This year to stay safe and and support the NHS many of our lodges and bands opted to have a Virtual Twelfth with the best bits of the day brought to them in the comfort of their own homes and gardens. Many who are older and vulnerable have valued this lifeline and allowed the to enjoy the big day with family using the online Virtual Twelfth platform and resources. Many have joined us for the traditional Ulster fry in the morning or with arts and crafts for the younger folk.

We took walk down memory lane with almost two decades of Twelfths painstakingly archives with pictures and material from previous parades and events. This brought back many good memories and also some sad ones as we saw faces of men and women no longer with us. The entire day was family focused with online and real times events not just having the theme of family but using that to ensure safety. Any actual events held used strict social distancing and other guidelines and used the ‘bubble’ approach where family units already meeting were kept together and no new connections were made.

Instead we encouraged members to take to social media or Whats App to stay in touch and have that famous catch up, which the Twelfth field is noted for, virtually. Some spectators streamed our parades and events live to friends and family often as far away as Australia. In these times of lockdown and fears of a second wave all we have done is to protect not only our own members but the wider public so we wish to thank all those who sacrificed the day they would have liked and instead stuck by the rules but still marked the day traditionally and appropriately.

To the public we also express thanks for staying in and using our resources or where we were able to bring a Twelfth to you for observing any directions from Marshalls and staying socially distanced and safe.