Our editor Kathryn Bates and her husband Paul were invited to attended the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
Kathryn said, “When we were told about the invitation, we were completely surprised and really didn’t know what to say! We were given three dates in July to chose from, and just by chance one of the dates happened to be our 36th wedding anniversary, so we chose that one.
We really enjoyed planning for the trip and had fun and a few stressful shopping trips trying to find a suitable outfits! I’m normally a very casual dresser (A bit of a scruff really) but on this occasion I scrubbed up quite well! Thanks to Have Your Say management committee for their financial help, kind friends who took me shopping, manicured my normally bitten nails and loaned me several items to ensure I looked my best on the day!
The only worry we had, was the fact that even though we thought we had packed everything but the kitchen sink; we had forgotten to take along some form of identification, so we weren’t sure whether we’d be admitted or not, however after passing a verbal check by the police officers, we were allowed in, so we assume the extra effort must have paid off!”
“The day itself was lovely weather-wise and it appealed to my nosey nature to be people watching at the palace. We had a very relaxed afternoon and the refreshments served were as nice as one would expect; dainty sandwiches with a large variety of fillings, (no cucumber though!) Cakes, ice-cream etc.”
“Her majesty was dressed in a vivid green patterned coat and hat and everyone was commenting on how small she is, how beautiful her skin is, what sensible shoes she was wearing etc.”
There wasn’t as much pomp, ceremony or guidance as one would think and the visit to the Royal Garden Party was an experience I’m glad to have had.”
Alf Almond
