PICTURES: Castletown jubilee street party 'exceeded all expectations' and attracted hundreds of people
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Hundreds of people turned out for the Castletown street party on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
The crowd enjoyed a variety of entertainment, home-baked tea and cakes and fine sunny weather to mark the historic occasion. The event was just one of thousands throughout the country to celebrate the Queen's 70 years as monarch.
But the highlight of the day was the sing-athon for Zoe Ball's Radio 2 show and the singing of the Neil Young song Sweet Caroline. It was filmed by Jill Innes and was sent to the radio programme along with many others and will be made into a montage to be broadcast on social media. Jill, who is based in Thurso, used video and a drone to film it.
The event was also broadcast on Caithness FM and could be accessed across the world on the station's online website.
The crowd, which featured all age groups, was also entertained with music from Thurso and District Pipe Band as well as accordionist Anthony McPhee and vocalist and guitarist Fern Strachan. There was a display from the Caithness Fusion Gymnastic display, a Rodeo Bucking Bronco, children’s fun stalls and games, face paints, kids and parents races, while Issy Currie, the woman behind the BBC Radio 2 sing-athon, organised a tug o’war which culminated in a final between the kids and the adults – with the kids winning.
The compere for the afternoon was Robin Young of Caithness FM while his colleague Shane Ross provided the soundtrack.
Alice Calder, the oldest local resident in the Castletown area, planted a White Beam tree to commemorate the special event.
She said: "It is a great honour to be asked to do this. The Queen is a very, very good head of state and I think people would agree with that whether they are monarchists or not. There will probably never be another platinum jubilee, so it is special."
After planting the tree she was presented with a bouquet of flowers.
Sixteen-year-old Fern Strachan, who played the previous night at the Love Live Music event in the Royal British Legion in Thurso, said: "It is nice to see people out again after Covid. There is a good turnout and different age groups here and there's a great atmosphere about the place."
Thurso and Northwest Caithness Highland councillor Struan Mackie described the event as "a fantastic thing for the community".
"It is brilliant it is so well attended and the weather is fantastic. Communities across the country are coming together and they have not been able to do that for the last two years because of Covid. This platinum jubilee gives them that opportunity and is a momentous moment," he said.
His newly-elected council colleague, Ron Gunn, who comes from Castletown, said: "There has been a great turnout here which is fantastic to see. The organisers have done a great job."
Compere Robin Young was also impressed with the response from the public and the community spirit in the village.
The organisers – the Castletown Gala Committee, the Castletown Community Council and Castletown Community Project – said the street party "exceeded all expectations".
Spokeswoman Penny Gunn said: "We really could have not asked for a better day all round – the weather was perfect, the turnout of over 500 people was incredible and the atmosphere was buzzing all day. We were overwhelmed with support shown by all in village and local community and we hope all the folk and families who came along had a really memorable day.
"A special thanks must go to the children of Castletown Primary School who spent hours making their individually designed bunting flags, which made the swing park look very royal indeed, and also the Gateway café who provided perfectly designed hand-knitted bunting."
A pub quiz, hosted by Donald MacBeath, was held in the Castletown Hotel in the evening with a raffle raising over £220 which will be distributed to local charities and groups.
