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A special day. I, amongst others, stood in silence for two minutes today.

 

I recall my mother speaking about the war, when she was living at Hedsor Grove, which I recall from my childhood. She did recall a bombing raid and she went to a shelter with a cushion on her head. She fondly recalled the VE celebrations. My grandfather was a miner so did not go to war. Babbington pit as I recall. There was a street party in Hedsor Grove. My mother would have been 11 years old. She did recall that she was one of the older girls at the street party. It intrigues me that she was making bunting many days before the VE day party, and that the cakes were baked some time before, which indicates that the VE Day celebrations were not a surprise. I would love to see any photos from that party. She did recall that my grandfather went to the Green and got very drunk. His local was the Radford Arms, and towards the end of his life I took him there and picked him up later. Often in a state. I did adore him. I still have a photo of him between two mountainous NCOs at my passing out parade at Sandhurst, My mother loved John West tinned salmon, and often said that it was VE day when she first tasted it, and adored it ever since. 

 

 

My father did not recall any parties in Birkin Avenue at all.  

 

Many of us may have heard stories of that day from parents or grandparents, now is the time so tell those stories. 

 

 

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My father was in Brussels on that night, he told me it was the most incredible thing he would ever witness. All the lights were back on, plus searchlights, neon lights, fireworks , music, dancing , bonfires and wild parties.

I got the impression he enjoyed it ! 

 

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BFI have a free-to-watch 9 minute film about a VE Day party at Colwick Park.   

 

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-ve-day-party-at-colwick-1945-online?fbclid=IwAR3eUi2pAuIEsdSLNrTQM59mbw7Bc08uHtY4-2juPkYPKRDUxBwdv8Z8BMk

 

It's silent, and at the beginning it might not be obvious what's going on.

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Well after all the fuss and TV crews this morning Bleasby got a rather pathetic presentation on the news. Hardly worth the effort. We have got around 100 scarecrows now on the  Bleasby Facebook page. Just awaiting the ringing of the church bells at 7pm. There is still champagne in the fridge! 

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Couldn't get logged on to BBC East Midlands Phil but it appears I didn't miss much. Enjoy your bubbly.

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Nice photo RR and Yes I was there, quite early so when we saw the hugs & kisses the 'uniforms' were getting we dashed home to put our Army Cadet uniforms on and enjoyed the rewards!
It was all very sociable and I don't recollect any drunkenness, probably due to the shortage of beer with lots of  pubs closing mid evening. Back then there were two flag poles in front of the lions this Canadian Pilot officer climbed the right hand one and sat on the 'button' to a tremendous cheer and then climbed the council house wall onto the balcony to shake hands with the Lord Mayor to another cheer.Anybody Good at jitterbugging  would  soon clear a hole in the crowd otherwise it was singing the war time songs and rocking along to them until someone started another 'Conga' line around the square.

On the saturday Uncle Fred Frost organised the street party ably supported by the Brand St Mums, as usual Bitterlings messroom was readily available for social functions.
              

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Even the church  bells only gave a feeble tinkle. They're not proper clanging bells, just something that the Victorians put in for a wedding. They can be played single handedly from ground level. Overall not a day to remember. All sorts of exciting entertainment, including a street party had been organised but sadly it was not to be.

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Coulda' bin worse Phil., some churches have replaced their bells with what were tapes or nowadays CD or even more modern, on a flash stick.

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I think I’ve spotted you Albert ..... to the left of a young lady in glasses, (right of her as you look at the photo) you’re looking very smart in collar and tie.  

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Nice pics from all and great recollections from Albert.

 

Meanwhile, on our little Cul De Sac we today moved forward our weekly socially distanced party.  I was awakened this a.m. by the sound of Mrs Col's sewing machine as she 'knocked out' several yards of bunting made from any available red white and blue fabric..  Other neighbours had similar.. or specially purchased stuff.

We were all out on the street for the 11:00 'Silence'. 

 

Then at 3:00 pm  the  little lad across the street was supposed to be playing the 'Last Post' on his Trumpet, but succumbed to stage fright... bless him. At the last minute I managed to get a version from the internet and play it via a small radio.. but it lacked the necessary volume.

