in the Lynn News on the Tuesday and it is also on their website for those of you who may want to purchase a copy.

I really enjoyed the whole experience of this event and am now considering my next project but this time I would really like the whole purpose to be to raise money for the Stoke Ferry Village Community or another well deserving charity.  I need to put my thinking cap on but it could be something along the lines of a quiz night/cheese & wine/race night – watch this space.

Tracy McCarthy