Fish and chip shop transformed into ‘country’s ‘biggest Union Jack’ for second day of Jubilee

Britons adorned in red, white and blue raised a glass to the Queen up and down the country on the second day of celebrations for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.

Festivities for the Queen’s 70th anniversary on the throne are well underway across the country today, with plenty of street parties expected to take place this afternoon.

Over in Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, Morris dancers from Thaxted performed outside The Red Lion pub this morning as members of the public watched on, with the street covered in red, white and blue decorations and Union Jacks. 

And at family-run chippy Ivan’s Fish & Chip Shop in Cradley Heath, West Midlands, the owners have transformed the shop front into a huge 65sqm Union Jack for the Jubilee.

The chip shop has been going for 65 years and is now operated by Ivan’s son Warren Rudge, his wife Jenny and their son James.

Warren, 54, and 32-year-old James spent two days transforming the shop front – finishing just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend at 10.30pm on Wednesday night.

The pair used 12.5 litres of paint and 300m of masking tape to transform the building. Warren said he was waving at passers-by ‘every two seconds’ while working on the project which has been a hit on social media.

‘I’ve always been a strong supporter of the Queen so we wanted to do something to celebrate the 70 years,’ he said. ‘We were thinking what to do and we decided to paint the shop.

‘We only decided to do it on Sunday. It’s more impressive than we imagined. It took us two days, we did 12 hours each day – I’m aching now.

‘We painted it twice, we had to do two coats. We do really like it and would like to keep aspects of it. We’re so lucky to have such a great flag.

‘We’d have done it twice as quick if we didn’t have to keep waving every two seconds, I could’ve done with a third waving arm! It’s got to be one of the biggest Union Jacks in the country. You can see it for miles.

‘As the shop is 65 years old we’ve had some customers all that time, some have brought in their children’s children as well.’

Across the rest of the country, Britons have been finding their own ways to honour the Queen, by way of street parties, miles of bunting and even scarecrows transformed into members of the royal family. 

Windsor in particular looks very colourful for the Platinum festivities, with a huge Union Jack flag and bunting hung up everywhere to welcome those travelling into the royal borough’s train station. The high street is equally as red, white and blue with plenty of flags covering lampposts in the area.

People have also been seen raising a glass on park benches to her Majesty’s record-breaking reign. 

Plenty of homes and pubs have special decorations including balloons and Jubilee posters in the national colours of the United Kingdom.

In Manchester’s Canal Street, the entire street has been covered in Union Jacks and red, white and blue bunting which has been hung from the trees to the bars just above those sat enjoying a bank holiday beverage.

Nell Gwynn’s tearoom in Windsor has a special painting of the Queen placed front and centre in the shop front window, surrounded by some Platinum Jubilee bunting. 

Even those not on home soil have enjoyed a touch of Jubilee celebrations to their holidays, with Italian global cruise line, MSC Cruises, based in Geneva, which is currently in Oslo, Norway, presenting a gigantic cake shown to all those on board. They have also displayed Platinum Jubilee flags on the communal areas.

Ian Sherwood, a councillor from Swaffham, Norfolk, shared his pictures of the 9×16 ft (2.7×4.8m), which sat in the lobby area of the ship.

There have been a fair few scarecrows scattered around the country dressed up to look like Her Majesty, with one in Launton, Oxfordshire, depicted enjoying a glass of gin in her dog-walking gear wearing a sign that reads, ‘Cheers to 70 years!’.

Lucky Summer-Rose Jeffries shares her birthday with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – and couldn’t be happier with her special three-tiered Victoria Sponge cake, adorned with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, courtesy of her Nanny and Granddad.

Luka Grajdek baked a Victoria Sponge cake specially for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, and while taking a snap of his latest bake, a cloud in the shape of Great Britain appears in the background.

Around 500 people took to Middleton Street in Llandrindod, Wales, for a Platinum Jubilee street party, pictured. Attendees wore party hats with Union Jacks on them. 

Although the country will continue celebrating the Queen, she has decided to take a step back as she experienced ‘discomfort’ following the first day of the Jubilee. 

Today’s royal celebrations begun with a service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London. At 10.50am, Great Paul, the largest church bell in the country at 16.5tons, pealed to herald service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s long reign.

The bell was only restored in 2021 after falling silent since the 1970s due to a broken mechanism. It has only been rung on eight occasions since and none of which were for a royal service.

Her Majesty had been hoping to be able to attend the service but has since had to pull out after experiencing ‘discomfort’ on the first day of celebrations. 

Last night, Buckingham Palace released a statement which read: ‘Taking into account the journey and activity required to participate in tomorrow’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, Her Majesty, with great, reluctance, has concluded that she will not attend.’ 

