The Golden Jubilee in Potterne

	The jubilee weekend in Potterne started with many decorations appearing on houses, cars, shops etc. As it also coincided with the start of the world cup, it may be fair to say that not all the flags were just for the jubilee. Click on the images to see a larger picture.
	The village seemed quieter as a whole and with a good break in the weather the smell of barbeques was in the air all over the village in the evenings. The local brewery Wadworths were running promotions selling beer at 1977 prices and people were starting to celebrate, not just the jubilee but the time off and the fact that England didn't lose their first game of the world cup. Construction was well underway at Five Lanes Farm, where thanks to kind permission of Mr & Mrs Chandler, Potterne's official Jubilee Beacon was built.
	Although Potterne Rifle Club had a busy weekend hosting shooting competitions for the French and Germans of the Devizes twinning (more information in the rifle club section), John Billet (Capt) still managed to setup a small air rifle shooting gallery. This was to keep the children entertained until the fire was lit, however, our photographer did catch one adult cheating!
	The beacon could be lit no earlier than 10 o'clock to fit in with the worldwide coordinated schedule so 10 o'clock it was. It went up well from the start and needed no help at all. It was a well made beacon and could probably be seen for many miles. The beacon roared with flames over 50ft high as it reached it peak, the heat was incredible, even from a 25 yards away. Next on the agenda was a 21 gun salute for her majesty. This was performed with 5 men and 4 shotguns, the 5th man was just there to count and coordinate - so how did we end up doing a 29 gun salute?
So after all the lighting and the eating and the shooting and the drinking and the tallking the only things left was to dance. I can assure you that the sports top seen in the photo was worn in a sort of deliberate bad taste and the photo does make things look (a lot) worse than they really were! A very good time was had by all!