Glamorous gran Heather Littlewood will be celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in style - as she took part in one of Her Majesty's coronation parties.

"I was only three at the time but I can still remember it vividly," said the 72-year-old from her home in Ladyfields Close, Sittingbourne.

It was 1953 and Heather and her older sister Pauline had been taken to a fete in a nearby orchard at the back of the Bennett Opie works, known locally as the 'cherry factory' in Chalkwell Road and were entered into a fancy dress competition by their parents.

Heather, a former clerk with Royal Insurance who went on to become a registered care home manager for 15years, recalled: "It was a lovely, sunny day and a very special occasion. I was dressed as Little Miss Muffet from the nursery rhyme and Pauline went as the Ovaltine Lady who promoted a popular hot drink at the time.

"I remember how the wooden hoop in my dress constantly scratched the back of my legs when I walked and I had a spider brooch hanging down from my hat which was also very annoying.

"I remember my father, who worked in the paper mill, painting a stool green for some reason and telling me to hold onto it.

"There were sandwiches and jelly laid out on trestle tables beneath the trees and lots of games like sack, spoon and running races."

The former Sheerness Technical School for Girls pupil added: "I think the Queen has done an absolutely magnificent job during the past 70 years. She has been so stoical and has been through a lot. Her message to the public during Covid was particularly memorable and inspiring to a lot of people. We won't see her like again so I will be hanging out the bunting."

The mum of two girls and grandmother of one will be celebrating with friends, neighbours and her husband of 52 years Trevor, who she met on a blind date when she was 17.

She said: "Hopefully, the weather will be nice and we'll be in the garden. That will be lovely."

In previous years, virtually every community staged a street party with makeshift tables laden with homemade cakes, jellies and fizzy drinks. So what's going on in Sittingbourne and the surrounding villages this time?

Swale council has had the town's black bollards touched up with gold paint and bought five jubilee flags, one of which is flying over Swale House in East Street.

Councillor Richard Palmer, who was cabinet member for community, said: “We had a huge response to our Jubilee grants earlier this year, contributing more than £30,000 to community groups all over Swale for local events.”

Five jubilee beacons will be lit across Swale at 9.45pm tomorrow evening (Thursday) at Belle Friday Close, Teynham; Rodmersham village green at Stockers Hill; Playstool recreation ground at Borden; Newington and Queenborough.

Sittingbourne

Diversity House in Church Street is hosting a Big Jubilee Tea Party on Sunday from 11.30am to 3.30pm and Little Acorns community centre is staging a Royal Story Time session on Thursday from 10am for babies and toddlers.

Swale Media Arts Centre in the High Street is also pulling out all the stops. It is staging a free exhibition of vintage royal memorabilia all week from 11am to 3pm and is screening Sir John Mills' Tribute To Her Majesty, which was made by a local production company to mark the Queen's 60th birthday, on Saturday at 7pm. Tickets are £6 (free to members) from 07831 563354. Refreshments included.

There’s a teddy bears picnic at the Sittingbourne and Kemsley light railway over the weekend complete with a fish and chip supper evening ride.

Milton Creek country park has invited 'In Bloom' members to knit, crochet or create red, white and blue bunting from old clothing and deliver it by Thursday so everyone can celebrate a Love Your Park jubilee lunch on Sunday.

Residents of Capel Road are holding a street party. Spokesman Peter Mantle said: "We met as neighbours when we all went outside to clap for the NHS. We met up again the following Sunday afternoon in our front gardens, social distancing, of course, and have been doing so ever since, come rain or shine.

"Over time, our group has grown and sometimes entertain folk who live elsewhere. We have one rule, we never judge. That's why folk come from all over Sittingbourne, sometimes to talk over their problems.

"There are about 20 of us and on Sunday at 1pm we are having a giant Jubilee street party in our front gardens."

Teynham

Teynham parish council is hosting a Picnic in the Park to celebrate the Queen's jubilee on Sunday. The event will be opened by Princess Olga Romanov, the Queen's cousin, at 12.30pm.

