3 minute read
PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
Hillsborough Celebrations
Jane Hardy shares her experience of the Hillsborough Platinum Jubilee celebration.
It was a jubilant kind of day. Hillsborough Castle kicked off the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Northern Ireland on June 2 with an impressively loud 42-gun salute. We were handed earplugs by the considerate staff on hand, one of whom, Alan, said there would be an “awful lot of banging”. At noon there was, from artillery guns, trailing theatrical smoke and the smell of cordite. Rory Cahoon (3) from Ballyclare liked it. His young friend Maia (4), having arrived three weeks ago from Kyiv, Ukraine, wasn’t so sure. Her mother Tania said this wasn’t a result of their recent experience.
The atmosphere overall on the South Lawn, with hundreds of families and groups of friends on rugs and white plastic chairs, was happy, rather like a British fete back in the day. You reached the spot via Granville Garden, named for the Queen’s aunt Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon, married to the then governor, who used to host the princesses when they were launching ships at Harland & Wolff. Among the picnickers there was a palpable sense of pride in Elizabeth II’s achievement. Agnes McGillis, who’d baked a superior, fruit laden cake and was sporting a small cardboard crown, said: “I haven’t been to Royal events before but this is really special.” Her granddaughter gave me a cupcake she’d made, with the Queen’s image on top.
The younger generation seemed to grasp the historical significance. Ida McVeigh (8), sporting a tiara, said she thought the Queen was “nice, helpful and beautiful”. Sister Nella (4) had had a preschool party, with “real tea in teacups with saucers”. Their mother Claire felt the event had brought hope and a sense of “life with space” after Covid constraints.
An older generation underlined the point. Opting for a smart dress code. Mary and Herby Dougherty from Lisburn, with friends returned from London, enjoyed the start of the Jubilee celebrations. Mary said: “We’re holding our own garden party. I think the Queen’s wonderful – I took early retirement from teaching but she’s still going. I watched her after the Trooping of the Colour. We won’t see this again.”
Jonathan and Jennifer Davidson from Broughshane had got into the spirit of things with a cap (him) and pretty dress (her). They said: “We were always going to dress up. We haven’t been to an event like this for so long.”
Alan Holden MBE, his mother and volunteer Barbara Little happily posed by the fountain. Mr Holden said: “The Queen’s brilliant, she presented me with my MBE in 2013 and I think she seems to have a soft spot for Northern Irish people.” His mother recalled Royal family members sometimes attending church locally.
Union Jacks were on backpacks here and there. The Swingtime Starlets belted out wartime hits, including In the Mood, there was a bit of dancing. Some Dad’s Army style tunes were played impeccably for the two p.m. parade of the Jubilee medals awarded to servicemen and women of all ranks.
The weather held, it didn’t rain. Well, it wouldn’t have dared.
The Swingtime Starlets. Jonathan and Jennifer Davidson.
12:00 noon gun salute to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
