IT is ironic. People are organising Golden Jubilee street parties and celebrating community spirit at the same time as Bournemouth council feels it cannot release details of where they will take place... because of the risk of mean-spirited behaviour by certain people in the community.

If every street held a party it wouldn’t be a problem. That, sadly, won’t be the case and it’s easy to understand the concerns of big-hearted people who organise street events who won’t want selfish outsiders spoiling the party.

But in these days of Facebook and Twitter, a council’s hush-hush approach is unlikely to keep any location secret.

You can’t help contrasting the secrecy surrounding Bournemouth’s street party list with the delightful accessibility of the Queen in visiting Dorset today.

Come the day of the jubilee celebrations, anyone attending a street party should be asked that perennial royal occasion question: “Have you come far?”

There should be but one answer: “No. I live here.”