Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Diamond Jubilee Celebration in Chipperfield

Day 3 of the Jubilee Celebration dawned cool and wet again, and I realized that I had packed totally the wrong footwear for jubilee celebrations in England. So when we popped out for some provisions I picked up something more suitable.

Suitable footwear for summer in England (wellies)
Luckily the clouds slowly cleared as we walked up through the woods to Chipperfield Common.  Along the way, there was a spectacular old sweet chestnut tree which has been there since Henry the VIII used to ride pass when he hunted in the area.

Howard took us on a circuitous route and eventually we came out of the woods on to Chipperfield common.  What greeted us was an old fashioned village fair which reminded me very much of the Ioco ghost town days in port moody

There were some obvious differences, there was a bar serving beer and Pimms so that you could enjoy a beverage while going around the grounds.


My personal favourite was Would Jubileve it real ale, though not being a beer drinker I ordered a Pimms.  we then moved on to the Hog roast, this is something I think we should include in the Ioco Day celebrations.




This was a different experience to the shipwreck bar and grill pig roast that we had in Puerto Rico last year.  It was a lot cooler and this time the pork came on a bun with stuffing, there was some spicy chili sauce that I added to mine.


The pork was delicious though the bread roll was a little dry and boring, but any thing served with crispy pork skin can not be all bad.

There were several stalls selling and displaying all manner of jubilee items, such as these beautiful cupcakes.


In a very large marquis there was an afternoon tea, but as we had decided to partake in Pimms and pork, we passed on the tea, but it did look very civilized.


But perhaps the the highlight of the afternoon was the Morris dancers.  This is a traditional English folk dancing that stretches back to the 15th century.  I happened upon a couple of dancers enjoying a beer before their performance and the posed for a photograph for me.


Their "go cups" were pewter tankards, again how civilized.  They performed a little later in front of the pub, and it really was something to see.  It is not often you see grown men skipping and waving handkerchiefs in the air! It makes you proud to be British.


After the festivities, we made our way back through the Village in the increasingly sunny day.  I could not help but take some pictures of the beautiful cottages and of the roses climbing around the door.


The day finished at the lighting of one the more than 4000 beacons being lit around England, and the Commonwealth, then watching the concert in London on the TV.  All in all a very English day.

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