| Following the success of her themed St. Patrick’s Day Lunch, Sandra Darra MBE, organized an old time street party lunch in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th Birthday. It was scheduled to be held in Sandra’s garden but alas, the rain fell on Friday, 3 June, and so cooks, bottle washers, servers, decamped to All Saint’s Community Hall in Vevey, where undaunted, around 68 guests arrived determined to enjoy themselves. Walking into the foyer we were welcomed with an aperitif and heard Dierdre Kraege playing on the piano, typical British old songs such as Life on the Ocean Wave, The Lincolnshire Poacher and Heart of Oak. Guests from as far west as Geneva and as far east as Sierre sat down to aubergine soup, followed by a help yourself buffet with tables full of plates of ham, salmon, quiches and exotic salads. The pudding table was a sight to behold, all washed down with an abundance of wine. Deirdre then went back to the piano and with a crowd singing along, played such numbers as On Ilkla Moor Baht’at , Jerusalem, Roast Beef of Old England, and of course Rule Britannia. That was not the end of the music: Barry Longson got out his accordion and without a moment’s hesitation we were rocking and rolling, and dancing in the aisles. There was even time, while coffee was being served, for a typical pub quiz compiled by Sandra, on Queens’ of England, with prizes for the winners. It was a truly authentic British Street Party celebration. Andrew Konecki |
British Residents’ Association of Switzerland