Diamonds in the Park
The Great English Outdoors had a small part to play at the Diamond Jubilee Celebration at Glanusk Park last Friday 27th April. As part of the Jubilee tour of Wales, the Queen, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, came to Glanusk Park near Crickhowell.
This event was to be a regional celebration of Powys life. The grounds of Glanusk became a showcase for everything going on in the County, both urban and rural. It was all on show and FREE. The Great English Outdoors had only a minor role to play – just to impart some information about all things woolly in the Wool Tent.
The Queen was almost mobbed on arrival by all her wellwishers. Despite the torrential downpours the Queen continued her walkabout. But the inclement weather did nothing to stop thousands of people coming to celebrate the day the Queen came to Wales. Included in the crowds were several thousand school children from across Powys who had been invited to the event and given a day off school.
Immaculately dressed in silvery blue and wearing one of her signature style brimmed hats, Her Majesty glowed like a moonstone, as she tip toed through the mud in her delicate patent leather shoes. In our tent, the Brecknock Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers never ceased from demonstrating their skills. The Sheep Shearers took only a momentary pause between one ewe and the next, as they shaved their fleeces clean off within minutes using nothing but a sharp pair of hand shears…. All this activity was to be unexpectedly rewarded by an extended visit by the Queen to our Woolly Tent. She glided through the exhibits taking her time asking questions and always smiling. I had time to observe her immaculate shoes, and take a few photographs.
As the Queen departed in her helicopter, hovering above the rain swept landscape she left the crowds smiling and everyone will always remember the day the Queen came to Crickhowell.