The street party...

Sorry about yesterday but it was the day of the STREET PARTY and what with one thing and another, and all those lashings of smashing free beer, time just ran away with me as we celebrated the long reign of good old Queen Lizzie.

I arose early to clear skies and a warm breeze and proceeded to put out my bunting and balloons - All praise the Pound Shop for the Pound Shop is good and they do have all manner of things red, white and blue - I declined the Queenie mask and the three foot tall Union flag hat though. Neighbours were out and about doing likewise and moving cars (yes MOVING CARS... for the first time in living memory our road was CAR FREE) and erecting a long row of tables and chairs down the middle of the road.

I had planned to try to organise an escape committee and some of the lads had brought out an old vaulting horse into the middle of the road and had begun leap-frogging over it. But it wasn't long before the Street Party Police noticed the small piles of soil that were tumbling from our pockets to the ground - and, as they say, the game was up. Escape was pointless anyway as the party had been arranged by a group of eight very effective women organisers. So, bravely putting on my wrist band, I decided to stiff my upper lip and make a day of it in the way of us Brits... (Thinks - cold showers, Dunkirk spirit, floggings, queueing, never complaining, cricket, Dickie Attenborough, cross country running).

And, despite my original misgivings, a jolly good day it was with not a drop of British weather all day. I'll let the pictures tell you the rest.

There's nothing like boiled beef, tripe, mushy peas,  bread and pull-it,  dumplings,  Yorkshire pudding, whelks, and fried liver and onions to make a street party go with a swing.

Well, perhaps they'd had a couple officer...

Good of Her Majesty to pop in for a while. Nice anorak Ma'am... clearly she's not amused.

And indeed we all do, but is that any reason to draw images all over the Queen's highway? Off with their heads - even though they are only small children. Well, that is the British way.

And are there muffins still for tea?

Item Number 1 my Lord - Picture of Queen with glove puppet corgi in the window of Number 14.
The family were subsequently removed and taken to the Tower.

Of course no royal celebration would be complete  without reference to the  most tragic  shipping disaster of all time. Cup of tea anyone? (So it's White Star who built the Titanic - so I'm stretching a point...  so arrest me.)

Respectable father of three seems to know the moves to YMCA way too well... I say Carruthers!

A day when the sky was choc-full of flags and hardly a spitfire in sight.

Refreshments...

Very competitive British dads trying to beat the children's times in the egg and spoon race - kindly note Captain England in the body suit  coming in about 5th.
The children won and were consequently soundly thrashed.

God Save The Queen... and yes, I'm sure that there always will be and yes, I'm sure that she will be..