JN Junior: If you met the Queen, what would you ask her?!
This week's JN Junior, in association with PJ Library, is dedicated to the Queen’s historic, never-before-seen Platinum Jubilee!
Genius Jake says: This year, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marks her 70-year reign. While celebrations have been taking place throughout the year, they will culminate with the Platinum Jubilee Weekend in early June. The long weekend takes place from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5 June (and means we get an extra bank holiday!).
The Queen took to the throne in 1952 when she was just 25. Now 95, she is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee!
The Queen used to live at Buckingham Palace but when the pandemic hit, she moved to Windsor Castle, which had been her weekend residence. Here are some other fun facts about Queen Elizabeth II:
• Her favourite colour is believed to be blue. She enjoys stamp collecting, which makes sense seeing as she appears on so many of them! Her Majesty loves dogs and has owned more than 30 corgis. At one time, she had 13.
• She also has some hidden talents. She trained to be a mechanic and a military truck driver! Did you know the Queen has two birthdays? She was born on 21 April, however her official birthday is held on a Saturday in June – this year it’s the 11th. I would love to ask the Queen if she can remember the name of all the corgis she has owned, or what her favourite television show is!
If you met the Queen what would you ask her?
Zac Broch, eight, north London
Have you ever got lost in any of your palaces? Have you ever not wanted to be Queen?
Eden Broch, eight, north London
Do you play Wordle? Do you pick your own clothes or does someone else pick them for you?
Good news for… wildlife!
The RSPB is calling for everyone to join the wildlife-planting revolution as a new YouGov survey shows that three-quarters of us are already trying to encourage wildlife to our garden.
The survey, part of the RSPB’s Nature on Your Doorstep campaign, revealed that more than two in five consider pollinators when choosing what plants to grow in the garden, a quarter leave grass to grow long for nature and nearly half feed the birds.
What better time to get planting than Shavuot, an agricultural festival that starts on 4 June, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest.
Five things to enjoy this month…
The Crystal Maze
Race against the clock to complete adrenaline-fuelled challenges based on iconic TV show The Crystal Maze. The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience London is based on Shaftesbury Avenue. www.the-crystal-maze.com
Rapunzel at The Radlett Centre
Let your hair down on 30 and 31 May for a family-fun musical adaptation of popular fairy tale Rapunzel (Scott Ritchie Productions). There is photo opp with the characters after the show. www.radlettcentre.co.uk
The Gruffalo at artsdepot
Family favourite The Gruffalo is coming to artsdepot this half term. Tall Stories is back with a magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. www.artsdepot.co.uk
The Queen’s Birthday Parade
Look out for the Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) on 2 June with more than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.
Jubilee Joust at Hampton Court Palace
Knights can be seen battling it out at a jousting tournament over the bank holiday weekend. The Jubilee Joust is a family-friendly event, taking place in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace. Runs 1 to 5 June.
Just for laughs… with Ivor Baddiel!
BILLY:
I can’t believe the Queen has converted, dad.
DAD: No she hasn’t.
BILLY:
But you just said she has.
DAD:
No I didn’t, I said it’s the Queen’s Jubilee, not the Queen’s a Jew, Billy!
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
