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Crowds in Dingwall rejoice as the community comes together for Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Anne Mightens, left, and Claie Gudden turned out to enjoy the Jubilee street party in Dingwall. Picture by Jason Hedges.
Anne Mightens, left, and Claie Gudden turned out to enjoy the Jubilee street party in Dingwall. Picture by Jason Hedges.

Crowds basked in the hot weather as they gathered in the centre of Dingwall at the weekend to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The High Street was packed on Saturday, June 4 with people bringing food, flags and commemorative tablecloths to show their appreciation for the Her Majesty.

Outside the Town Hall, the Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire, Joanie Whiteford, made a speech to the crowd commemorating the day’s festivities.

Tables lined the street with more than 1,200 people getting together for the first time in two years.

Rachel Kellow, 23, from Dingwall, who came to the event with her family, said: “I am absolutely loving today. We came down especially to see everything happening around town.

Residents gathered for a street party on the High Street in Dingwall to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Picture by Jason Hedges.

“To see the stalls and the bands playing and just spend time with the family.

“The highlight was definitely watching the piping walk through the High Street. It was such a commemorative moment.

“It is the first time in a couple of years we’ve been able to come together and see each other, so we came down to spend some time in the sun and celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.”

‘Dingwall always shows itself well’

In addition to the pipers, brave volunteers dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Tigger to entertain the kids in the scorching weather.

Other events included a 5K fun run, with 100 people taking on the challenge, earning themselves a medal and cool bottle of water for finishing.

In Cromarty car park, various stalls with local traders were selling their products, including dog treats, handmade jewellery and alcohol.

Matthew Farmer, the GlenWyvis Distillery manager, based a few miles outside of Dingwall, spoke of his excitement to be at the event following the pandemic.

He said: “It has been fantastic. We haven’t been able to get out and do events for almost two years at this point because of Covid, and especially for the local community, it’s nice to actually meet people face to face.

“We as a distillery don’t have a visitor centre, so we rely on these events to come out and meet people who have invested in the distillery.

“You can really see the community coming together.”

Locals gather round tables in Dingwall to mark the milestone occasion. Picture by Jason Hedges.

A unique part of the Dingwall celebrations was the car display in the Cromarty car park, which showcased a vehicle from each of the seven decades of the Queen’s reign.

The collection included a white Mini Cooper from the 1990s, an orange Ford Escort from the 1980s and a Jaguar XKR from the 2000s.

There was a jovial atmosphere as many people in the crowd were out to toast the Queen and her Platinum Jubilee.

Lila Campbell, 59, from the Black Isle, called the Queen “the coolest person in the UK” and was “so delighted” to be celebrating in Dingwall.

‘Important to have events which bring people together’

Alan Watson, 78, from Dingwall described the day as “very enjoyable” and was “loving the pipe band”.

Hannah Peebles, 30, who travelled from Glasgow to be with her family on the day said it was great to have a sense of normalcy again and spend time with the family.

Andrew MacIvor, 56, said: “It’s very important to have these events which bring people together.

“I was speaking to some people from Belgium who thought today was tremendous to see the people enjoying themselves outside in the sun.”

The McBean family were among those enjoying the festivities in Dingwall. Picture by Jason Hedges.

The celebrations were organised by Dingwall Community Council and chairman Jack Shepard was very pleased with the turnout, which will positively impact local businesses up and down the High Street.

Mr Shepard said: “It brings the community together, we have had nearly two and half years of social distancing and isolation and what we couldn’t arrange was the weather and now that have the nice weather its been fantastic day for everyone.

“You can see it in the number of people out and about. It was about bringing everybody together on the day to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”

While many people basked in the sun, local businesses capitalised on the crowds of people, with Deas the Bakers putting up a royal display in their shop window.

Platinum Jubilee
Deas the Bakers window display with all things Her Majesty. Picture by Ross Hempseed.

Hazel McIntosh, 59, who works for Deas the Bakers, said: “I think events like these really help the community. Dingwall always shows itself well.

“In all the years I’ve worked for Deas, if there’s anything on, whether charitable or something like a Jubilee, they come out and they do us proud.”

The celebrations continued with a night-time ceilidh, which allowed residents to come together and toast to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in true Highland style.

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