Street parties

On VE-Day plus one a party was held in Diana Road, arranged by Mr Isaac. The children were given tea, consisting of jellies, custard, trifle, blancmange, fruit, sweets, jam tarts, various sandwiches, victory cake, chocolate sandwich, home-made lemonade and tea. Items were performed by the children, and prizes awarded for fancydress parade, races, songs and poems, etc., consisting of savings stamps, money, sweets and a doll made by Mrs Simmonds. Liquid refreshment during the interval was provided by Mr Honey.

Walthamstow Guardian, 18 May 1945

See that picture up there, my mum is the one on the end, I’m in that one somewhere. I was dressed as a gyspy, with you know how they used to make the wooden pegs…and I had a little basket with these wooden pegs with metal around the top. They were good those pegs.

Eileen, Courtenay Road

Every year we have a street party so we close off the road and the kids scoot up and down the road without the fear of a car bashing into them, so you get to know the people around you.

Edna, Elphinstone Road

In the time I’ve been here, I don’t think it’s changed that much. I think normally when people come people stay. I’ve not noticed any huge movements of people, it’s still very family orientated. It’s a friendly street, and if anything I would say it’s got even friendlier, because of the Jubilee year that encouraged our first street party, then we had an Olympic street party, then there was the Royal Wedding street party. If anything I think each year it gets friendlier and friendlier. So if it is changing, it’s changing even more for the better.

The street parties are normally organised by Isla, who lives next door, and she’s very good, she likes her clipboard and she likes orders, and you need someone like that in the street because otherwise you would never get involved. And each year this whole section of street is cordoned off, and Isla organises all sorts of things like bouncy castles, and fire engines come, and the kids love that, and they can cycle safely up and down that whole block. And then each family that takes part cooks something or brings along something, so last year we had samosas and things from across the street, we had Polish food, we had a big tea urn that was in someone’s house, local shops and businesses gave things for a raffle prize, again it’s a lovely, lovely event. There’s bunting in the street, and everyone helps and trims hedges and cleans the street, it’s a really nice event. It’s mainly just our street but nothing is stopping anyone else from coming, so quite often people’s friends come, who don’t live in the area, but essentially it’s for this street.

Iqbal, Winns Avenue