VE Day “celebrations”

I thought the Queen’s speech hit just the right note of remembrance, nostalgia, thankfulness and hope.

Just an excuse "for some" to have a wild, noisy party.

As op said , we had little notes pushed through our doors earlier in the week(live on a modern small housing estate)

It was asking people to bring a chair to their front door with a snack tray and enjoy a bit of neighbourly get together(at a distance)

So all was ok from what I saw(I didn't join in as I had been working and just wanted to chill) all sat nicely chatting, I think they did move into the car park so they were sort of all in a big circle) and all was pleasant and dignified.

But!! then later on it started further up the estate. Loud music(not war time but pop music) then the screaming.laughter started which got louder as the minutes ticked by, presume there was a bbq somewhere and drink fueled people,one woman's screaches just got louder and louder.

In the end I put my earplugs in and went to bed, woke about 2 had a listen and all was quiet, whether they had been told to shut up or all gone home I have no idea.

There's always the same kind of people spoil it, and although I didn't see them I'm sure social distancing went out the window.

All quietish here; a gathering of neighbours on the street, each bringing their own nibbles and beverage of choice and, as DH said, it's never been about a celebration of war, it's a celebration of peace. A very pleasant afternoon and a relief to see the neighbours well, despite their worries about some elderly parents and relatives.

The morning service, which we were unable to attend, was a solemn remembrance.

the footage of crammed streets blocked off by bins,no masks or gloves and lots of alcohol was horrifying...even the reporter on Sky couldn't believe what he was seeing in Corsham ..apparently repeated across England..wait for CV spike and then the covidiots will say but the newspapers said lockdown was ending.Couldn't make it up !

On my daily walk round the village yesterday, many houses had small tables in the garden right by the footpath with photos of relatives who had been combatants, or were killed or injured, and a brief text telling their story. It was all very restrained and tasteful.

No celebrations in our street.
Reading FB last night showed that a lot of parties descended into drunkeness and far too close proximity, people getting up and singing a song using the same microphone.
I am not surprised we have such a high infection rate ( highest outside of London)

I sat in the sun in my garden and remembered that day in 1945 when, even as a small child, I could share the relief of my parents and relatives. We were fortunate - many of the fathers in our community were in reserved occupations, like my dad, in a strategically important explosives factory, but the expectation that it would be bombed stayed with families throughout the war.
I can't accept that yesterday was a time to let hair down as some appear to have done. Thankfully, here, in my quiet back garden, I could hear no sound of rowdy celebration, leaving me to my memories.

I was called an old misery for saying “celebrations” shouldn’t be encouraged. 2 minutes silence, church bells, Queens address all fine. But boozy street parties , picnics, bunting , singalongs were bound to lead to excess by some. I bet there is a rise in death rates now. We are certainly leading the way in those.

No noisy get togethers round here. Many streets had neighbours sitting at the front of their houses, with small tables set for afternoon tea (and bottles of fizz). My daughters both live in quiet streets where informal impromptu get togethers, socially distanced of course, took place. BBQ's, sandwiches, cakes, fizz, tea etc all shared. We stayed in our own back garden because I'm shielded, otherwise we'd have joined our neighbours across the road. there was an American flag on their US vintage jeep, others had Union flags, and everyone seemed to be playing Glen Miller's in the mood. What's not to like?

The need to mark this occasion has been important this year, as there are some people around who were there at the time - that will not be the case for the centenary.

Iam; you know I'd have been happy with Glenn Miller or forties music playing; but being subjected to hours of karaoke with music I can't stand was awful. And, thinking about it, I'd forgotten that everyone was meant to stay in their own front garden given that all my neighbours ended up in one small garden. There will be an increase in infection rates over the coming weeks. IDS says we should do as we like because the British public are so sensible, but I'm not seeing a lot of that.

Thats IDS who says a family can live on £7 a day when he spends £50 or more on Breakfast! Who believes a word he says.

It was just one great big excuse to ignore lockdown here.

Yes, the posters went up about staying in your garden - but no, they didn't, not for long. Some infantile peer pressure bravado at work meant mass gatherings on the pavement and kids all playing in the street.

Then, the inevitable fireworks and barbeques started of course. I suspected that my neighbours were pretty dim and behave like a flock of sheep - but still I'm surprised.

I don't honestly know whether there would have been such enthusiasm for the VE celebrations if it had been normal circumstances.

I think people wanted to enjoy some fun with neighbours after enduring this lockdown period. For this reason I would not begrudge the celebrations, bunting and so on, but I won't be joining them, but will quietly remember and be grateful for the relative peace in my lifetime.

My father was in the artillery, on the front line advancing through Holland during the war, and saw many terrible things that nobody, particularly one so young, should see, and that he never forgot, but rarely spoke about.

He was too traumatised and sad to ever join in these type of remembrance "celebrations" and I can understand why.

Like vegansrock my parents missed VE day . They were both in the navy in the South Pacific. Dad in Canadian navy and mum a Wren. So I hope VJ day won't be forgotten. But I thought yesterday's celebrations were lovely. Especially the BBC who must have rearranged all their plans in such a short time. Our road didn't do anything, but I envied the streets that did. The quirky nature of the celebrations seemed remarkably British. I particularly like the social distancing conga using ropes from the scout troop!.And I thought the Queen's speech was absolutely perfect and hit just the right note. It was wonderful if only to have a break from the endless bad news, and to make us realise that just staying in, isn't really too hard.

A quiet get together in our road which not everybody participated in but that’s their choice. Nothing loud or rowdy. Flags and bunting on a few houses. At 3pm we raised a toast, all social distancing. One chap had some 40s music on playing gently in the background. People were just glad to come out and talk after weeks of being indoors I think. All lasted about an hour maximum.

Our village was decked to the nines and some of the roads had socially distanced street parties. It was nice for the children and gave them something different to do. As for sitting out at the end of the drive with a pic-nic and a drink, nah, not for us. I agree with the comments about VJ day and I hope it won't be forgotten.

Paddyanne Corsham in Wiltshire?

thats what the Sky reporter said ,I dont know the area ,just going by what he said.Is there another Corsham?

paddyanne My son lives in Corsham and it's a quiet place. Apparently the "event" actually happened in Lacock, not far away, but an even quieter place. Apparently someone took a photo of 6 people who may have been a family, sitting on the grass and posted it on Corsham Facebook page.

The police looked into it and there was no one there.

Goodness knows how such a minor thing became a big enough event for Sky to report..... 6 people in "Sleepy Hollow" as opposed to hundreds out on bikes in the hot weather.

Lacock is a National Trust village
As least riotous as it can get!!

Fake news paddyanne

We probably get a lot of fake news about Scotland on GN but then we hear that it's not really Shangri-La at all.

Having visited Corsham earlier this year, I was intrigued to see the Sky news report of the VE celebrations in Corsham. But I couldn't find anything at all except for a church service and a couple of householders with picnic chairs on their garden paths. Cosham in Portsmouth, on the other hand, apparently wasn't as socially responsible.

Lacock is lovely.

As Callistemon has said it’s a National Trust village.

Very unspoilt and has featured in a few tv productions.

I saw one party in Cosham on TV Chewbacca

The view was misleading as the reporter said, all the well behaved residents looked very responsible and the reporter stated that they were all socially distancing in their family units. Young children singing with their parents, not at all a boozy party!