Get ready to party!
I’ve been having great fun exploring capital celebrations for the Jubilee.
A little puzzling were the flags at Oxford Circus proclaiming “Design is Great” and Craft is Great” over portraits of people I could not immediately recognise, But I did a bit of research and found that the flags celebrated Oxford Street’s huge fashion impact (70 flagship stores!), with portraits of people working in the industry, from a weaver of Harris tweed to a pattern cutter at Top Shop.
A little later I called by a street party on the Portman Estate behind Marble Arch, where streets were closed and adorned with hand-made bunting, and the music was live with jazz, steel bands, and an up-and-coming pop group. Hats off to Handmade London whose mother had made a wonderful red white and blue cake – it seems the secret is liquid food colouring.
Elsewhere, strolling along the Embankment, I saw a huge poster adorning a warehouse on the other side of the river showing a typical assembly of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony. I’ve got tickets for the Jubilee party in Battersea, so I’m hoping for some good pictures of the River pageant – providing the weather holds.
* All pictures by www.barbarachandler.co.uk
