Coronation and celebrations

This last weekend has certainly been a busy one with various events happening to celebrate the King’s Coronation. There were various Coronation events taking place around our local area. In true British style, the weather was very mixed, but it didn’t stop us making the most of the bank holiday weekend.

 

 

Sophie and Thomas’s lovely new waterproof jackets from Lighthouse Clothing were perfect for the variable weather, keeping them dry in the rain and being light and comfortable for the times when the sun did shine. While it was warm in the sunshine, it did get a bit cool when it clouded over and I found my long-sleeved striped top from Lighthouse Clothing was just right for the weather conditions so I wasn’t too hot or too cold whatever the weather decided to throw at us.

 

 

We quite enjoyed watching the Coronation on TV. One of the moments that struck me during the Coronation was when the King prepared to be anointed. All the royal robes were removed and for a brief moment, he was simply a man kneeling before God to offer his service. I have to confess I’m ambivalent about the Royal Family at best, although I’m not convinced that the alternative option of a president would be that much better given our current crop of politicians, but whatever your views on the Royal Family, the Coronation was an interesting historic event and I’m glad we did stop to watch it.

 

 

On Sunday, we went along to a Big Lunch event where there were various stalls selling crafts made from local people, along with cupcake decorating, a children’s lucky dip and various tombola stalls. We spotted Herbie and the Ectomobile from Ghostbusters in the car park on the way in. Sophie won a couple of soft toys in the tombola to add to her somewhat huge collection of soft toys. I really must start enforcing a ‘one-in, one-out’ policy on soft toys as we’re getting a bit overrun with them now!

 

 

 

In the afternoon, I attended a civic service for the Coronation of King Charles III. It was good to see representatives from different faith communities as well as those from the different churches in the area participating in this service. The refreshments after the service were also very much enjoyed, particularly the scones with jam and cream. I also tried Coronation quiche for the first time, but have to admit I wasn’t too keen on the combination of broad beans and spinach.

 

 

Monday was a bit of a juggling act with various Coronation activities. Our church had organised a Big Help Out day with church members coming in to help paint meeting rooms, clean carpets and the piano cover, sort through cupboards and do some gardening in the courtyard. Sophie was also representing her dance school at a Coronation community event in the middle of the day so we were back and forth between church and the event.

 

 

 

It was a damp start to the community event and Sophie was dancing in the rain showing off her tap dancing skills on the tap board. Thankfully the rain stopped for her dance school’s slot on the main stage, where Sophie performed her modern and tap solos, before heading back to church to carry on helping out there. As part of one of her home learning tasks to do something to celebrate the Coronation, Sophie had made a fabulous cake which we all enjoyed at the end of the day as a reward for our efforts.

 

 

 

 

As well as the Coronation events, my twin sister and I were also celebrating our birthday. My nieces had organised a surprise birthday party for my twin sister on Saturday evening. It felt a little strange for me going to a birthday party for my twin which wasn’t a joint party, but it was lovely to see my family and to celebrate with them. I had my own separate birthday celebration on our actual birthday a couple of days later when I went out for a family meal with my in-laws.

 

 

It was a lovely, if hectic, few days of events. I could have done with an extra bank holiday to recover from it all though!

 

We were gifted the Lighthouse Clothing jackets and T-shirt shown in the photos in return for sharing a blog post featuring these items of clothing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.