Street Parties
Last Friday, 8th May, many roads held street parties to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe, this to replace the many events which had been planned for the 8th, 9th and 10th of May but which had of necessity been cancelled. St. Mary’s Road was one of these.
St. Mary’s Road chose to have ours at lunch time (rather than the afternoon tea time generally being observed). So soon after going outside our houses to observe the national two-minute silence at 11 am, bunting and balloons started to appear on front garden hedges and fences. Not long after, tables and chairs appeared just in front of the hedges. Many went for a very decorous look with vintage table cloths and vases of flowers. Big band music of the era was provided by Andy Wilkin and enjoyed by all. Each household sat at their table and ate their lunch, holding up glasses to toast those more than 2 metres away across the road or further up or down. Almost every house took part, many dressed up for the occasion in 40s style. Val Smith provided a large Union Jack cake, placed in such a way that people could help themselves will observing social distancing.
Once people had eaten there was a tendency for people to walk up or down the middle of the road, exchanging a few words with different neighbours who they may not have seen for some time. The road is wide enough that the 2 metre distancing was easy to maintain. Altogether a very pleasant afternoon if very different from the street parties which have been held in our road in the past. Everyone said we must have a “real” street party as soon as possible once the national conditions permit.
