CELEBRATIONS of the Queen’s 90th birthday have been blossoming all over the country, with Holsworthy’s beacon being lit at the top of the parish church to mark the special occassion.

As the fire service lowered the Rose Beacon 85ft into the air onto the roof of St Peter and St Paul Church, Father Christopher Penn, the priest-in-charge of Holsworthy Parish Church said: “When Cllr Jon Hutchings caught up with me in the Market Square a few weeks ago, and asked me what I thought about putting a beacon on top of the tower of the church of St Peter and St Paul Holsworthy, I saw in my mind’s eye the smouldering ruin of Holsworthy’s parish church, so my answer was what you would expect: ‘Jonathan, not a chance, that’s a silly idea.’

“Once he explained that it was to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, and that it wasn’t going to be a bucket full of burning logs, I was a little more amenable.”

The event saw a joint collaboration between Holsworthy Town Council, the church and Holsworthy’s fire service, as they placed the gas burner in position to be lit at dusk in the evening, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Funding was organised for the purchase of the beacon, but the only problem was physically getting it on the tower roof.

Luckily, the event coincided with Holsworthy Fire Station’s training week, meaning the lighting of the beacon would be the perfect opportunity for the fire service to work on an exercise involving a tall building.

Father Christopher added: “We are very thankful to John Nolan and the rest of the team for all the effort they have gone to in combing a training opportunity with this project.

“Also, a thank you to all those who have volunteered to remain with the beacon during the time it is alight. This is a real example of the community coming together for this important event.”