The Village of Loweswater joins the country in celebrating
the Coronation of Their Majesties Charles and Camilla.
Our plan is simple . . . decorate the Village Hall, everyone
come along and bring a dish, savoury or sweet to share with
friends.
Come and enjoy yourselves here in Loweswater.
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The table
decorations are out . . . |
The balloons have been
hoisted up high . . . |
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The flags
are flying . . . |
. . . and the table
places set. |
The celebration cakes have arrived . . . two
because we're expecting 84 people to the enjoy the event !
The hall is ready and as people start to arrive
a gentle hum of conversation increases
as friends and neighbours meet up once again.
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The plan for today . . .
in the hands of our Master of Ceremonies Andy
in his capacity as chair of the Hall committee.
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Admin notices are given including food arrangements,
photography and fire escapes (here and here)
(and what to do in the event of a sudden decompression
and oxygen masks descend from the ceiling . . . or did I just
hear that in the background ?)
He also welcomed all our visitors from outside
the valley, including those who have travelled many miles to
get here.
Let the festivities begin . . . on our
table, Margie, Keith and Gill.
The Beebee Family out in force.
Roger from Lorton on a mixed table with Hugh,
Zoe and Peter.
Les and Jan talk to the visitors who have travel
the furthest to get here today, Peter and Michael from Canada
!
Brian and Jenny sit on the corner table with
Jeff and Chris from Cockermouth, Keith, Krystyna, Alan and Eleanor.
The youngest attendee Sophia who travelled over
from the next village west, Mockerkin (not as far as Canada)
courtesy of her parents, Anthony and Michella.
Loes and myself . . . I'm brushed up nicely
for the event I'm told . . . or was that just friendly banter
!
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A magnificent
table is set for lunch . . . |
Catering was simple
today . . . everyone please bring a plate of food. |
We had the chance to sample a delightful and varied selection
of the wonderful home-made food on offer.
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If we weren't already
full after the main course . . . |
. . . the table was re-set with an equally lovely
choice of desserts.
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There was no doubt about the theme of the day.
Nor the quality of all the beautiful, home made
food brought along today.
. . . including this tasty cheesecake with a
cream, chocolate and pistachio (?) topping.
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Lorna selects a piece of cake. |
Richard with dessert dish in hand. |
Michael and Peter choosing fruit from
the table. |
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After a while it was time for a Loyal Toast
. . .
. . . and Three Cheers to the Royal Couple.
Penny and Betty were chosen to cut the cakes
today.
They deserved the honour as they were the youngest
resident and oldest resident who were actually 'born in the
valley'.
The weather wasn't being totally kind, but it
didn't deter those of us enjoying the indoor gathering.
It did however mean that a Village Photo would
have to be taken inside the hall, if we could find the space.
Tables were cleared aside, chairs moved and
some staging placed to raise the back rows to make them visible.
Nine chairs wide and five rows of people would
only make 45 in the photo, but there are nearly double that
number here.
We'll all have to share seats and bunch up a
bit.
It took a bit of organising . . . but the local
expressions was "that it was much easier than herding sheep".
Not the official picture, but my best attempt
before the group finally settled.
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John MacFarlane who kindly agreed
to take the main group photo
will be offering digital (maybe even
nicely printed) copies of the full photo shortly.
If you would like one, pease contact
him direct at:
jtmacfarlane@gmail.com
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Once the room was re-organised back into table
settings and people could sit down again
it was time for tea or coffee and a share of
the celebration cake for those that wanted a piece.
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A big vote of thanks here to Lyn (standing
in the photo above)
and the rest of the team who have organised
today's event.
Whilst it was a combined effort, Lyn
played a large part
in keeping today's group of helpers
in tow,
buying and arranging the decorations
and keeping tabs on the food and the
bookings
to make sure the day went without a
hitch, as it did.
Many thanks Lyn.
Mention should also be made
for those that who helped fetching,
carrying and doing the washing up,
and for those that donated prizes
including Val for organising the raffle.
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Thanks to Michael and Peter who brought along
most of the big banners and flags.
. . . and to those that brought along interesting
Royal Memorabilia for the displays
from the Coronation Mugs to this, the order
of service from last Saturday's event in London.
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I have a feeling this official photo of Their Majesties
will grace this and other Village Halls in the years
to come.
Over the recent weeks a few people have doubted
the relevance of the British Royal Family in today's
world.
There's no doubt that Saturday's televised Coronation
and Sunday's Coronation Concert have drawn
visitors to Britain and enhanced our reputation abroad.
It was Princess Ann who said that the Royal Family
also have the ability to highlight the nicer parts
of British life,
the local events, the people, the volunteers and the
good deeds done,
that often fail to make the newspapers and television
news
yet still form the bedrock of the British way of life.
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We enjoyed ourselves today and we hope you
have also been able to have a great Coronation Weekend yourselves,
wherever you have celebrated it.
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