600 expected in Ketton, as Jubilee Lunches unfold across Stamford and Rutland

70,000 Big Jubilee Lunches are expected to be held in the UK today

A street party held during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Published 5th Jun 2022

People in Stamford and Rutland will come together at street parties and Big Lunches today, as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations draw to a close.

Despite Ketton being one of the smaller villages across our region, Council Chairman Sinclair Rogers told us they'd "punch above their weight", with around 600 people set to attend a hog roast today.

'We're expecting people to enjoy themselves, to celebrate in a sense that we're out of lockdown, because we've tried to hold a village fete for the last two years and we haven't managed it - and to celebrate the Queen's 70th Anniversary', Chairman Rogers said.

The Lord-Lieutenant and the police will join members of the local community

'It's a wonderful feeling. We never in our wildest imaginings thought that we were going to get so many people coming to our big lunch, and we hope that we're going to be the biggest big lunch in Rutland - and that will make us all really proud.'

The hog roast will be free for up to 400 residents of Ketton, with the party due to get going around 12 noon at Ketton Sports and Community Centre (KSCC), where the bar will be open and there'll be children's games.

Good weather needed!

More than 70,000 Big Jubilee Lunches are expected to be held across the UK this afternoon, with an expected 10 million people set to sit down with their neighbours at street parties, picnics and barbecues.

These get-togethers mark the final day of celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee after a week of festivities.

Over 600 international Big Jubilee Lunches are also taking place throughout the Commonwealth and around the world in countries such as Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and Switzerland.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is patron of the Big Lunch and is likely to join a street party at some point today.

The celebration also coincides with this year's Thank You Day - originally set up to pay tribute to those who helped people through the pandemic.

Celebrities such as Ross Kemp, Gareth Southgate, Prue Leith and Ellie Simmonds have therefore urged people to throw the biggest thank you party not just for the Queen, but also for neighbours, family, friends, communities, the NHS and key workers for their support over the past few years.

The England football team, joined by a host of other celebrities including Rachel Riley, are starting a ‘Chain of Thank Yous' on social media.

They are inviting others to join them in recording and posting a video to social media where they say thank you to those who they believe really deserves it.

Also happening later today is the Jubilee Pageant which is set to involve a series of floats, music, art and fashion representing the Queen's 70 years on the throne.

It has been announced that Ed Sheeran will be closing this final event of the Jubilee Weekend by performing a rendition of the national anthem.

The Queen's Coronation nearly 70 years ago:

Members of the Household Cavalry, part of Her Majesty's Procession, making their way through Admiralty Arch as they escort the Queen's coach to Westminster Abbey for her Coronation on 2nd June 1953.

The Queen prepares for the anointing at Westminster Abbey. To the Queens right is Bishop of Durham Arthur Michael Ramsey, and to her left is the Bishop of Bath and Wells Harold William Bradfield.

The Queen after the St. Edward's Crown, made in 1661, was placed on her head during the coronation ceremony. It weighs 4 pounds and 12 ounces and is made of solid gold.

The newly Queen of England walking through Westminster Abbey with her train being held

The Queen, wearing the Imperial State crown, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and the Duke of Edinburgh watching the jet planes fly over ahead - a coronation tribute to the newly-crowned Queen.

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