The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburg, Prince Phillip
No, we didn't actually see them in person. Scott took a picture
of our t.v. screen. This was during the Thames River Cruise. 

This past weekend Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. She has been the Queen of England for 60 years. The longest reining monarch was Queen Victoria who reined for 63 years. Elizabeth is approaching a record setting rein! The English don't seem to need much of an excuse to party and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was no exception. Four days of parades, concerts, luncheons, dinners, and church services. Here in Whitehaven the annual Maritime Festival date was moved to coincide with the festivities taking place in London and the rest of the UK. We were treated to carnivals, concerts, fireworks, cooking demonstrations by famous chefs, a robot, live entertainment, and lots of food vendors and opportunities for shopping. The festival takes place along the harbour-front, so it literally happened at our front door. Scott and I spent some time walking along the harbour checking out the vendors and enjoying the sights and sounds. On Friday and Saturday evenings we had a front row seat for the fireworks, and on Sunday we invited our British friends Jenny and Phil to join us as we again had front row seats for the air show. The plane pictures are the Red Arrows. They were here on Sunday evening, and on Tuesday they performed over Buckingham Palace in London, for the Queen! Below are some of Scott's pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Tall Ship coming into the harbour.

Many boats were decorated for the occasion. 

The International Market was packed on Saturday and Sunday. We
got some tasty food and also bought some flowers and a bench for
our back balcony. 

Fireworks over the harbour!

OK. Am I the only one who didn't know that Britain's colors
are red, white, and blue?!!!!

The Red Arrows performing in our town.

The Red Arrows execute a tricky manoeuvre!

Monday and Tuesday were bank holidays, which means no work for Scott!! On Monday we went to Muncaster and then for a drive. More on THAT later! Tuesday was cool and rainy and we spent the day relaxing at home before Scott had to gear up for work. At least it will be a short week!