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Join the old town party as they revisit the first decade of the Queen’s reign
01/06/2022
Vintage displays and music and a children’s ration book window trail will make Banbury Old Town a great place to visit on Saturday
The independent traders in Banbury’s Old Town have pulled out all the stops to ensure the Platinum Jubilee will be something to remember in Banbury over the next few days.
Barry Whitehouse from The Artery came up with the idea of reimagining Banbury from the period when The Queen became our Monarch.
Many shops in the Old Town have decorated their windows in a patriotic 1950s style. Some retailers are displaying products they would have sold in the era, with The Artery displaying vintage art supplies and magazines and Sheila’s sweets with vintage sweets in jars as would have been eaten at the time.
The window at Total Image Hair has pictures showing what the shop looked like as a hairdresser back in the 1950s.
Children will be able to immerse themselves in a little history following a trail around Old Town shop windows. After collecting a “ration book” from the Church Lane gallery, they can follow the trail and spot the regal pictures in shop windows. In doing so they will earn letter stamps. This will lead to a prize if they can solve the anagram from the letters they have collected.
Barry Whitehouse thinks its important to recognise how much things have changed over the last 70 years, even during the ten years of the 1950s. He said: “Sweet rationing, and other areas of rationing, were still on at the time of the Coronation.
“When people think of the 50s they think of the end of the decade with jive and rock ‘n’ roll, but the early 50s was very austere so it’s a little nod to that.”
Throughout Saturday the Old Town will be alive with the sights and sounds of the 1950s. Betsy Harmony, who was a big part of the 1940s Old Town party a few years ago, will be back singing vintage 50s and jive songs and Mr Whitehouse’s own alter-ego Beau Norton will also make an appearance performing songs from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro and Dean Martin.
Come To My Party balloon modelling will also be on hand with balloon fun for younger visitors.
Mr Whitehouse said: “Its been a while since we’ve held an old Town party. This really does show how we all pull together and what a great retail community we’ve got in the Old Town area.
“It really is something to see and now the bunting’s all out it looks phenomenal in town.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam