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1981 - Sunderland celebrates wedding of Charles and Diana
Sunderland's town centre was deserted as Wearsiders devoted their attention to celebrating the Royal Wedding with street parties on July 29.
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"Many were up at dawn putting the finishing touches to yards of bunting and flags, before watching the ceremony on television," reported the Echo.
"But, seconds after Prince Charles slipped the ring on Lady Diana's finger and the couple had left for Buckingham Palace, the fun started in earnest."
More than 200 street parties were held across the town on July 29, with hundreds more at houses and community centres throughout the day.
A mock wedding was held in the Children's Orthopaedic Ward of Sunderland District Hospital, complete with cake made from plaster of Paris.
"Nurses played the bride and bridegroom and the children were happy to be guests," the Echo reported.
Residents in Dunblane Road, Seaburn Dene, used their street party – a mass of colour with huge flags – to raise money for spina bifida and cystic fibrosis.
A wedding cake was the centrepiece of a street party in Brandling Street, Roker, where children and pensioners joined hands to dance in the street.
Householders in Ashleigh Grove, Fulwell, hung carrier bags across the street to add a dash of colour, while a mock Royal Wedding was held in Red House.
It was left to two girls however, Jacqueline Butler and Kathleen Atkinson, to take on the main roles – as all the local boys were too shy to take part.
And regulars at the Ivy House pub also staged their own wedding, with pub manager Tom Murray "looking slightly less than radiant" as Lady Diana.
Eight Wearside women also enjoyed a very special day to remember – after giving birth at Sunderland District Hospital on July 29.
Among the mums was Echo writer Linda Colling, who called her new-born son Charles – not because of the wedding, but because she liked the name.
"The atmosphere in here on Royal Wedding day was fantastic," she told the paper. "The nurses really went out of their way to make it extra special.
"They put on a special meal, which was just like a Christmas dinner, and they wore red, white and blue decorations."
Among the handful of Wearsiders lucky enough to receive an invitation to the Royal Wedding itself were local MP Fred Willey and his wife, Eleanor.
"It was a wonderful day. A very British occasion," said Mrs Willey afterwards. "It was a day I shall never forget."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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