MEMORIES of the Queen's visit to Ipswich continue to linger – not least so for Her Majesty.In a letter to The Evening Star her assistant private secretary at Sandringham, in Norfolk, reported that she had been "delighted" to visit the county.

By Jo Macdonald

MEMORIES of the Queen's visit to Ipswich continue to linger – not least so for Her Majesty.

In a letter to The Evening Star her assistant private secretary at Sandringham, in Norfolk, reported that she had been "delighted" to visit the county.

Tim Hitchens added that the Queen had enjoyed seeing the early editions of our newspaper being printed during her visit to Felaw Maltings.

The Queen and Prince Philip had spent 45 minutes at the new business centre during the jubilee visit to Ipswich earlier this month.

They were greeted by a crowd of people who had special tickets to watch her visit to the Maltings.

She officially opened the building, which has been in operation since 2000, before being taken on a tour.

Part of the tour was a video link to see early editions of the Evening Star being printed and during the visit she was introduced to managing director of Archant Print Peter Dodds and Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover who explained the paper's role in the community.

To commemorate her visit to Ipswich, which was part of a tour of Suffolk on July 17, the Queen was sent copies of the Star featuring coverage of both her Jubilee weekend celebrations and her visit to Ipswich.

It was this which prompted the letter of reply from Mr Hitchens to Mr Pickover.

He said: "I am showing these to Her Majesty who I know was delighted to visit Suffolk last Wednesday and was pleased to meet you and Peter Dodds at Felaw Maltings to see the early editions of the Evening Star being printed."

Meanwhile Star readers have also been sharing their memories of the day.

Hundreds of people turned out at locations all over the town to catch a glimpse of Ipswich's royal guests – some waiting patiently for hours.

Flags, balloon and bunting were everywhere to be seen as the town gave the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh a rapturous welcome.

Among them was Pauline Pascall, of Sunningdale Avenue, Ipswich, who had won tickets to watch Her Majesty's visit.

She had taken a camera to record her memories of the day but the film got stuck in the camera and broke, causing her to lose all her photographs of the visit.

However, she ordered a number of prints from the Evening Star and on receiving them sat down to write a poem recollecting her experience of the Queen's jubilee tour of Ipswich.

The Day The Queen Came To Ipswich

The day has come and gone,

But the memory lives on,

To see Prince Philip and the Queen,

Is nothing short of a dream.

The day the sun shone, oh so bright,

Although security was tight,

People excited with anticipation,

To be part of history in the making.

Crowds gathered from afar and near,

To create a wonderful atmosphere,

Children, adults and everyone,

Were certain to make it a day of fun.

Three hours of waiting soon went by,

As we saw the helicopter in the sky,

Dignitaries walking up and down,

How proud to live in Ipswich town.

Here they come went up the cry,

Bunting and flags began to fly,

The Queen and Prince Philip radiated with pleasure,

As cameras clicked for pictures to treasure.

The Water Front was a great place to meet,

The guests with tickets having a special treat,

From Felixstowe, Colchester, Australia and USA,

Give thanks to the Evening Star for making their day.

Months of planning by the council and their team,

Made a perfect day for a visit from the Queen,

Police, sniffer dogs, street cleaners, to name a few,

From the proud people of Ipswich a BIG THANK YOU.