Around 150 visitors attended Etchinghill's celebration of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee at the village hall on Sunday 5 June.
The hall's grounds were decorated with bunting and flags and the tables in the hall were beautifully decorated by a team of creative and enthusiastic volunteers
The day started with an official opening by resident Dennis Charman, who was born in the year that the Queen acceded to the throne. Dennis formally cut the ribbon on the newly installed Platinum Jubilee bench which is sited near to the pétanque piste in the hall's grounds. Dennis was presented with a £5 Jubilee coin by the village hall chairman, John White, as a token of our thanks and appreciation
Shortly afterwards, a pétanque knockout competition was smoothly and professionally run by Jeff Baker, with the finalists, Steve Skov (winner) and Ben Stephens (runner-up) each receiving a £5 Royal Mint Jubilee memorial coin from John White
The Platinum Jubilee Big Lunch followed, with hard working residents, Sylvia and Tony Williams, and their volunteers, serving bacon rolls and cream teas (the latter were kindly supplied by Debbie Parry from Country Bakes), plus hot and cold drinks throughout the day.
An excellent memorabilia display, with material provided by ERA committee member, David Coombes, who was ably assisted by his colleague Mark Willis, kept visitors entertained during the day
Thanks go to Bob Laslett, owner of the orchard by the golf club, Harriet at the Gatekeeper pub, Hester from the Ark Bakery, and several other residents who wish to remain anonymous, for some very generous raffle prize donations. The event was financially supported by a KCC Combined Member Grant from councillor Susan Carey
The Jubilee event was jointly hosted by the Etchinghill Residents' Association (ERA) committee and trustees of the village hall, and supported by a small army of volunteers from the hamlet. A big 'Royal' thank you goes to everybody who contributed their time and effort into making the day such a success
A selection of photos taken during the day are displayed below (no copyright)
Any objections or corrections to this article may be notified to the ERA chairman by email
David McCombe
Chairman ERA
