The lighting of the beacon.

It's the start of the Jubilee weekend today and although I'm not much into royalty, it is amazing that the Queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne. I caught some of the Trooping of the Colour this morning and have to confess to not knowing what on earth was going on. We do have a lot of pomp and pageantry in Great Britain, but some of it is incomprehensible! I was more interested in spotting the royals at the window, and Kate looked gorgeous.

Sophie and I decided to pop to Market Harborough today and look in the shops, but we didn't realise that many of them were closed because of the Queen's Jubilee... We parked for free and had lunch at the little Garage Bakehouse near the car park. We arrived just in time, grabbed a small table on the pavement, and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine. After we'd ordered, a large crowd of people gathered!

A couple of charity shops were open, and Sophie found a pair of white plimsolls (like Vans) and a top, while I treated myself to a pair of brand new sunglasses for £4! I was on the lookout for a butter dish and a new mug as both of ours had been broken at home. 

It was quiet in the town, probably because some of the smaller, independent shops were closed, and we decided to have an ice cream in Gallone's before heading home. Predictably, the cafe was busy with lots of children running about! It is half-term after all!

We finished our sundaes and headed home via the scenic route. The weather today has been dry with a mix of sunshine and clouds. We're all hoping that the weather stays dry for the next four days as there are so many outdoor events planned!

Back home we relaxed and played Scrabble before Sophie cooked dinner. Unfortunately, tonight was not one of her best efforts -  Gino D'Acampo's pasta which we normally cook with sausage meat - but tonight we substituted the pork with turkey mince. All I will say is that the garlic bread was delicious!

We had arranged with Michelle and Richard to walk up to the village at 9pm and watch the lighting of the beacon, an event that was being repeated all over the United Kingdon and the Commonwealth. It was a beautiful evening with a pinky/peachy sunset sky, and it was great to get some exercise after dinner. None of us had eaten much so it wasn't lying heavily in our tummies!

We had hoped the White Horse would have re-opened but they have been experiencing difficulties, and the re-opening is now planned for the 1 July. They certainly missed a trick this evening as, after a slow start, lots of villagers turned out for the event. 

The Charities committee had thoughtfully laid on Pimms and nibbles, so we enjoyed some of that and listened to a choir singing for us.

The church bells rang at exactly 9.15pm and then the beacon was lit at 9.45pm. It was lovely to think this was being repeated all over the country, and even the world!

It was great to chat with Michelle and Richard and we walked home after the fire had died down. We arrived back at 10.30pm which was a bit of a shock! I'm back at work tomorrow!