It's a day they will never forget. Residents of a Newcastle street rallied together to throw a huge street party to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
There was live music, party dances and games, as well as free ice-creams and hotdogs for children on Clipstone Avenue in Walker on Sunday. The whole street turned out to commemorate Her Majesty's 70-year reign.
Union flag bunting lined the street and homes were decorated in red, white and blue flags to mark the occasion. While residents who were unable to decorate their home were gifted decorations from neighbours to ensure everyone could get involved in the celebrations.
Read more: In pictures: Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations across the North East
Lynsey Henderson, who helped to organise the event, said some residents had never spoken to one another until the party, but added that the day had left the street feeling like one big family. The 44-year-old said: "There's a lot of different nationalities in the street and a lot of people tend to keep themselves to themselves but today has brought the whole street together.
"The whole street has come together as one big street family. Everyone has mucked in and helped and just made the day special for the kids."
Residents on the street decided to have a street party to give people something to look forward to following a difficult two years during the coronavirus pandemic.
Neighbours have been holding fundraisers since the beginning of May to help raise funds to hold the street party. Cake sales, tombola's, and a street bingo night every Thursday are just some of the ways residents managed to raise around £1,000 to host the party.
Meetings were held between some neighbours every Monday to help organise the event and Lynsey quickly got to work putting plans to action alongside organisers Pamela McKenna, Carol Briganti, Lisa Jobes and Denise and Michelle Askwith.
Entertainment during the street party included a DJ, children's characters and an entertainer blowing bubbles, and the road to the street was permitted to close until 7pm to allow the celebrations to continue into the evening. Lynsey added: "The kids have been saying 'wow, it's amazing' and they've never seen anything like it. Even my daughter who's 25 said 'I've never been to anything so good'."
Street parties have been taking place throughout the North East during the four-day bank holiday weekend to celebrate the longest serving British monarch in history.
At Winslow Place, also in Walker, over 150 residents attended a street party which included a DJ, a bouncy castle, a double-decker bus and a reptile show. While residents of Ottershaw in Newcastle celebrated with a street party on Saturday, where some neighbours showed up dressed up as the royal family to commemorate the occasion.
And on Bournemouth Gardens in Westerhope residents also lined the street with long tables filled with sandwiches, cakes, and nibbles while residents donned Union flag hats and hairbands. One resident also wore a Queen face mask as she mingled with friends and neighbours.
At Newcastle's Quayside on Saturday, celebrations took to the water with a vessel parade which started at NE1's Newcastle City Marina. Boats decorated for the jubilee sailed in convoy to the Ouseburn where they were joined by a number of other vessels.
Thursday evening saw the lighting of more than 2,000 beacons across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, UK Overseas Territories and one in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries. The North East had crowds turning out to watch its beacons lit, with the longest trail of beacons located along the 73-mile stretch of Hadrian's Wall.
The four-day bank holiday has been packed with celebrations across the world, with many of the events taking place in London. On Thursday the Queen observed Trooping the Colour from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as well as a special flyover which was observed alongside working members of the royal family.
Her Majesty appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony again on Sunday to mark the end of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Platinum Pageant TV viewers were overcome with emotion by the Queen's surprise appearance during the televised Pageant which featured more than 8,000 performers, with Ed Sheeran closing the event fresh from two nights of gigging in Sunderland with an emotional performance in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
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