The bells of St Cynllo’s Church rang out, joyfully, at 1.30 pm on Sunday, May 7th, as the warm sunshine illuminated the beautiful leaves of the magnificent copper beech tree, which was planted in the grounds of Llangunllo Community Hall, to commemorate the Coronation of our dear, late monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.
Around 2 pm, visitors, mostly wearing clothing coloured in red, white and blue, started to gather at the hall, decorated with bunting and Union Flags, ready to enjoy the ‘Big Lunch’ celebration party, marking the Coronation of King Charles III & Queen Camilla, the previous day. A splendid afternoon tea, prepared by The Black Sheep Cafe, in Knighton, was laid out inside, a tempting feast for visitors, arriving steadily. Outside, an array of games, including; a giant Jenga, table football, skittles, pin the ears on king charles, splat the rat and, especially for the children; a bouncy castle, which proved very popular indeed!
In the conservatory, Henry Morgan delighted onlookers, with a collection of old photographs from past Coronations & Jubilees, taken from his wonderful collection.
The first event to commemorate The King’s accession to the throne, took place outside. A healthy-looking, “King’s Grace” apple tree sapling, kindly donated by Dale Edgar, was placed and planted by David Pugh and Hall Chairman, Debbie Jones.
At 3 pm, a regal fanfare, played with precision, on trombone by Trevor Head, heralded the official welcome, jovially delivered by Master Of Ceremonies, Jonathan Protheroe. This was followed by the royal toast, a rousing rendition of the national anthem & a hearty ‘three cheers’ for His Majesty.
Next, came the presentation of commemorative, metal lapel badges by Counsellor Chris Morgan, to all children of primary school age & under.
Visitors were then invited to partake in the delicious buffet tea, whilst watching footage and photos on screen, of King Charles’ life, “The Road To The Throne,” compiled by Trevor Jones, and answer Royal-themed, fun quizzes, collated by Karen Edgar and Lynn Clarke and placed on every table. Tea, coffee & soft drinks were also available, free of charge.
Once everyone had eaten, the children were invited and had fun searching for the hidden, chocolate, gold coins from “The King’s Treasure” in and around the hall.
Finally, “King Charles’ Gold Quack Race” was run in The River Lugg, accessed from the field at the rear of the hall. A stream of eager racers filed down to the river, hoping to hold the winning ticket, one from 100 ducks! They all swam off to a quick start, with a few heading the lead, but a few stragglers were left behind & failed to finish. When everyone had returned to the hall, the race victor, number 20, was announced by Isabel Morris. The winning duck belonged to Shirley Brown, who received her Royal Duck prize with the biggest smile & much cheering.
At this time the answers to the quiz were given & the competition cakes, “Fit For A King” were declared joint winners.
Jonathan rounded up a wonderful and fitting celebratory day by thanking everyone who had attended and all those who had worked so hard to make the afternoon another super success in Llangunllo!
Huge thanks to all the volunteers, who gave their time & expertise so generously & helped in so many different ways, The Black Sheep Cafe, Mid Wales Bouncy Castles & Soft Play Hire Ltd, The National Lottery for the grant, gratefully received, which funded the tea, bouncy castle & gazebos, Chris Alderson for carefully repairing and repainting the copper beech tree seating and to Mark Vaughan for the kind permission to use fields for the duck race & parking.
Debbie Jones
Photographs & Videos by: Michael Brown, Trev Jones, Amy Jones, Anne Newton, Debbie Jones & Rebecca Twyman