IT HELPS BUILDS COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Angie Fairbrother, 57, from Colchester
Sitting in front of the telly, the
This Morning
theme tune blared out.
I popped out to make a cuppa, and when I came back the presenters were talking about something called The Big Lunch.
It was an annual community celebration, set up by the Eden Project Communities charity, to encourage people to get together.
That’s such a brilliant
I had fond Jubilee memories
idea, I thought to myself.
I’d always been very community minded, and I’d even moved back to the same estate I grew up on with my husband Chris, 61, and our son Lewis, 32, back in 2000.
My parents still lived there, too, and I knew loads of people.
Thinking back to my childhood, I had fond memories of the 1977 Silver Jubilee street party, with everyone getting together and having fun.
I knew it was something our tight-knit community would love to get involved in.
‘It’s the perfect opportunity,’ I said to Chris, as I ordered a Big Lunch pack from the website, with everything I needed to throw an amazing street party.
‘The Royal wedding is coming up!’
I’d always loved the Royals, and any Royal celebrations were a good excuse to throw a party!
It was a huge success, and since then, we’ve done it every year – and every year, it gets bigger and better.
There’s often a Royal theme running throughout – we celebrated the Diamond Jubilee
It’s an excuse for a party!
in 2012, and Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018.
But we’ve also had pirates, a Hawaiian beach party and a ‘round the world’ culinary extravaganza over the years.
It’s great fun for all ages, and grown-ups and kids alike get involved in giant Jenga, egg and spoon and threelegged races.
It’s always very informal, and a lot of fun – and it builds an amazing community spirit in our little estate.
Now, with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coming up, I’m planning a huge We’ll Meet
Again themed Big Jubilee Lunch, and I can’t wait for it.
After Covid and lockdowns, we’ll celebrate being able to get together properly, as well as raising a glass to Her Majesty.
I have such lovely memories of the Silver Jubilee – and I really want kids to come to our Jubilee Big Lunch and look back on it in the same way in years to come, with nostalgia and pride.