The Mystery of Queen Victoria's Jubilee
Aylsham June 21st 1887
It was the morning of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Fifty years on the throne! The sky was gradually getting brighter, the town ready for the significant occasion, clear from the amount of decoration across the buildings. Organizers were already setting up the grand tables and chairs.
The event had been planned for months, obvious from the amount of posters around the town; barrels running down Red Lion Street, stalls of drinks getting set up in front of Ward and George and children getting a sight of the start of the event. William Forster was the chairman of the event. He had golden brown hair, disarrayed and twisted. He had light-green eyes and was wearing a neatly-pressed shirt. He always looked stressed as if something was happening. He had organized a similar event twenty years ago and it had not gone well. Today was his chance to prove that he could succeed...
I awoke at five and walked into the town as soon as I could. The tables were placed outside the Town Hall so I could set up. There were fifty long tables each with twenty chairs attached to them. I was glad to have Albert Wolbridge and Mary Thompson (two other members of the committee) to help me. I could not have done it by myself!
Soon, after a huge amount of work, setting up was finished and all that was left to do was to cook the food and distribute the drinks. Off I went to the Town Hall to check on how the cooks were getting on.
“Are you getting on alright Mary?” I questioned. I had asked other members of the committee to help but they did not seem to be present, “on your own are you?”
ADMIT ONE
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Aylsham
21st June 1887
Bring a plate and your cutlery for the feast
Arrive in the Market Place. Starts 13.00
“Yes, I have no idea where the others are. There’s also another slight problem: there’s no food or drink!” Mary exclaimed.
I was in shock. If there was no food, then that meant we wouldn’t be able to feed the guests, which meant that the Jubilee would have to be cancelled which- thoughts raced through my mind. All I needed to do was to calm down - very difficult in this situation.
Myself and Mary hurried over to The Black Boys to try and order some food. Christmas Stapleton, the owner of the pub, was very apologetic: they had ran out of meals last night! They didn’t think that they would need any more because everybody would be feasting on the food for the jubilee. Clearly, this was not the case.
To make matters worse, crowds of people were gathering. They were all dressed for the occasion in their Sunday best, across all ages. The hats were smooth and newly bought, shirts and dresses all neatly pressed, with not a crease to be seen. I had to calm down. If I didn’t this was definitely not going to go well. Mary and Albert went to check everywhere inside the Town Hall to find the missing food, while I went round each pub to see what was going on.
So off I went- first to the Unicorn. I asked Walter Whiley but the response was the same as before: ‘NO!’ Off I went past many more but they did not have any either. Finally, it was The Feathers. I said hello and asked if George Warn, the owner, had any food he could offer us. His response was: ‘I’ve already gave you all ours. Edmund was his name. I do have drinks though.’ I took one barrel of the drinks, first the lemonade. I would ask Mary and Albert to help with the other two: ginger beer and ale. I didn’t want to knock into anyone. The barrels were so heavy, that even to roll one of them it was difficult. However, I was really confused about what he had said before. Edmund… that was another member of the committee, meaning that he must be here somewhere.
The time was 10:00. Back I went into the town square. I was shocked at the sight. There must have been 1700 people, crowded amongst the tables, having a great time. I distributed the drinks out of the barrels.
The sun was shining brightly, perfect for the occasion. I returned to the Town Hall and after fifteen minutes of searching, I found Mary and Albert. ‘Will you come and help with two barrels of ginger beer and ale’ I asked.
‘Where did you get them from?’ Albert questioned.
‘Oh, just The Feathers,’ I replied. Off we went to collect the barrels. It was amazing how many people were having such a great time. So far…
I was in the kitchen with eight other members of the committee. We were cooking all of the food ready for the huge event. Suddenly, I heard a voice: ‘Edmund! Do you know where Forster is?’
‘No,’ I replied. I had not seen him, Mary or Albert. Maybe something strange was going on…
We had arrived back in the Town Square. There was a hubbub of roaring noise. Then we distributed the drinks, once more.
‘Where’s the food!?’ a demanding member of the guests asked. We ignored them and entered the Town Hall. As I pushed the heavy, wooden doors open, Mary shouted: “Look, there’s some people trying to steal the food!” There was indeed four people, wearing blue jackets, taking trays of meat and potatoes, past Ward and George. One of the members I recognised as Edmund! We were in shock. So that was where all of the food ended up. Without hesitation, we ran after them. “STOP! Wait for us!” Albert called.
It was strange. I was bringing trays of lovely beef, mutton and potatoes and suddenly I hear a group of people screaming for us to stop. What sort of person would not know that we are important members of the committee and are in a hurry to make this event a good celebration for them!
They would just not listen. The committee members kept walking on towards table forty-two. Finally, we caught up with them. “Edmund,” I called. He heard and sounded surprised.
“Oh, William, Mary, Albert. Where have you been?” He questioned.
“We’ve been looking for you, I see you’ve got the food. So that was all resolved. The food was distributed and everyone was having a great time.
After everybody had eaten, it was time for the band to play some pieces. I was so happy that now everything had started to go to plan. No more disasters! Afterwards, everybody went off to the local field for the games. I participated in the 100m sprint and won first prize: an amazing hat that I had been eyeing up before the event. I was delighted. The other races went by in a blur. The entertainment was also very good, to finish off the fun, but stressful day. It turned out to be a successful Jubilee, after all!
