VE - 75 years on
Yesterday was quite something wasn’t it?
It was the only day I can remember where literally everybody seemed to gather together to celebrate the same cause (albeit indoors). With the exception of the Olympics, the World Cup and other sporting events, I can’t remember a day in the historical calendar being so well commemorated.
The warm weather was perfect for the trestle-tabled picnics that lined gardens, as Union Jack bunting flapped proudly in the breeze. It’s 75 years since unconditional peace was declared, marking the end of the Second World War and it really did feel a special day.
There are so many videos from May 1945, where soldiers are seen kissing girls in fountains, massive tables are joined to fill the street and everyone is beaming at the new feeling of freedom and of peace.
Never in my life-time have I seen a commemoration of VE Day quite like yesterday. We have always paid respects in our thoughts and hearts for all of those amazing men and women whom lost their lives for our peace today, but yesterday was a real celebration.
In our street most houses adorned their bricks with bunting, flags of red, white and blue could be seen echoing out onto the end of the road and beyond. After we all stood at our doorsteps for the two minutes silence at 11am, most of us retreated back inside to set up our picnics.
We had decided in accordance with social-distancing rules to each have a picnic in our front gardens, that way we were all together, whilst being apart. Our first action was to drag our tables out, we used the flag of Britain as our table cloth and placed on it jugs of squash and teapots liberally over the set up. Down the street some neighbours got out their grammar phone and started playing the likes of Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn. We could hear and see other neighbours doing the same, with one making a make-shift flag pole out of an old curtain pole and a Christmas tree stand. Innovative? I think so.
We decided to tied our flag up between two silver birch trees in our front garden and it seemed the perfect backdrop for the sandwiches, homemade quiche and dairy cakes that followed. Even home cooked sausage rolls were on the menu! After we’d consumed more picnic food since our first birthday parties (never a bad thing) we started to natter from across gardens. How were we coping with the strange times? What books had we read? What news reports had we seen? Yet all the chatter remained optimistic and for the first time in a while there wasn’t the feeling of anxiety that is hanging so heavy across the world at this time. People were declaring that “those scones are actually the first ones I’ve ever made” or that they’ve “never got to spend this much time with their children”.
Whilst we all agreed we wished the global pandemic obviously wasn’t happening, we all thought that good was also happening too.
We were told a couple of our neighbours down the street, who are avid car collectors, had brought out their classic cars and we went to see (at a distance of course). These cars were beautiful, all shiny and not looking at all like they were nearly 100 years old! Somebody had started a quiz in the neighbourhood WhatsApp group and so furrowed brows were quickly lined with concentration.
As the evening went on many stayed outside in the warm air chatting or like me, reading. We went in for tea, followed by watching the Queen give her speech that was so moving. Afterwards, we all sung Vera Lynn’s “We’ll meet again”, whilst recognising how appropriate the lyrics are now, more than ever.
My heart goes out to all those under the strictest social distancing yesterday, who unfortunately couldn’t sit in their gardens and I hope you had your own celebration as best you could.
Honestly yesterday was my favourite day in all of lockdown so far, to be able to chat from garden to garden, to celebrate such an important and poignant day in history is something I’ll never forget.
It was the only day I can remember where literally everybody seemed to gather together to celebrate the same cause (albeit indoors). With the exception of the Olympics, the World Cup and other sporting events, I can’t remember a day in the historical calendar being so well commemorated.
The warm weather was perfect for the trestle-tabled picnics that lined gardens, as Union Jack bunting flapped proudly in the breeze. It’s 75 years since unconditional peace was declared, marking the end of the Second World War and it really did feel a special day.
There are so many videos from May 1945, where soldiers are seen kissing girls in fountains, massive tables are joined to fill the street and everyone is beaming at the new feeling of freedom and of peace.
Never in my life-time have I seen a commemoration of VE Day quite like yesterday. We have always paid respects in our thoughts and hearts for all of those amazing men and women whom lost their lives for our peace today, but yesterday was a real celebration.
In our street most houses adorned their bricks with bunting, flags of red, white and blue could be seen echoing out onto the end of the road and beyond. After we all stood at our doorsteps for the two minutes silence at 11am, most of us retreated back inside to set up our picnics.
We had decided in accordance with social-distancing rules to each have a picnic in our front gardens, that way we were all together, whilst being apart. Our first action was to drag our tables out, we used the flag of Britain as our table cloth and placed on it jugs of squash and teapots liberally over the set up. Down the street some neighbours got out their grammar phone and started playing the likes of Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn. We could hear and see other neighbours doing the same, with one making a make-shift flag pole out of an old curtain pole and a Christmas tree stand. Innovative? I think so.
We decided to tied our flag up between two silver birch trees in our front garden and it seemed the perfect backdrop for the sandwiches, homemade quiche and dairy cakes that followed. Even home cooked sausage rolls were on the menu! After we’d consumed more picnic food since our first birthday parties (never a bad thing) we started to natter from across gardens. How were we coping with the strange times? What books had we read? What news reports had we seen? Yet all the chatter remained optimistic and for the first time in a while there wasn’t the feeling of anxiety that is hanging so heavy across the world at this time. People were declaring that “those scones are actually the first ones I’ve ever made” or that they’ve “never got to spend this much time with their children”.
Whilst we all agreed we wished the global pandemic obviously wasn’t happening, we all thought that good was also happening too.
We were told a couple of our neighbours down the street, who are avid car collectors, had brought out their classic cars and we went to see (at a distance of course). These cars were beautiful, all shiny and not looking at all like they were nearly 100 years old! Somebody had started a quiz in the neighbourhood WhatsApp group and so furrowed brows were quickly lined with concentration.
As the evening went on many stayed outside in the warm air chatting or like me, reading. We went in for tea, followed by watching the Queen give her speech that was so moving. Afterwards, we all sung Vera Lynn’s “We’ll meet again”, whilst recognising how appropriate the lyrics are now, more than ever.
My heart goes out to all those under the strictest social distancing yesterday, who unfortunately couldn’t sit in their gardens and I hope you had your own celebration as best you could.
Honestly yesterday was my favourite day in all of lockdown so far, to be able to chat from garden to garden, to celebrate such an important and poignant day in history is something I’ll never forget.
Hey Molly - came across your story on the POTS site. Can I contact you with a couple of questions?
ReplyDeleteHi Sally, I'm so sorry I've only just seen this, of course! Or feel free to ask here if they aren't too personal :)
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