Bank Holiday Monday, 8th May, was the day when the flags came out in Gateacre and everyone had fun! The day began and ended with heavy rain - but, when it mattered, the skies brightened and the sun even peeked through at times. The Friends of Gateacre had organised a community event on the village green, with face-painting and craft activities for the children and, later on, live music for all to enjoy.

At 1 o'clock we were honoured to welcome Mr Mark Blundell, who as Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside is King Charles III's personal representative within our ceremonial county, and had agreed to visit Gateacre to join in the celebrations. The excuse for all of this, of course, was the Coronation which had taken place two days previously.
In 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, a copper beech tree was planted on Gateacre Village Green.
In 2023, as mentioned in our last Newsletter, we decided to plant another special tree: a silver birch.

At 1.30 p.m. the Lord-Lieutenant unveiled a plaque, recording the fact that the tree had been planted "to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III".

Our thanks go to the Lord-Lieutenant, who showed such an interest in our activities and the various volunteers to whom he was introduced, to the Friends of Gateacre, who planned the event so thoroughly, to the three Woolton Ward Councillors who arranged the funding - and of course to all those local residents who attended and made the event such a success. A special presentation was made to Councillor Barbara Mace, the current Chair of the Friends of Gateacre, who had just retired from the City Council after 24 years as one of our elected representatives. Finally, special thanks and congratulations are due to Councillor Kris Brown, who masterminded the event and who continues in office as the elected member for the new Gateacre Ward.