AMONG those who enjoyed a special view of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations — at Buckingham Palace no less — were Dotty and George Allan from Bere Alston.

As selected guests they met Princess Anne, Prince Edward and The Countess of Sussex, to whom they chatted about Bere Alston and the Jubilee weekend. 

Dotty, who is chair of the Bere Alston Trekkers, and her son, joined thousands of guests to enjoy a feast in the palace gardens on the bank holiday Monday, before seeing the the star-studded concert in honour of the Diamond Jubilee later in the day. 

There was a sumptuous wicker picnic basked filled with a menu created by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and the Queen's royal chef, Mark Flanagan. Their basket contained tea-smoked Scottish salmon, a modern take on coronation chicken and Sandringham strawberry crumble crunch.

As Dotty is a vegetarian she tucked into a delicious mushroom parfait.  There were also cupcakes and a small cheeseboard with biscuits and chutney, among other items.  The food was washed down with Moët and Chandon champagne for Dotty and Hildon's water for George. 

After their picnic Dotty and George were able to walk around the grounds of the palace where they met the royals.

From the picnic, Dotty and George were shown to their seats in the stands which allowed them a top class view of the entire concert and George was ecstatic to see the likes of Robbie Williams, Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue and Paul McCartney, followed by a brilliant firework display.

Dotty said: It was a truly memorable day and we now have hundreds of photographs and wonderful memories to share together.'