As the four-day Jubilee bank holiday got underway, roads up and down the country on Thursday, June 2, were closed to traffic for street parties in honour of the Queen's 70 years on the throne. But while most of these commemorated Her Majesty, a group of Cardiff residents reclaimed the occasion as their own and decided to celebrate their own multi-cultural community instead.
There were no Union Jack flags to be seen on Thursday afternoon on Conway Road in Pontcanna - except for a cake made by a Ukrainian refugee who has recently moved into the street - and Kim Thuesing, one of the organisers behind the party, explained this was deliberate.
The 49-year-old, who is originally from Germany, said that while she herself supported the monarchy, the majority of the attendees to the party were "not massive fans of royalty".
"It was mostly just about being conscious of the people who live in this area. My perception is that this is quite a nationalist area. The Union Jack cake that we had was actually made by one of the Ukrainian refugees - I think it's just maybe her way of saying thank you for being accepted into the country," said Kim, who works in St Fagans National Museum of History
"I don't think we're celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee specifically. We're just taking this day as an excuse to get together as a community," she continued. "It's more about getting together - especially after the last two years that we all had. It's nice to meet the neighbours."
Gareth Mabon Samuel, 19, was another resident on the road who attended the party. Being anti-Union and anti-monarchy, he said he thinks the fact the Jubilee is celebrated in Wales "just goes to show how little we know about what happened in the past".
He continued: "I see all these Union Jacks and I think to myself, 'Are we going to forget what happened, like with Tryweryn, with Epynt, with the Welsh Not, with the countless years of abuse?' That may be in the past, but time does not heal all wounds and this just goes to show how little Wales knows about what the monarch as done for Wales.
This student, who studies illustration at the University of South Wales, added: "I'm not xenophobic in any way, but I'm tired of Wales being seen as a tiny, vulnerable, weak country. I know that may not be what everyone else thinks but just the fact that we're over here celebrating the Queen - it just doesn't sit right with me at all. I'm not going to discriminate against anyone who likes the Queen - that's not my intention at all. But the fact that we see Union Jacks everywhere - I just think to myself it's just another reminder of the fact that Wales, as much as I hate to say this, is part of an unfair union."
Explaining what attracted him to Conway Road's unconventional Jubilee street party, he said: "This street party is different because it brings people together - that's what I like about this street party. Even if I don't support the monarchy or the union, I support the relationships these people can build. Some of them have never even talked to each other and seeing them together, socialising, learning about one another, about their different cultures, their views - it brings me a lot of joy."
Jill Boden, 73, has lived on the road for 50 years echoed her neighbours and said the party was not to celebrate the Jubilee but to celebrate community. She feels this is "crucial", especially in terms of allowing children to mingle in the street, which she said has been "impossible" due to traffic on the road.
"We took the opportunity of the Jubilee to get a road closure because we feel that bringing the community together is so important and we've been wanting an opportunity to have a street party for a very long time," she said. She added that the aim of the party was to be "totally inclusive" to everybody in the street".
"A lot of people in the street are proud of their Welsh heritage, and being a citizen of the UK is very much secondary to that, so we've made it much more open.
"I think there is a proud tradition of socialism within Wales and within this street, and within Cardiff. Within that, the notion of having hereditary privileges of any kind doesn't sit very easily. So it's not that we're in any sense hostile, but that we really don't feel it's the best way for a country to be managed and it has connotations that are not good."
Newly-elected Riverside councillor Leonora Thomson also attended Conway Road's street party. She said: "Whether your pro, or anti, or somewhere in the middle with the monarchy, it's just a nice excuse to be able to get together."
She added she was "thrilled" to be invited to the event, which she said was "about being inclusive and pro-community". She said: "By not badging [the Jubilee] too much, you're actually likely to get a load more people involved".
