Beacon lights way to jubilee
2:00pm Wed Feb 01, 2012
A beacon could be lit in Bingham in June to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
Rushcliffe Borough Council has put forward the town as one of six locations in the district.
The parishes of Orston, Cropwell Bishop, Shelford and Newton, Stanton-on-the-Wolds and Holme Pierrepont have also been put forward.
Beacons stretching from Land’s End to John O’Groats will be lit as part of the celebration.
Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, and a Bingham resident, Mrs Judith Swann, is liaising with various councils as one of the Queen’s representatives.
She approached Bingham Town Council’s community committee to see if it could provide land to mark the historic occasion.
“With Bingham being one of the more substantial places in the borough, it would be great to have a beacon here,” she said.
Members said it would be a wonderful opportunity for a community celebration and suggested Butt Field as the perfect location.
Committee chairman Mr Francis Purdue-Horan said the council was excited at the prospect of holding an event.
“It might be an opportunity for the sports club to provide refreshments or a barbecue for people to enjoy, which would help with their fundraising,” he said.
“For someone who has given their whole life to the nation, it is not too much trouble to show our appreciation to the Queen in this particularly historic year.
“While it is not necessary to have fundraising events, we would like to make it memorable — especially for children as they will no doubt think about it for years to come.”
In total, there will be 2,012 beacons lit across the country from 10pm on June 4.
Of those, 48 are set to be in Nottinghamshire.
The size of beacons will vary and will range from live bonfires to laser lighting or braziers.
Beacons will also be lit on the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
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