PREPARING FOR THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE

After 70 years of service to her country, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

In 2012 when London hosted the Olympics it was also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and neighbourhoods and communities celebrated across the country throwing street parties, including the street where I live in Bow, East London. Our street also closed back in 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee.

It’s a lovely tradition and our street will be closing again to celebrate during the 4 day bank holiday at the beginning of June.

Diamond Jubilee Street Party Celebrations, June 2012.

My husband and I moved to our current home back in 2011 and my tableware business was still in it’s first year. Keen to get to know our neighbours we got involved with organising the Street Party. I have always had a soft spot for commemorative mugs, I was a bit hesitant as I wasn’t sure how it would be received but I designed a Street Party mug and asked neighbours what they thought… Thankfully everyone was very keen to have their very own mug to mark the occasion! I have updated the design and this time it is printed in purple, which is synonymous with royalty. This year I have also added the design to a tea bag tidy. The Street Party mugs and tidies will be raising money for a local charity FoodCycle through Work for Good. FoodCycle host community meals for the hungry and lonely using food that would otherwise go to waste.

Diamond Jubilee Mug Design

Platinum Jubilee Mug Design

Our street party team have been filling out council forms, doing risk assessments and dividing up the tasks to make our street party a celebration to remember. Our annual community Bake-Off will be having a Commonwealth theme this year and there will also be Hat competition!

Also no British street party is complete without bunting. For those of you who know me or have read my previous blog posts will know I like to sew, and for some reason I find making bunting incredibly therapeutic.

So far I have managed to make over 100m from old fabric samples which I rescued from the bin, old mens shirts that were a little too worn to go to the charity shop and bedding that had seen better days. You may wonder how I found the time to make it all. We’ve had quite a bit of time stuck at home with double chicken pox and family Covid. I think the repetition of the task helped me keep a bit of my sanity while my girls were climbing the walls.

Only a few more weeks and we’ll all be pulling out the stops to make our street, party ready. I’m looking forward to making some Coronation chicken and possibly the mango upside down cake as a Malaysian entry for the bake-off. There will of course be sausage rolls and a variety of afternoon tea treats.

I have also designed a commemorative Platinum Jubilee mug and tea bag tidy to raise money for the British Red Cross through Work for Good.

Whatever your plans I hope you enjoy the special extended bank holiday.