Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

Photography by Suzanne Plunkett.

With the whole of the country looking to celebrate the Jubilee, the museum team put their heads together to think of the best way that the museum could contribute to the festivities. We decided that this was an opportunity to create an event that continued the work of our award winning Accompanied Walk programme which reaches out to over 65s who are isolated and lonely. We also wanted to do something that engaged with local school children and families.

Tea for Two? No, Tea for 70, please!

Platinum Jubilee Celebration – Thursday 2 June 2022

With funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, we were able to serve up a fabulous cream tea and provide fun, inter-active entertainment for 45 local care home residents and their careers.

Arriving by mini-bus and taxi, our guests were transported to the Village Green, the epicentre of the Museum, where they received a warm welcome from a team of Museum volunteers and staff before being led to their seats at the Jubilee-themed decorated tables.

Double-takes, head-turning and camera-clicking occurred as VIP guests, Charles, Camilla and Harry (otherwise known as Matthew, Julie and Adriano from Chorleywood Amateur Dramatics Society) arrived, accompanied by Millie the corgi. With bunting flapping in the breeze and the sun shining, the scene was perfectly set for a platinum-plated afternoon.

Tea, coffee and cloudy lemonade were poured to accompany a tea (individually boxed for each guest) of delicious sandwiches, fruit, cake and scones with jam and clotted cream. To the background sounds of clinking china and cheery chatter, Jeep Jump Jive revved up their dance engines and steered both our ticket-buying visitors and invited guests through a spirited jive routine to the sounds of Glenn Miller and other 1940s and 1950s favourites. Foot tapping, flag waving and big smiles from our guests….but there was no stopping ‘Amazing Masie’ from Chorleywood Beaumont care home. She was up on her feet and joyously dancing around the tables delighting us all.

Next up was Chiltern Music Therapy’s Gareth and Eleanor leading the gathering through old-time song favourites including The White Cliffs of Dover, Bring Me Sunshine, Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Lambeth Way and All I Want Is a Room Somewhere – this last one enticing Coppermill Care Home’s Ann to join Gareth at the microphone; another one of the day’s many highlights. Percussion instruments were handed round to encourage all to join in the fun.

Our plan for this Platinum Jubilee event set out to bring different generations together, with multiple points and levels of interaction. More specifically for the care home residents, many of whom had not had any outings for the past two years due to the Pandemic, the event was designed to counteract loneliness, isolation and negative thoughts, and instead, present an opportunity for
forming positive memories and lasting feelings of community. The following feedback we received indicates that we were successful in achieving these objectives:

‘I would just like to Thank You for inviting Chalfont Lodge to the Jubilee Tea Party on Thursday. The residents had a lovely time and we were all praising about how much effort and thought went into the party for everyone, so once again Thank You for the invite we all had a wonderful time.’
Chalfont Lodge Care Home

‘Thank you for the opportunity to join in on a lovely afternoon and congratulations, it went really well.’
Harry, aka Adriano

‘A really lovely day and massive congratulations – AMAZING! Loved the audience participation moments….let’s do something else again at the Museum as I absolutely loved working with you.’
Gareth, Chiltern Music Therapy

‘Another very enjoyable and successful event, engaging with the local community. I thought the Chiltern Music Therapy people were just great, so very considerate and thoughtful and stimulating.’
Verena, Chair of COAM Trustees

‘Magnificent, jubilant and memorable Tea Party yesterday! The seniors and their carers enjoyed it very much, and a joyful time was had by all.’
Benedicte, COAM Volunteer

‘Residents and team members enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at The Chiltern Open Air Museum where they were invited to a Jubilee Afternoon tea. We had a wonderful time! Thank you for the invitation.’
Chorleywood Beaumont Care Community

Jubilee Celebration – soundscape

Whilst the Jubilee Celebration was proceeding, another two consummate professionals were hard at work. The first is fast becoming a regular collaborator at the Museum – oral historian, journalist and sound producer, Jonathan Kempster.

Jonathan spent the afternoon recording both the ambient soundscape and interviews with guests of all ages, volunteers, musicians and staff. After a genius edit, we now have a wonderful 30-minute podcast which captures the spirit of the day along with reminisces, hopes for the future and thoughts on the significance of the Platinum Jubilee.

Jubilee Bunting and crafts

We asked local school children to each design a piece of bunting that showed their hopes and aspirations for the future. We received hundreds of wonderful submissions, full of touching messages and beautiful artwork. Rather than have these paper dreams be lost to time and curled edges, we wanted to create a permanent digital record so that the students and their families would be able to look back on their designs in years to come. With that in mind, we have put together the following galleries, sorted by school, for you to look through. We are delighted by the wonderful response to this challenge, and we are very glad that the future lies in these visionary, not to mention artistic, little hands.

During the May half-term we put on ‘Royal’ themed craft activities with family visitors making Queenies, crowns, designing fabric bunting and taking part in the Queen’s Hat Trail.

Alpha Preparatory School

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Chiltern Wood School

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Edge Grove School

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Harefield Infant and Junior School

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Montem Academy

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St Bernard’s Preparatory School

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Stony Dean School

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Additional Schools

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Jubilee Celebration Image Gallery

International award-winning photojournalist, Susanne Plunkett, pointed her cameras in all the right directions to give us the most terrific visual record of our Jubilee celebration.

We would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund for making this event possible and all the volunteers and performers for making it such a success.