Diamond Jubilee 2012: Scots toast Queen with street parties

THERE might have been fewer street parties in Scotland than south of the Border, but yesterday plenty of people got into the spirit of the occasion with a host of events to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

From an afternoon tea at a country park in Aberdeen to Orange Lodge-organised events in Glasgow and jazz in Edinburgh city centre, Scots took the opportunity to enjoy the extra day off work and raise a toast to the Queen.

At Wester Coates Nursery in Edinburgh, Alison Hawkins invited past and present pupils and parents to a traditional tea party held in the garden. “This is celebrating something which is a part of history – it is a shame it is not being done more widely,” the head teacher said.

Rosanna Walker, aged five, said she thought the Queen “looked after the world and all the people in it”. Ollie Bennett, also five, said he had watched the Jubilee pageant on television. “I liked her boat because it had lots of sparkly things on it.”

In Silverknowes, scout leader Mike Ponton organised a party for neighbours in his street, which kicked off with a performance by the Davidson’s Mains School Pipe Band. Mr Ponton said: “It is a bit of a feelgood thing. Everything is all doom and gloom at the moment, so this is something upbeat and happy.”

The one official Jubilee party held in Glasgow yesterday may have been organised by the local Orange Lodge, but the event was deliberately set out as a community affair. Held outside the Cowcaddens lodge on Sunnylaw Place in Possilpark, Union Flag bunting was strung around the street.

Even a lone Celtic fan, bravely wearing his team’s strip, entered into the spirit of things, wearing a pair of Union Flag deely- boppers and shouting that it was “all about community, man”.

One of the organisers, district master Ian Fraser, agreed: “This is very much a community event. It’s great to celebrate this event. The Royal Family is an institution and part of our culture.”

Down in Port Glasgow, a more sedate party took place. Organised by the Bardrainney Tenants and Residents Association, the estate’s residents transformed a grassed courtyard into a small fete with the addition of a bouncy castle, slide and a long line of trestle tables.

One of the biggest events held in the north-east of Scotland yesterday was a Diamond Jubilee Afternoon Tea Party staged at the Aden Country Park in Mintlaw in the heart of Aberdeenshire and attended by around 400 people.

Jack Grant, the park’s manager, said: “We’ve been having a party like I’ve never seen before. Everybody has a big smile on their face. The whole place is covered in Union Flags, the picnic tables are out, parasols are up and people have been having ice-cream and cupcakes and what have you.”

At Wardie Square in Edinburgh, residents also gathered in the street for an impromptu party with face painting, a mini Olympics for the kids and a jazz performance by singer Liz MacEwan. In the city’s St Andrew Square, there was live jazz at the Picnic in the Park.

Spectator Jill Cassidy said: “We thought we’d enjoy a chilled afternoon. It’s quite exciting to be off work on a Tuesday.”