Residents of this pretty village have got their Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations well and truly stitched up - with yards and yards of knitted flags, bunting, bollard covers, Queens and corgis. The village centre of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire is full of the colours of red, white and blue ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations next week.
And it has been mostly down to 34 women in the community who first took up knitting through lockdown to pass the time. They've staged a mighty collective effort to create a stunning array of knitted Jubilee themed garments that have been spread across the village.
That includes colourful woolly bollard covers, red, white and blue lamp post wraps and a brilliant Queen and royal guards structure on a traditional post box next to the church. There's even a cute corgi dog sitting with the Queen figure which is getting plenty of attention from little ones (and bigger ones too), created by an anonymous resident known only as "Holmes Chapel's yarn bombing Banksy".
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Anita Armitt, 66, first started the Holmes Chapel Yarn Bombers group through lockdown. She, along with fellow volunteers, has been out over the past couple of weeks getting all the knitted pieces out onto trees, railings, bollards and lamp posts.
Mum-of-four Anita says: "I don’t think anyone has gone to town quite like we have. We also have a large knitted centrepiece that we're keeping under wraps until next week."
That centrepiece was finally unveiled on Monday - and revealed to be a huge life-sized model of the Queen with fully knitted white dress and robe - with all 34 knitters coming together to create a square that was then stitched together to make the dress. And an adorable knitted life-sized corgi alongside Her Majesty too.
It has gone on display in the churchyard and is already proving popular with children visitors to snap a photo with. Anita is calling on visitors to take lots of photos of the model, although people are asked to stay off the red woollen carpet for safety.
Parish councillor Anita explained that the group of women knitters first came together, virtually, through lockdown. They now range in age from 10 year olds up to 80 year olds across the village community.
They all use or buy their own wool or rely on donations to get all the knitted pieces created. They first put out displays for Remembrance Day events with knitted poppies, and continued the theme at Christmas with more decorations across the village.
Anita said: "People seem to love it, we’ve not had one derogatory comment. I think especially during Covid times it just makes people smile as they come through the village and see it all.
"It started as just a bunch of ladies who first got together during Covid times really. We didn't have much to do so we all got together online, it was a way particularly for the older ladies to have something to focus on.
"Most of us haven't even met in person. We all just got to know each other through Facebook and newsletters around the village and word-of-mouth."
Anita said 34 ladies in total have been involved in the Jubilee project, initially all were asked to make "street cosies" that could be used to cover street furniture like lamp-posts and signs, as well as knitted squares and bunting. But soon, people got to work adding to that with their own little soldiers, ladies-in-waiting, and floral designs using the Union Jack theme.
The village's U3A group also got involved, making an extraordinary array of bollard cosies - with cute little bobble hats. Outside the Red Lion pub you'll also find a woolly soldier over one bollard.
And the whole village is getting ready to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee after the parish council successfully applied to be one of the areas hosting a Jubilee Beacon. The main A50 London Road through the village will be closed on the evening of Thursday June 2, while the beacon is lit from the top of St Luke's Church in the village centre.
Crowds are expected to flood into the village in time for the beacon to be lit at 9.45pm on the Thursday night. Parish councillor Mike Street, 75, said: "It has been a labour of love for everyone involved but seemed fitting to mark the jubilee."
Holmes Chapel is a village just off the M6 at Junction 18 in Cheshire. It's known for its stunning railway viaduct, but most famously in recent times it's become known as the boyhood home town of One Direction hear-throb Harry Styles.
There's plenty to see and do in the town, which boasts a number of independent shops, cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants. It's also well known for its long-established bakery Mandevilles, where pop hunk Harry had his first part-time job while still a schoolboy, before his X Factor success.
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