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Rachel from S Club 7: | Why pass up a reason to party? Even if you don't think much of the Queen, is bursting with quirky ways to make the most of the Golden Jubilee
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Jubilee is "a time or season for rejoicing" according to the Oxford English Dictionary. But what exactly are we meant to be jubilant about? Apparently, our wondrous Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned for 50 years and whom we love and rely upon. But, despite her incredible sense of duty to our nation, she is not the most inspiring lady. So it is hardly surprising that the Golden Jubilee is passing over the heads of many of us, who don't understand what all the fuss is about. | |||
If you are one of these people, forget about the Queen if you want to, but since when has anyone needed a reason to party? If we don't make the most of a four-day weekend, we are a nation of grumbling fools, turning up our noses at an opportunity to have a little fun. Two bank holidays, in glorious succession, will descend upon us on the weekend surrounding 3 June 2002. Picture debauched street parties. Imagine those bacchanalian picnics in the blazing sunshine: champagne popping; people laughing. Read on for the best and most bizarre events happening in London and all around the country this summer, in honour of the Jubilee. London | |||
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Paul McCartney
| Party at the Palace The Queen is throwing a pop concert at Buckingham Palace on the Jubilee weekend and the line-up reads like a Who's Who of rock. Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin and Elton John will mingle with younger stars such as Pop Idol winner Will Young and S Club 7. Tickets are free and will be chosen by ballot. 3 June; Buckingham Palace; 0900 1952 2002 to apply for ballot; www.bbc.co.uk/musiclive | ||
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Carnival in the park If you don't succeed in getting a ticket to the Buckingham Palace gig, there is always the free concert in the not-so-exclusive-but-possibly-more-fun Hyde Park. Five stages representing the five continents of the Commonwealth - Africa, Australasia, Asia, the Americas and Europe - will play music from 11am till 7pm. 11am-7pm; 3 June; Hyde Park, London; 020 7916 2681; www.bbc.co.uk/musiclive Fire-eating at the Fayre For those with nostalgia for the past, there is the three-day "Fayre in the Square". Fire-eaters, jugglers, actors in period costumes and stilt walkers will evoke an Elizabethan Pageant. 21-23 June; Berkeley Square, Westminster; 020 7641 7844; www.westminster.gov.uk; jubilee@westminster.gov.uk Singing in Berkeley Square As part of the Fayre, the Royal College of Music will organise "So, you think you know about black music?" Presented by ex-Radio One DJ Lisa I'Anson, the concert aims to educate about the influence of black music on British culture. Half classical, half pop, it will feature music by Samuel Coleridge Taylor, a turn of the century composer, as well as London's radical saxophonist Courtney Pine. Evenings 21-23 June; Berkeley Square, Westminster; 020 7344 4444 (tickets for Courteney Pine) Body art "Skin Deep: A century of tattooing" is an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum on the history of this controversial body art. It spans from the days when tattoos were a must for ruddy sailors to their status today as a fashion statement for models and aristocrats. 22 March - 20 September; National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London; 020 8858 4422; www.nmm.ac.uk Tiara No royal princess is complete without a tiara. The Victoria and Albert Museum will be exhibiting ancient and modern designs by the likes of Garrads, Faberge, Vivienne Westwood and Philip Treacy. And there will be a tiara-making demonstration on June 8 and 9 at 2pm. Tiara making 8-9 June; Exhibition 21 March - 14 July; 0115 912 9184; www.vam.ac.uk Lap of London And finally, end your Jubilee experience by relaxing in London's Living Room, the public room at the top of the Greater London Authority's new building, City Hall, due to open this summer. The eye-shaped construction is perched on the edge of the Thames on the south side of Tower Bridge. The building will be open to the public for views of the city and the Tower of London. City Hall, South Bank; Greater London Authority 020 7983 4000 | |||
Around the UK Queenly wave For the lucky few who live in Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, hold on to your seats. The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, will drive through the shopping centre of Bridgend on the morning of 13 June, most gracefully I am sure. I kid ye not. Their journey from the train station through the town centre and up into the valleys will take about half an hour, but the exact time of the Queenly wave is not being disclosed. 13 June; Bridgend, Wales; 01656 643643 Zulu dance And even crazier, there will be a Zulu dance display performed by the Africa Africa dance troupe in the town square of Dromore, Northern Ireland. The event promises to "bring a taste of the Commonwealth to Dromore". 29 June; Dromore Town Square; Lower Iveagh District; 028 9269 3707 Fit birds Now the next one could get messy. One thousand pigeons will race from York to Cheltenham in the Racing Pigeon One-Loft Race. Some of Her Majesty's birds will be involved. Remember if a bird shits on you, it brings good luck. 21 August; Royal Pigeon Racing Association; 01452 713529 Yo sweetness! The six-hundred-year-old art of royal sugar sculpture will be reproduced at the Bowes Museum in County Durham. Two food scientists have recreated a nineteenth-century table featuring a super-sweet poodle pulling a cart as well as tables in the elaborate styles of Henry IV, Elizabeth I and James II. 1 June 1 - 22 September; The Bowes Museum, Newgate, County Durham; 01833 690606 Sugar and spice and all things nice And if that isn't sweet enough for you, chocoholics will be intrigued by a series of talks given at Hampton Court about King William's chocolatier, Mr Nice. 29 March - 7 April; Hampton Court Palace, Surrey; 020 8781 9500 Barn dance and barbie If summer in the UK is disappointingly cold, it might be necessary to warm up by doing a bit of barn dancing. Ubarrow Hall in Cumbria is hosting a rock'n'roll barn dance, featuring Rubber Soul, a Beatles cover band. Afterwards there will be a barbecue of Longsleddale lamb. Who said the British don't know how to have fun? It sounds tasty to me. 7pm 1 June; Ubarrow Hall, St. Mary's Church, Kendal, Cumbria; 01539 823 640 Spiffing spread The British are also famous for having picnics. You've all seen it, either on the telly or glaringly in the flesh at school sports days. Dads sweating through uncomfortable suits, awkwardly perched on moth-eaten rugs, holding soggy sausage rolls. Mums flushed from too much champagne, trying to stop wicked younger siblings from smearing cup cakes into their flowery dresses. If that's your scene, head for Ardingly in Sussex, where the biggest picnic in the world will be held. The organisers are hoping to get into the Guinness Book of Records. 18 August; Ardingly, Sussex; 01444 892700. All jolly good fun, isn't it? There are many other events going on around Britain. Log onto www.goldenjubilee.com to find out about them. | |||
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