Some 50 local residents gathered last Sunday in the former Quaker graveyard at the end of Watchbell Street. Beneath the central marquee were tables on which each guest laid their offerings of food and wine. It was an abundant cornucopia enough for twice their number. To crown the feast there were two Platinum Jubilee puddings, created by Roger Moore, one of the guests.
Whilst the loaded tables formed the centrepiece for the celebration, the focus lay in the communal gathering itself. Friends and neighbours were meeting in celebration not just of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, but also of the thanksgiving for being able to come together again after the long months of the pandemic lock-down and shielding observed by many to this day.
The weather stayed fine, and little groups formed and reformed as neighbours exchanged news and greetings. We were enlivened by a young Ukrainian family from Kyiv who had come, one of several, to settle in Rye.
Organisation of the party owed much to the energy of Michael Jones, who lives in Watchbell Street. Mayor Cllr Andi Rivett arrived with greetings from Her Majesty and resident bard, Andrew Bamji, gave an amusing commentary in verse to round off the event.
Image Credits: Kenneth Bird , Caroline Everett .
A big thank you to Michael Jones for spending a lot of time, effort and money into making this a lovely day for all who went. It’s such a shame that a street party was not put on for all the Rye residents either at the salts or through the high street
DA, this looked lots of fun and thank goodness for those who made it happen. My sister put me to shame by arranging a street party near her home. I mentioned that nothing appered to be happening here in Rye. It then dawned on me:
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody couldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
For me, a lesson learned.
Surely it’s not Rocket Science for our town Council, to declare to the residents of Rye at no cost to themselves, that the football and cricket Salts was available on the jubilee Friday,for a picnic providing they bought their own chairs and food, as there was no match on that day, just like other towns a villages did,for the benefit of towns folk,who couldn’t party on our main roads in Rye.
Everybody thought that Somebody should have asked the Town Council but Nobody did because it didn’t appear that Anybody cared!
I am old enough to remember the silver jubilee, we had just moved to Rye and were delighted to be invited to a party in the old Tollgate garage, there is a perfect place for a gathering behind the Tollgate Lock flats but obviously Nobody thought of that…