THE Queen may have only been in Hereford for 75 minutes, but for anyone who saw Her Majesty, it will be 75 minutes they will remember for the rest of their lives.

It really was a moment to behold for the thousands of people who turned up, whether it was in an official capacity or by just standing on the side of the street waving the union flag as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made their way through the city.

I was the “man in the street” and got to speak to a number of people who packed Hereford city centre to get a glimpse of Her Majesty.

When it started raining at about 9am, I thought that it would put off a lot of people, but thankfully, it was only a shower and the sun soon came out.

It was wonderful to see so many people turn out, young and old, and I was so proud to see my home city come alive.

When the Royal car drove into High Town, the cheer that greeted it was as loud as you could imagine and children were waving so enthusiastically, I thought some of their hands were going to fall off.

But it was not just about Hereford – every corner of the county was represented in various marquees displayed on the King George V playing fields and those who were presented to the Queen will no doubt remember it for the rest of their lives.

Only two months ago, thousands of people witnessed the Olympic torch go through the county and now this.

I’m sure that many of you who thought the two events would not live up to much soon changed your minds as it was hard not to be caught up by the atmosphere.

What a great time to be British with the next stop being the Olympics.

I am in a confident mood that our wonderful athletes will deliver on the grandest of stages and if they do, well it will just be another excuse to party.