April 29, 2011 7.30 pm This story is over 154 months old

Lincoln street parties celebrate Royal Wedding

Photo highlights: People in Lincoln, from toddlers to grandparents, took to their streets to celebrate the Royal Wedding.

Residents of Nettleham Close, Lincoln, raise a glass for Will and Kate on their Big Day.

Sending RAF Coningsby pilots for a flypast Buckingham palace wasn’t the only way Lincoln got involved in the Royal Wedding, as The Lincolnite visited eight street parties across the city.

Celebrations stretched from Bracebridge Heath to beyond the Cathedral, with local communities gathering together outside their houses revelling in the sunshine.

Nicola Bacon (39) from North Hykeham said that Newark Road was the first to be officially closed in Lincoln, and made the most of the occasion by putting up a bouncy castle in her front garden.

Bacon said: “We decided to get a bouncy castle to entertain the kids as the great thing about today is that all the local people, despite their age, have come together to celebrate.”

Michael Frere (90), a retired local Vicar, along with Barbara Ferguson (62), who has lived on the street for 35 years, decided to organise the party and were delighted to see so many people get involved.

Ferguson said: “It is lovely to see everyone involved as I can remember the Queen’s Coronation party and it wasn’t anything like this.”

Celebrations on Dellfield Close were also helped by the Holy Cross Church in Boultham, providing the tables and bunting for the event. The idea for the party came from Graham and Valerie Wakelen, both 67, who recently went on holiday and wanted to carry on their cheer.

Garry Goddard (49), with the help of his partner Tracey Langmaid (42), turned the festivities on their street, Dorrigan Close, into a fund-raising opportunity.

Goddard is the founder of Lincs 2 Nepal, a local charity that helps orphans in Nepal. After successfully funding an orphanage for 53 children, he is now working with the government in Nepal to close down illegal orphanages in the country.

— Photography by Kelly Moore for The Lincolnite