Members of the royal family will arrive at the Cathedral at 11am for the service, which will begin at 11.30am, followed by a reception being held by the Lord Mayor at the Guildhall at 12.25pm.

The service will include a new anthem by Judith Weir CBE who has been Master of the Queen’s Music since 2014. She will be setting to music words from the third chapter of the Book of Proverbs.

Wider members of the family are expected to be present including Harry and Meghan. The Archbishop of Canterbury has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the service. The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, will give the sermon instead.

Justin Welby was diagnosed with mild pneumonia last Thursday and was continuing to work, but after developing symptoms over the weekend he tested for coronavirus.

Prince Andrew will not be attending after testing positive for Covid-19.

Her Majesty made two appearances yesterday, once on the the Buckingham Palace Balcony for the RAF flypast which saw 71 aircraft soar over The Mall in a historic display featuring Spitfires, Red Arrow Hawks and a Lancaster bomber. Her second appearance came at the Lighting of the Platinum Jubilee beacons at Windsor last night.

Earlier on Thursday was Trooping the Colour, where Prince Charles inspected the troops of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards along with more than 1,500 officers and soldiers from the Household Division.

The procession included 250 horses, hundreds of military musicians and Prince Charles was accompanied on horseback by Prince Willam and Anne, Princess Royal.

The Red Arrows displayed the number 70 in a jaw-dropping formation for Her Majesty.

The show featured more than three times the number of aircraft which took part in the Queen’s last birthday parade flypast in central London in 2019. 

The fleet took off from military bases around the UK before joining holding patterns around the south-east of England. Then flew directly down the length of The Mall and over Buckingham Palace – to the delight of the Royal Family and the thousands of watching fans.

Windsor in particular looks very colourful for the Platinum festivities, with a huge Union Jack flag and bunting hung up everywhere to welcome those travelling into the royal borough’s train station. The high street is equally as red, white and blue with plenty of flags covering lampposts in the area.

Plenty of homes and pubs have special decorations including balloons and Jubilee posters in the national colours of the United Kingdom.

In Manchester’s Canal Street, the entire street has been covered in Union Jacks and red, white and blue bunting which has been hung from the trees to the bars just above those sat enjoying a bank holiday beverage.

Nell Gwynn’s tearoom in Windsor has a special painting of the Queen placed front and centre in the shop front window, surrounded by some Platinum Jubilee bunting. 

Even those not on home soil have enjoyed a touch of Jubilee celebrations to their holidays, with Italian global cruise line, MSC Cruises, based in Geneva, which is currently in Oslo, Norway, presenting a gigantic cake shown to all those on board. They have also displayed Platinum Jubilee flags on the communal areas.

Ian Sherwood, a councillor from Swaffham, Norfolk, shared his pictures of the 9×16 ft (2.7×4.8m), which sat in the lobby area of the ship.

There have been a fair few scarecrows scattered around the country dressed up to look like Her Majesty, with one in Launton, Oxfordshire, depicted enjoying a glass of gin in her dog-walking gear wearing a sign that reads, ‘Cheers to 70 years!’.

Lucky Summer-Rose Jeffries shares her birthday with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – and couldn’t be happier with her special three-tiered Victoria Sponge cake, adorned with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, courtesy of her Nanny and Granddad.

Luka Grajdek baked a Victoria Sponge cake specially for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, and while taking a snap of his latest bake, a cloud in the shape of Great Britain appears in the background.

Around 500 people took to Middleton Street in Llandrindod, Wales, for a Platinum Jubilee street party, pictured. Attendees wore party hats with Union Jacks on them. 

Hundreds of residents in the picturesque village of Little Shelford in Cambridgeshire attended a huge street party this afternoon in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Around 200 people sat down for a tea party on a 60-metre-long table outside the village hall as most of the village joined in the celebrations.

Villagers brought along food to share and also enjoyed flowering, pudding and drawing competitions. The jubilee cake competition was judged by local chef, Ben Orpwood, who appeared on the Great British Menu.

London was awash with red, white and blue today as thousands gathered for the biggest royal celebration in decades – as four days of Platinum Jubilee events kicked off with Trooping the Colour and a spectacular fly-past.

Royal superfans adorned themselves in Union flag clothing, flags and hats as they lined The Mall between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square – where large crowds also gathered – to watch the Queen‘s historic birthday parade kick off.

Groups were spotted cracking out glasses of Champagne and began singing God Save the Queen as early as 8am today – waking up the hardcore fans who had slept in chairs, tents and even on the pavement overnight to secure a prime spot for today’s celebrations.

Some had even flown in from as far and wide as Australia, Canada and the United States specially for the historic event, while others flocked from European countries including Germany and Italy to soak in the momentous occasion. 

The sun was shining and spirits were high among the crowds as members of the public chatted and joked with police maintaining the perimeter. Several handmade signs hung over the barriers, with one simply saying, ‘thank you’. 

Some 18 royal family members watched the RAF flypast from the balcony including: The Queen; Charles and Camilla; William and Kate with George, Charlotte and Louis; Edward and Sophie and their children Louise and James; Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York did not make an appearance on the balcony. Prince Andrew has tested positive for Covid so will not be able to attend the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow.

This morning, the Queen sent a car and security detail to collect the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with their two young children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, who will turn one on Saturday, after their private jet landed at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire from on Wednesday.

Her Majesty’s Land Rover greeted the family, who live in California, and their children at before taking them on a 40-minute drive to their UK home, Frogmore Cottage, just a stone’s throw away from Windsor Castle.

The monarch had been hoping to be able attend the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, but has since had to pull out after experiencing ‘discomfort’ on the first day of celebrations. Her wider family including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will still attend. 

Outdoor parties will also take place on Sunday as part of the Big Jubilee Lunch, while there will be a televised concert on the BBC from Buckingham Palace the day before. 

It is also expected that she will appear again on the balcony after the Pageant parade finale on Sunday. 

The Queen, 96, is also set to spend time with the Sussexes, who are bringing their children Archie and Lilibet over from the US – and could meet Lili for the first time as she celebrates her first birthday on Saturday.

On Sunday, thousands of people will gather across the country as more than 85,000 Big Jubilee Lunches and street parties are staged in celebration of the Queen’s record-breaking 70 year reign.

Royal family members will also visit every corner of the UK over the weekend for official engagements – with William and Kate going to Wales; Edward and Sophie travelling to Northern Ireland; and Anne to Scotland. 

And they will be welcomed by thousands of Union Jacks as the country has pulled no punches when it comes to decorating its high streets with plenty of bunting.

The celebrations have gone further than just the UK though – with one patriotic German joining in with putting up flags of the UK’s four nations, the Royal Standard, and even miniature black-hatted redcoats which look as though they are guarding his home like they do the royal residences in Britain. 

Stephen Rosner, 57, who lives near Mainz, western Germany, decorated his home with every royal ornament to hand. He told MailOnline he will be celebrating the Jubilee with some friends for tea at 5pm this bank holiday Thursday.

He said: ‘At the time of the Queen’s visit to Germany in 1978, I was 14 and happened to be watching television when the festivities were broadcast. It made a deep and lasting impression on me and it turned out that this moment would quite literally change my life.

‘Ever since then, I have been fascinated by everything connected with Great Britain, including its history, its people, its way of life, its royal family and especially Her Majesty.’

Back in the UK, Luka Grajdek baked a Victoria Sponge cake specially for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, and while taking a snap of his latest bake, a cloud in the shape of Great Britain appeared in the background.

St Mary’s Church in Launton, Bicester, is fundraising via the Jubilee by hosting a trail from 28th May to 12 June, where participants have to find 42 royally themed scarecrows and royal displays around the village.

For the official celebrations later on today, the Queen is to symbolically lead the lighting of the principal Jubilee beacon this evening as part of a chain of more than 3,500 flaming tributes to her 70-year reign.

The monarch, 96, will make an extra Jubilee appearance at Windsor Castle at 9.25pm today. It forms part of special dual ceremony with her grandson the Duke of Cambridge. 

William will be waiting 22 miles away at the Palace, where the beacon centrepiece – a 21-metre Tree of Trees sculpture – will be illuminated in lights on the Queen’s command.

The newly-announced engagement is an additional entry to the Queen’s busy diary over the four-day weekend, which includes Trooping the Colour and a service of thanksgiving.

At Windsor, the Queen will greeted in the castle Quadrangle with a fanfare for the ceremony at the Sovereign’s Entrance.

The Commonwealth of Nations Globe – a blue globe, which sits inside a silver crown on a blue and gold cushion which was specially created for the Beacons project – will be placed on a podium by Yeoman Warders.

The Queen will touch the globe, symbolically triggering the lighting of the Tree of Trees beacon outside the Palace.

Lights will chase along the Quadrangle towards Windsor’s famous Round Tower, before travelling up the Tree of Trees in London.

The Queen will be joined by Bruno Peek, the Pageantmaster, who has overseen the Jubilee Beacons celebration.

Beacons will be lit throughout the UK and across the Commonwealth, and sites including the Tower of London, Windsor Great Park, Hillsborough Castle and the Queen’s estates of Sandringham and Balmoral, and on top of the UK’s four highest peaks.

The first beacons will be lit in Tonga and Samoa in the South Pacific, and the final one in the central American country of Belize.