Bunting, flags, and announcements of events...

...for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. In the West Country, every village fluttering with Union Jack flags and red-white-and-blue bunting. London draped in ditto. In our suburb, flags and bunting in the High Street, Jubilee paper hats, china mugs, towels, whistles, badges, bags, in shops and supermarkets. There is to be a Street Party in our road on the Monday. I've rather rashly promised to organise a Quiz. I did one with a fellow-resident ten years ago for the Golden Jubilee: people formed into teams and answered the questions - all on British history, dates, royal anecdotes etc. The girl with whom I organised it all lived a few doors up from us, and we'd chat from time to time but then lost touch...then suddenly a few months ago we found ourselves greeting one another formally at the Sign of Peace at Mass! She was accompanied by a small boy - since the Golden Jubilee, she'd married, moved, and here she was at Mass with her child!