 

Next up we had music from a neighbour's 'boom box' giving us the Vera Lynn, Glenn Miller etc.. as most indulged in 'Afternoon Tea' with scones etc.  Most of the ladies used headscarves and so on.. to emulate 40s fashions.. a couple of gents wore braces or hats to emulate 40s looks.  I, having no such 'kit' instead wore red shorts, blue shirt and white hat.  My ear problem has kicked off yet again so I felt a bit rough and really wasn't up for any of it but did my best although I did withdraw to the house for some paracetamol and a bit of a lie down for 30 minutes.  Very 'Wartime Spirit' of me... :)

 

I love this version.. with the full verse.. which explains the song's American authorship.

 

 

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We had a lovely VE Street party - my second, the first being on Peveril St 75 years ago. Remember it fairly well. It was held under cover in the wide access entrance to the goods yard at the rear of Beals factory. 

 

My house front is on the street so we set up the table and brolly at the end of the side driveway next to our Grandsons driveway, so it was a family affair with two Gt Grandchildren  Our opposite neighbours were brilliant. One parked his original Willies Jeep on the street and mounted his original US camp radio in the back and played Glen Millar etc. The radio conked out but was soon fixed by another neighbour, a retired Gurkha signals officer. In fact the 'Street team' were quite appropriate for the occasion. Two nurses, two health carers, an ex army lady, ambulance driver, funeral parlour worker, the ex Gurkha - and us, who experienced the war as children.

For the car buffs - the Jeep is used for shows and in immaculate condition. It has provenance, putting it on the Normandy beaches. Dave, the owner wore US Army uniform from that period.

Our local hotel provided lovely cakes for us over 70's. At 5 oclock I got fed up with tea and cakes and got the beer out. Soon after, everyone else were drinking something a bit stronger than tea.

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День Победы!  

 

That is Den Pobedy -  Victory Day for the Russians. Its a day later than VE day because Keitel couldnt sign the surrender documents fast enough and Field Marshal Zhukov took the surrender the next day. The Russians often treat 9 May as more significant than any other day than New Years Day. 75 Years was going to be special but was cancelled, apart from a fly past. The celebration will take place in September if possible. The Russians are on special holiday for 12 days, provided that they keep quarantine. That is like 12 bank holidays in a row. 

 

I have been to the 9 Mai celebrations in Moscow but it is ticket only for Red Square, and they cannot be bought. I was on the tin roof of a portable cafe in Alexandrovsky Park. The vibration from the tanks nearly shook us off.

 

The most memorable was when I did a battlefield tour for a friend. We carried 9 Mai Russian flags to the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Many people were talking to us, and the atmosphere, as ever, was superb. After the ceremony, we retired to a local bar. The band members usually go there after the ceremony. They saw me with the flags and immediately went outside and played the Russian national anthem in front of the bar.  I just couldn't just sit there, so I got on my hind legs and belted it out as loud as possible. To my amazement, two other lads, not together, also stood up and started singing. When I sat down I had three glasses of vodka waiting for me and a tasting board of Belgian ales. 

 

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9th May is also Europe Day.

 

Europe Day held on 9 May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic 'Schuman declaration'. At a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable.

His vision was to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. A treaty creating such a body was signed just under a year later. Schuman's proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.

 

As Winston Churchill subsequently said in various speeches, 

 

Mutual aid in the economic field and joint military defence must inevitably be accompanied step by step with a parallel policy of closer political unity.”  


In the last of these speeches, he made his views on the UK’s role crystal clear: “Britain is an integral part of Europe, and we mean to play our part in the revival of her prosperity and greatness.”

 

Also in 1947, he founded the European Movement, tasking it “To create this body of public interest and public support is one of the main tasks of the European Movement… It must now build up a vast body of popular support…” In the centre of the task was the Charter of Human Rights – agreed in 1951.

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Rob - very poignant observations there about Sir Winston's vision for Europe. If it were on 'anything political' I would say that he is turning in his grave. Instead of being leaders in Europe, we just gave up.

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