Sunday 5th June 2022

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The sun was shining glorious and bright, the warm balmy breeze gently blowing through the village, the sound of adults and children laughing joyously as they raced along the church green hoping to win gold in the three-legged race….. well, this was the plan!
Instead, with 24 hours to go, in the vain hope that by checking the weather continuously that it would suddenly change from rain to shine, the street party team finally admitted defeat and realised Plan B would need to be reverted to rather promptly as no amount of sun dances in gardens was going to change the power of nature, rain was coming & there seemed very little let up!
The day before the party was due to take place the decision was made to move the celebrations into and just outside the village hall, besides, it was also the Platinum Jubilee of the hall itself, so it seemed quite fitting.

The village hall was decorated in red, white and blue, tables set, bar and displays were erected with an expected turnout of around 240 people. An SOS was sent out to village neighbours and friends for covering. People were quick to offer their help and in the pouring rain the gazebos were erected on Sunday morning and outside was transformed fit for celebrating.
After 12 hours of showers, at around 230pm on Sunday afternoon the rain subsided into a mere drizzle and slowly drifted away. Villagers came with their friends, family, umbrellas and carefully prepared food to share to begin commemorating the Queen’s Coronation 70 years ago. The village hall began buzzing with excitement and joy; people were gathering in large numbers and spilling out into the gazebos. Music from all decades was playing and all ages were celebrating together, united for the same reason; to celebrate and commemorate. Children played and laughed, albeit not in the sunshine as planned, but the muddy puddles were just as fun with garden games, bubbles, balloon modelling and face painting, it was a joy to see. For many it was the first large gathering post Covid, all the more reason to soak up the jubilant atmosphere.

The hall was buzzing with excitement and people were just generally happy to sit and chat and be with each other. A very special lady joined in the celebrations & Glatton together sung Happy Birthday to Campana Stefanelli who will celebrate her 100th birthday later this year.  Displays including photos from previous jubilee celebrations in the village were dotted around the hall, as was ‘Guess which house’ showing old photos of houses and landmarks in the village. The food…..oh the food! What a fantastic effort everybody made with their contributions. An abundance of cakes, Jubilee trifles, scrumptious sandwiches, salads and sausage rolls to name a few were brought along to share, we did not go hungry! It was humbling to see the effort people had gone to in preparing their food, it was with pride and love for the celebration. The Addison Arms kindly provided the bar for the day offering service with a smile (and some wonderful gin!).
Commemorative mugs were handed out to all of the younger children in the village with some left over for the first taker, a queue promptly formed for the popular mugs and they very soon were gone. One day in the future the children (and adults!) will find their mug at the back of the cupboard and dust it off with a smile remembering the occasion or at the very least look back at photos of the day with fondness.

The competitive games planned for good weather had to be abandoned but the 2 competitions pre-set for Best Front of House and Best Crown were judged by Jill and Richard Hanwell. As ex Glatton residents with no preconceptions of who lived where, they duly drove around the village more than once to view the decorations. There were so many wonderfully decorated houses, but the crowned king of bunting went to Kevin Denton for his mazing effort made on Allways. The Best Crown prizes were awarded to Ronnie (5 and under), Violet (6-12yrs), Harry (12-18 yrs.) and Rachel in the adults’ category.
As the afternoon drew to a close and people began to drift away there was a genuine feeling of pride. Proud to live in Glatton and proud to share such a joyous occasion with amazing friends and neighbours. People who had never met just chatted over food and drink and new friends were made. With a mountain of food uneaten, cakes and goodies were bundled up and given to the party goers to take home , a large donation of food was made to the local soup kitchen and also local nursery school. The clean-up was effortless with many villagers helping to clear up, again giving a sense of how much community spirit lives in Glatton, the same spirit that just a few minutes before was in abundance with the village celebrating together and earlier that morning pulling together in the rain to ensure everybody could enjoy the day. There were many new and old faces, some of which have never celebrated a jubilee in the village, while others will remember previous celebrations. We hope everybody will remember this very special celebration with a smile and take away some great memories.
There are so many people to thank individually so one  huge thank you goes out to everybody that contributed their time & efforts to make the day as special as it was & everybody who came along to make the day as memorable as it was

Thank You Glatton
God Save The Queen!

Author: Rosie Juniper
Photographs: Nick Anderson & Rosie Juniper