After the excitement of the Olympic Torch and Jubilee celebrations in Ross hundreds of local people joined crowds of thousands in Hereford to welcome The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Wednesday, July 11th.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire paid tribute to people who turned out to give them a right Royal welcome. "It was a most amazing day," said Lady Darnley, the Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire. "We expected around 20,000 people to turn out to cheer The Queen, but we feel we have certainly surpassed this figure," she added.

Paul Deneen DL said that the day had been a special celebration of the young. He said:?"We saw some outstanding activities and performances in the Performance Arena. The day commenced with a 1000 strong Youth and Children's choir which was fabulous and was followed by non-stop entertainment throughout the day, which included a number of brilliant contributions from local schools and from young people in and around Ross-on-Wye.

"There was also such outstanding work from the cadets and other organisations involved in all of the wonderful Parades and Displays. Ross-on-Wye played a great part regarding this and were and are a great credit to their organisations." Ross made the most of the opportunity Diamond Day presented on Wednesday, July 11th to showcase everything which is good about the town.

The marquee was filled with information and displays about the talent in the town, the work of various charitable groups as well as the shops and cafés. There was a wonderful sense of visiting Ross in the heart of Hereford.

Deputy Lieutenant Paul Deneen accompanied HRH The Duke of Edinburgh as he visited the Ross marquee.

Mr Deneen said:?"It was very clear that the Duke of Edinburgh took a personal and genuine interest in meeting the people present and being told all about Ross-on-Wye itself.

A gift to the Queen to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee and her 60 years on the throne, was presented to Prince Philip by Mrs Denise Mason the Town Clerk. The Prince spent so long looking at the gift and asking about the artist that he had to rush the rest of his visit.

Mr Deneen added:?"It was clear throughout the day that the Mayor, David Ravenscroft and the town of Ross-on-Wye had made its valuable contribution to the Diamond Day celebration in Hereford and had shown Town at its very best."

Mrs Joyce Thomas MBE DL and a former Mayor of Ross-on-Wye had received a special invitation to the event and was with Lady Darnley, the Lord Lieutenant at lunchtime. She said:?"David Ravenscroft - the Mayor, Doreen Ravenscroft - the Mayoress, Denise Mason and Rachel Lewis and all who were involved with the displays in the Marquee - involving the history of the Town, or with the art, drama, food, societies, organisations and traders - all were simply outstanding.

"I offer my personal thanks and congratulations to everyone who were in any way involved for their excellent efforts. It was a very proud day for Ross."

Before the visit to the marquee HRH the Queen and Prince Philip had watched the Serenade which involved Ross Tempest Cheerleaders.

After the visit Ross youngsters entertained visitors, several school choirs sang and members of Xentricity put on a special performance of songs from The Jersey Boys and other musicals.