Anna Turner: All ready for a jubilee party to remember for years to come

As we now get ready to celebrate the unprecedented Platinum jubilee anniversary, events and initiatives have been taking place throughout the year, writes Lord Lieutenant Anna Turner.

It will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5.

The bank holiday will provide an opportunity for communities and people throughout the United Kingdom to come together to celebrate the historic milestone. The idea is for neighbours, friends old and new to get together and enjoy traditional, old-fashioned fun.

In the United Kingdom, Lieutenancies are responsible for promoting the events of the Platinum Jubilee and it is very much hoped everyone in Shropshire will find a way of taking part in this unique celebration.

The four-day holiday will enable us to reflect on Her Majesty’s seventy years of service and also celebrate this remarkable milestone.

You will not need to travel very far to enjoy these occasions and initiatives. The large-scale events will be broadcast on television. Many of the other events will be organised by councils and other organisations based in the heart our local communities.

I am looking forward to attending both national and local events over the long weekend. National initiatives that were launched for the platinum jubilee earlier this year include the Platinum Pudding, a nationwide baking competition set to find a brand-new pudding dedicated to The Queen. The winner was announced last week as a wonderful-looking seven-layer lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle made by Jemma Melvin.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a unique tree planting initiative created which invites people from across the United Kingdom to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’. I personally have planted a number of trees in various locations around Shropshire earlier this year such as at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt hospital and look forward to planting more when the new planting season starts in October!

National celebrations planned include Trooping the Colour on Thursday, June 2, as well as the lighting of jubilee beacons.

On Friday, June 3, there will be a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral and the The Epsom Derby takes place a day later, along with the Platinum Party at the Palace, and on Sunday, June 5, there will be The Big Jubilee Lunch and the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

I know there will also be many street parties, fetes, and concerts in the parks across Shropshire.

If you are looking for events to attend, the Shropshire Star will be listing events for you to find something local, or you can visit platinumjubilee.gov.uk/events.

Whatever you are doing please tag us in on your social media posts so that we can see the county celebrating.

Thank you for your interest in honouring the remarkable reign of Queen Elizabeth and for becoming part of a global team delivering an experience to go down in history.