It was the morning of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Fifty years on the throne! The sky was gradually getting brighter, the town ready for the significant occasion, clear from the amount of decoration across the buildings. Organizers were already setting up the grand tables and chairs.
The event had been planned for months, obvious from the amount of posters around the town; barrels running down Red Lion Street, stalls of drinks getting set up in front of Ward and George and children getting a sight of the start of the event. William Forster was the chairman of the event. He had golden brown hair, disarrayed and twisted. He had light-green eyes and was wearing a neatly-pressed shirt. He always looked stressed as if something was happening. He had organized a similar event twenty years ago and it had not gone well. Today was his chance to prove that he could succeed...
I awoke at five and walked into the town as soon as I could. The tables were placed outside the Town Hall so I could set up. There were fifty long tables each with twenty chairs attached to them. I was glad to have Albert Wolbridge and Mary Thompson (two other members of the committee) to help me. I could not have done it by myself!
Soon, after a huge amount of work, setting up was finished and all that was left to do was to cook the food and distribute the drinks. Off I went to the Town Hall to check on how the cooks were getting on.
“Are you getting on alright Mary?” I questioned. I had asked other members of the committee to help but they did not seem to be present, “on your own are you?”
ADMIT ONE
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Aylsham
21st June 1887
Bring a plate and your cutlery for the feast
Arrive in the Market Place. Starts 13.00
“Yes, I have no idea where the others are. There’s also another slight problem: there’s no food or drink!” Mary exclaimed.
I was in shock. If there was no food, then that meant we wouldn’t be able to feed the guests, which meant that the Jubilee would have to be cancelled which- thoughts raced through my mind. All I needed to do was to calm down - very difficult in this situation.
Myself and Mary hurried over to The Black Boys to try and order some food. Christmas Stapleton, the owner of the pub, was very apologetic: they had ran out of meals last night! They didn’t think that they would need any more because everybody would be feasting on the food for the jubilee. Clearly, this was not the case.
To make matters worse, crowds of people were gathering. They were all dressed for the occasion in their Sunday best, across all ages. The hats were smooth and newly bought, shirts and dresses all neatly pressed, with not a crease to be seen. I had to calm down. If I didn’t this was definitely not going to go well. Mary and Albert went to check everywhere inside the Town Hall to find the missing food, while I went round each pub to see what was going on.
So off I went- first to the Unicorn. I asked Walter Whiley but the response was the same as before: ‘NO!’ Off I went past many more but they did not have any either. Finally, it was The Feathers. I said hello and asked if George Warn, the owner, had any food he could offer us. His response was: ‘I’ve already gave you all ours. Edmund was his name. I do have drinks though.’ I took one barrel of the drinks, first the lemonade. I would ask Mary and Albert to help with the other two: ginger beer and ale. I didn’t want to knock into anyone. The barrels were so heavy, that even to roll one of them it was difficult. However, I was really confused about what he had said before. Edmund… that was another member of the committee, meaning that he must be here somewhere.
The time was 10:00. Back I went into the town square. I was shocked at the sight. There must have been 1700 people, crowded amongst the tables, having a great time. I distributed the drinks out of the barrels.
The sun was shining brightly, perfect for the occasion. I returned to the Town Hall and after fifteen minutes of searching, I found Mary and Albert. ‘Will you come and help with two barrels of ginger beer and ale’ I asked.
‘Where did you get them from?’ Albert questioned.
‘Oh, just The Feathers,’ I replied. Off we went to collect the barrels. It was amazing how many people were having such a great time. So far…
I was in the kitchen with eight other members of the committee. We were cooking all of the food ready for the huge event. Suddenly, I heard a voice: ‘Edmund! Do you know where Forster is?’
‘No,’ I replied. I had not seen him, Mary or Albert. Maybe something strange was going on…
We had arrived back in the Town Square. There was a hubbub of roaring noise. Then we distributed the drinks, once more.
‘Where’s the food!?’ a demanding member of the guests asked. We ignored them and entered the Town Hall. As I pushed the heavy, wooden doors open, Mary shouted: “Look, there’s some people trying to steal the food!” There was indeed four people, wearing blue jackets, taking trays of meat and potatoes, past Ward and George. One of the members I recognised as Edmund! We were in shock. So that was where all of the food ended up. Without hesitation, we ran after them. “STOP! Wait for us!” Albert called.
It was strange. I was bringing trays of lovely beef, mutton and potatoes and suddenly I hear a group of people screaming for us to stop. What sort of person would not know that we are important members of the committee and are in a hurry to make this event a good celebration for them!
They would just not listen. The committee members kept walking on towards table forty-two. Finally, we caught up with them. “Edmund,” I called. He heard and sounded surprised.
“Oh, William, Mary, Albert. Where have you been?” He questioned.
“We’ve been looking for you, I see you’ve got the food. So that was all resolved. The food was distributed and everyone was having a great time.
After everybody had eaten, it was time for the band to play some pieces. I was so happy that now everything had started to go to plan. No more disasters! Afterwards, everybody went off to the local field for the games. I participated in the 100m sprint and won first prize: an amazing hat that I had been eyeing up before the event. I was delighted. The other races went by in a blur. The entertainment was also very good, to finish off the fun, but stressful day. It turned out to be a successful Jubilee, after all!