Queen's Platinum Jubilee - Knowle High street

The High Street in Knowle village closed on Saturday 4th June during Jubilee weekend.  Several drivers were not pleased that cars were stopped from passing through Knowle.  They were diverted around the High Street but that did add 5 minutes to their journey!  The car drivers’ loss was the community’s gain.  At 10 o’clock as soon as the road was closed, the artesian market went up.  There was just one problem the rain came along at the same time and stayed for the duration of the morning.  From all accounts people thought that the day going to be a washout. 

I did not venture into the village until 2pm and by then the rain had stopped.  It also brought out the people and the festivities were kickstarted again.  The high street was buzzing, and the artisan market was in full swing. It was fun just to wander up and down the high street, stand on the zebra crossing and linger at the different stalls.  This is what celebrating the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is all about, doing something different.

Highlights of the afternoon included throwing footballs into lavatories.  At first the children lined up to have a go. After a while many of the dads decided to have a go.  There were not much better than their siblings, but it was still amusing to watch.  The area around the Church was transformed and where there was green grass and a nicely manicured path, on this Saturday there was a helter-skelter, market stalls and lots of people enjoying themselves.

I took many pictures during the afternoon and luckily met a few people I know who let me take their pictures.  Visit Knowle made a video of the day with some of my pictures being featured.  I hope the Village do this on a regular basis as the event did bring the community together.

Queen's Platinum Jubilee - Knowle High street
Usually this is a quiet picturesque scene.

The event was to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Jubilee team (Arden Academy, Arden Parent & Teachers Association, Knowle and Dorridge Lions, Knowle Parish Church, Knowle Society, Knowle Village Hall Association, Love Knowle Park & Visit Knowle) came together to produce the  programme of events.  If you want to know more then the event is covered on the Visit Knowle website

The full story was on the Visit Knowle website and was also reported in the Solihull Observer.


Knowle High Street in the snow

The snow started falling on a Saturday morning and it was settling on the ground.  Seeing the conditions, I gritted my teeth and decided to head out in the cold.  There could be some good pictures of Knowle village in the snow. Venturing out in the windy cold conditions was not fun.  Being cold and wet, I took my Fuji x100v which is weather proofed and wandered around the High Street taking pictures.  Even though I had camera gloves on, with only the tips of the thumb and first finger exposed, I was getting very cold.  However it was disappointing as the snow had turned to rain and there was little of the white stuff around.  I decided to call it a day and when I got back to my car, I was soaked. Sitting in the car, I noticed that a thick snow blizzard had started.  I decided to be brave and I returned to the High Street for a second time. My decision this time was to use my iPhone13. Going to the northern end of the High street, I started taking pictures and slowly advanced towards the church at the opposite end of the road.  The temperature had dropped and the driving swirling snow was making it difficult to see what was happening. My finger tips were numb so it was difficult to know whether the camera had taken any pictures. I was also shivering and the iPhone was continually slipping out of gloves. I returned to the car more soaked than before and came home. 

Knowle High Street in the snow
Snow swirling around the shops
Knowle High Street in the snow
Little traffic and the pictures take on a timeless quality.
Knowle High Street in the snow
Knowle Church in the Snow

When I saw my iPhone pictures, I realised that I had captured some magical Christmas card snow scenes.  I did have some camera shake on one or two of the pictures but the majority were good.  The reactions on social media were very positive.  I made the long list of #sharemondays2021 and await the results of several other competitions where I submitted the pictures. I am really glad I did brave the conditions!  Seeing the pictures made it all worthwhile!

Knowle High Street in the snow
Without the cars, this scene could be from the Dickens Christmas Carol period.

Some other pictures of Knowle are on my blog including a walk around the area and snow that fell in January 2021


The Super Moon or the Super Blue Blood Moon was visible on 31st January.  I missed the early stages of the moon when you do see the magnification.

I took my photographs with the moon outside Knowle Parish Church and then in the morning on top of one of the car parks in Birmingham.  There were dozens of good photographs taken by many people.