Belfast honoured to mark Jubilee

Among those marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in Northern Ireland are a Belfast couple celebrating 60 years together.

Samuel and Margaret Sloan, 80, attended a tea party thrown by new city Lord Mayor Gareth Robinson on a weekend of anniversaries, birthday parties and street festivals in Northern Ireland.

The East Belfast couple credited an ability to co-operate and openness with each other for reaching the milestone.

Mr Sloan said: "We work together, we have worked things out together and there was nothing that the wife did that I did not know, we were a team."

They celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on July 5 and have three sons and one daughter.

Their soldier grandson received a medal from Prince Edward after he was injured in Iraq. Mr Sloan said there was a lot of goodwill for the Queen in Northern Ireland.

"She is a very gracious Queen and she does care for the people," he said.

The former motor mechanic said he was delighted to be attending the event.

"It is a great honour to be asked to go to that," he added.

On Monday night a beacon will be lit at Lagan Weir in Belfast at 10.25pm, linking in with similar events across the UK. Sinn Fein councillors were among those supporting the Jubilee events in the city.