On Thursday the village will light its jubilee beacon at 9.15pm on the Meadow next to the village hall.

Residents of Cellar Hill and Cambridge Lane are hosting a red, white and blue-themed street party on Sunday with fluttering bunting, colourful hats, patriotic music, country dancing, quizzes and competitions from 4pm.

Organiser Bob Baxter said: "If our previous celebrations for royal events are anything to go by, there will be an enthusiastic turnout, rain or shine. Everyone is looking forward to it."

Lynsted

Lynsted has organised four events with a hog roast at the Black Lion pub on Thursday at 5pm leading to the lighting of a jubilee beacon at 9.45pm. A coronation film and local history talk will be at the parish church on Friday from 2pm to 4pm followed by a quiz at 7pm.

Lynsted and Norton Primary School is hosting a picnic with games for all the family on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm with a tea tent, face-painting and creepy crawlies. A special jubilee service will be held in the church at 10.30am on Sunday followed by a street party picnic on the village green opposite the Black Lion at 1pm.

Borden

On Thursday, Swale's new mayor Cllr Simon Clark will light a jubilee beacon at Playstool recreation ground, The Street, Borden, following a parade from the village hall in School Lane. There will be a bugler and a piper and a contingent from the RAF Air Cadets.

The village is holding its jubilee fete on Saturday from noon with live entertainment from 4.30pm from X5 and Elvis tribute band Taking Care of Vegas.

The church of St Peter and St Paul's has been decorated with a display of more than 1,500 items of royal memorabilia including mugs, precious plates and busts collected by Chris Andrews since 1977 after he was given a mug for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

The free exhibition is open from 10am to 4pm from Thursday to Sunday.

Newington

Newington claims to have one of the most historic sites in Swale for its beacon. The light, to be lit on Thursday to launch the village's jubilee celebrations stands on the site of a former First World War 12-pounder gun emplacement known as Battery D. It included a field gun, an ammunition store and soldiers’ shelter.

A line of fortifications that ran through the surrounding fields in 1915 included anti-invasion trenches, pillboxes and barbed wire. The trenches, based on those used on the Western Front, are believed to be the only ones in Britain built for defensive rather than training purposes.

The beacon will be lit at 9.45pm following a 15-minute talk by Graham Dudley, the Newington History Group’s (NHG) chairman, who will give visitors details about the beacon and the site’s historic significance. The best place to view the lighting of the beacon will be sign posted from the public footpath ZR64 off Callaways Lane.

The beacon, provided by NHG, was first lit in November 2018 to mark the centenary of the end of the Great War.

The village’s celebrations continue on Saturday with a parish council-organised picnic and fete from 1.30pm on the recreation ground and a Songs of Praise in the parish church the following day, along with a tea at 4pm.

Street Parties

Twenty-six street parties are planned across Sittingbourne compared with eight across Sheppey. But all will be muted affairs with Kent County Council ruling they must be held quietly and without music or noise.

After waiving the regular road closure application fee, KCC received 595 requests of which only 20 were turned down.

An additional seven applications to hang bunting or signs from street lighting were also approved.

Permitted road closures for street parties include:

Thursday, June 2: Musgrave Road, Sittingbourne; Rettendon Drive, Sittingbourne.

Friday, June 3: Church Street, Sittingbourne; Albany Road, Sittingbourne; Rose Walk, Sittingbourne.

Saturday, June 4: Howard Avenue, Sittingbourne.

Sunday, June 5: Cormorant Road, Iwade; The Square, Kemsley; The Street, Lower Halstow; Cellar Hill, Lynsted; Belmont Road, Sittingbourne; Bluebell Drive, Sittingbourne; Brier Road, Sittingbourne; Park Road, Sittingbourne; Periwinkle Close, Sittingbourne; Recreation Way, Sittingbourne; Russell Close, Sittingbourne; Trotts Hall Gardens, Sittingbourne; Ufton Road, Sittingbourne.

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