Winston Churchill guest stars as Fair Close Centre in Newbury hosts jubilee party

Dozens of Newbury residents gathered at the Fair Close Centre for an afternoon of tea, cake and coffee to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

On a glorious Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the long weekend, tables were laid out in the gardens of the centre ready for the big celebration.

Around a hundred people decked out in Union Jack attire turned out.

For a special treat, there was a remarkable Winston Churchill lookalike, complete with a cigar, who arrived in a 1937 Daimler with his wife Clementine.

Mr Churchill – impersonated by Derek Herbert accompanied by his own wife, Linda – gave a rousing speech mimicking the one given at the beginning of the Queen’s reign.

There was also music from a “fantastic” steel band, who played two sets, while the scene was captured by artist Simon Jardine.

Mr Jardine is in the process of painting the event, which will be hung in the centre in Newtown Road when it’s finished.

The chief executive of the centre, James Wilcox, said the event had been “everything we hoped for”.

He said: “The whole event just worked brilliantly, and the guests have been saying how much they enjoyed it.

“They loved it and were very grateful, which is always really nice to hear because a lot of thought and work went in to it.

“We all felt it was the beginning of a weekend of celebrations and it was lovely to kick off the weekend with something we’d thought long and hard about and it come off faultlessly.”

On the visit of Mr Churchill, Mr Wilcox added: “He was in costume and character and he was brilliant.

“It just added a bit of drama and context and just a really fun thing to do.”

There was also a sing song culminating in the national anthem, while there were visits by Newbury mayor Gary Norman and Newbury MP Laura Farris.

Mr Wilcox paid tribute to his small army of volunteers, including trustee and former mayor Margo Payne and Theresa Burton, the centre’s welfare manager.