Celebrating VE Day

All over the UK today there is a 2 minute silence at 11am and then later tea parties galore, all in our own homes.  Some people are having picnics ... weather permitting ... on our own little patches of land, however large or small they might be.

The official timetable of events for the day is this:

Which national events are still going ahead?

The government had moved the traditional Early May Bank Holiday from 4 May to 8 May this year to allow for a range of celebrations across the UK, including a veterans' procession and street parties. But social distancing measures mean those have been called off.

However, various events are still going ahead, including:

• 10:50 BST - at a service in Westminster, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will lay a wreath on behalf of the Commons. Lord West will lay a wreath on behalf of the Lords
• 11:00 - a national moment of remembrance and a two-minute silence will be held
• 14:45 - in a special programme on BBC One, extracts from Churchill's victory speech to the nation announcing the end of the war in Europe will be broadcast
• 14:55 - solo buglers, trumpeters and cornet players will be invited to play the Last Post from their homes
• 15:00 - as Churchill's speech is broadcast, people will be invited to stand up and raise a glass in a national toast, saying: "To those who gave so much, we thank you"
• 20:00 - another BBC One special will feature Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins, actor Adrian Lester and singer Beverley Knight, who will be performing some well-known songs from the 1930s and 40s. The programme will culminate in the nation being invited to sing along to a rendition of wartime classic We'll Meet Again
• 21:00 - the Queen's pre-recorded address will be broadcast on BBC One at the exact moment her father, King George VI, gave a radio address 75 years ago. It will be her second televised message during the coronavirus outbreak after a rare speech to the nation last month
• 21:30 - Spotlights will light up the sky in Portsmouth to recall the experience of blackouts during the war. The local council says the lights are also to remind people "that lighter times will come again"

*** *** ***

There are lots of bunting images to print out or colour in available on Google Images for anyone who wants to decorate their homes. 

 I decided to make a little string of laminated paper bunting to hang on our gates.

Then a few more ...

And a couple more for the old egg sign board.

Then I threw some extra corn to the chickens, just like you can see me doing here, and settled down with a nice cup of coffee and a slice of cake to watch a nice old movie.

❤🤍💙

Sue xx