My wife and I are frequent weekend visitors to Stow (in fact we spent our honeymoon weekend in our wonderful Cross Keys B&B there) and we come regularly as a break from the daily grind of working and living in London.

We love cycling around the beautiful country lanes, the totally unspoilt countryside and the widespread courtesy that we receive wherever we go.

However , I would like to say how very special and impressive it was to see the whole town displaying Union flags everywhere and the absolutely marvellous window displays created with so much thought by the many businesses in Stow.

We also visited the wonderful flower festival in the Church, listened to the very moving organ music and the lovely young lady singer.

The kind attention given afterwards when we had coffee and cakes in the church tea - rooms rounded everything off very nicely indeed.

I am sure that the many overseas visitors to Stow would have been as impressed as we were by all the special efforts to celebrate HM The Queen's Jubilee weekend.

For me it was a wonderful reminder to politicians of all persuasions that should they be further tempted to go down the republican road , then they should beware of "the silent majority".

Thank you Stow for not only providing a uniquely English occasion, but for also for restoring my faith in democracy .

Peter Brown MBE, Digby Mansions , Hammersmith, London.