As you may have heard, this year is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee: 6 February marks the actual date that she will have been on the throne for 70 years, although the more important date in most people’s diaries will be the four-day bank holiday weekend, which starts on Thursday 2 June.

This will provide an opportunity for communities and people throughout the United Kingdom to come together (hopefully in better weather) and celebrate this amazing milestone. The four days of celebrations will include everything from large public events to local community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service. We are officially encouraged to come together with our neighbours for street parties across the whole weekend, and especially on Sunday 5 June, which is the day of the Big Jubilee.

Fairfield Parish Council sent out some information recently about The Queen’s Green Canopy, a tree-planting initiative created to mark the platinum jubilee in 2022, which encourages people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”. Everyone from individuals to scouting groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporations is invited to join in. If you would like to take part, bear in mind that trees are best planted between October and March. The official website, http://www.queensgreencanopy.org, provides general information and advice as well as an interactive map where you can add your tree and see others that have been planted. Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) has made a financial commitment to support tree planting, and is providing information and guidance as well as grants. Already 15,000 trees have been planted in Central Bedfordshire.

Fortnum & Mason launched a nationwide competition to design a brand new dessert for the special occasion – known as the Platinum Pudding Competition. UK residents over the age of eight were encouraged to submit recipes, and the closing date was 4 February. The Great British Bake Off’s Mary Berry, Buckingham Palace’s head chef Mark Flanagan and Monica Galetti of Masterchef: The Professionals will be among the judges, and the winning recipe will be gifted to the public to be served at Big Jubilee lunches (see above) during the jubilee weekend. The palace hopes it will become a new British favourite for generations to come. If you did enter (or if you missed the deadline but would still like to have a go just for fun), please let us know so that we can feature you and/or your recipe in Fairfield Matters. You might play a starring role in some of Fairfield’s Big Jubilee lunches even if you don’t win the national competition.

And, of course, if you have any kind of celebration planned that you would like to get the word out about, please just get in touch. We’ll look forward to seeing Fairfield in full street party mode!