In a leafy corner of Brixton, the Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated in a classic English manner; over tea and biscuits. Yet all those celebrating are refugees who fled here and were outsiders not so long ago. Reporter Philippa Thomas mingles with those who are taking part in the national occasion.

Bob Vertis, arrived from Hungary in 1956 and remembers "the coloured lights from Dover to Victoria," and still considers Britain as "a land of colour, promise and safety".

In the Olympic borough of Newham, local councillor, Paul Sathiyanesan arrived from Sri Lanka in 1985 and, as a pillar of the local community, believes that it is important to "understand the culture and traditions" of the place one lives in.

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