RUGBEIANS flew the flag in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, as neighbours became friends at a series of street parties and official gatherings.
Over 350 Dunchurch residents came together at Dunchurch Heath to kick off the Bank Holiday weekend celebrations with the lighting of a beacon, organised by Friends of Dunchurch chairman Tony Kember.
A piper heralded the beacon lighting, and the village bugler played a specially commissioned piece for the jubilee.
Dunchurch Parish Council Chair Tracey Price and St Peter’s Church vicar Patricia Townshend spoke to the crowd before Mayor Carolyn Watson-Merret formally lit the beacon.
Residents of Brownsover gathered near the community centre to dedicate their new Community Garden to The Queen. Community Association chair Alan Webb formally cut the ribbon and declared the new facility open.
Rain failed to dampen the spirits of residents who attended the Fareham Youth Partnership’s Jubilee Fun Day at the GEC Recreation Ground in Hillmorton.
Local churches provided free refreshments while local craft workshops set up stall to showcase their work.
Hillmorton Community Choir treated the crowd to a series of songs to mark every decade of the Queen’s reign, finishing their performance under a downpour with their rendition of the 1983 hit Walking on Sunshine.
Congregation members from St George’s Church in Paddox took part in a service to dedicate the planting of a tree to mark the Jubilee. The silver spruce, which will grow at the front of the church, was planted by Rev Allan Scrivener.
Elsee Road, Eydon Close and Hardy Close were among many streets closed to traffic over the weekend to make way for street parties.
