WHAT a weekend it was – from drenched opera singers belting out Land of Hope and Glory as they sailed under Tower Bridge to private parties in back gardens, the people of Britain made the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee their own.

Communities across York, North and East Yorkshire came together, some for the first time, for street parties, flower and scarecrow festivals, concerts, fancy dress and other parades, beacon lighting and the creation of permanent souvenirs such as tree planting at Sutton-upon-Derwent, a special Jubilee garden thanks to Brownies in Poppleton and a cookbook, thanks to Copmanthorpe WI.

“It’s nice to be patriotic once in a while – it’s great,” said Fly Bradbury, of Skelton, who attended a university celebration on one day and his village’s celebration the next.

The Queen took to the water along with 1,000 boats of all shapes and sizes for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. East Riding of Yorkshire Young Farmers took to the country roads on tractors.

The Battle of Britain Flight, in a very busy four days that included the official Diamond Jubilee flying display over Buckingham Palace, managed to fit in two flypasts at York – one over the National Railway Museum and one over the Yorkshire Air Museum.

The only shadow was Prince Philip’s illness and the Queen appeared to be determined that should not stop the celebrations.

On these pages we show how York, North and East Yorkshire marked the Diamond Jubilee celebrations that culminated in a traditional British procession and thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral.