A day of street parties

Thorpebank Road

Bunting, paper hats and plastic cups dominated the Bush yesterday, when almost every corner you turned revealed a closed road and a picnic table. Balloons vied with fancy dress for attention as neighbours who'd never met discovered that in fact they both quite liked each other and should really say hello more often.

I'd been invited to the Thorpebank Road party and arrived to find a band playing under a gazebo. Half the road had been given over to a children's play area, complete with wooden toys, while the grown ups occupied the other half paying particular attention to the food and drink on offer.

But what was also on display was the streak of community spirit that the residents of this and surrounding roads have shown in recent months as they took over and began to transform a local park, which had been in sad decline in the last few years. For here was a banner of the Friends of Wormholt Park who we last met dressed in their Edwardian best.

Patriotism on display

And in this street party too we also got a chance to see images of Thorpebank Road and Shepherd's Bush as it used to be in times gone by, courtesy of a local historian. Did you know the Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks was a product of the Bush? More on that later this week.

As people shared their experiences on social media it was interesting to see how different corners of the Bush interpreted what the whole thing was about. While Thorpebank Road was open and welcoming a couple of people told me they'd been turned away from the nearby Sawley Road party for not being a resident of that road - or having an official invitation! It seemed this wasn't unique as Boscombe Road had apparently adopted a similar "name's not down not coming in" strategy and had also turned people away - with one man reporting he'd been bizarrely told they were only allowed to stand outside and cheer!

Starfield Road was clearly a more capitalist affair with entry being open to all - but for a £3 fee.

Sawley Road: If yer names not dahn you 'aint cahmin in

Other roads joining Thorpebank in welcoming their neighbours, however, included Keith Grove and Gayford Road, and in the latter's case involved a party that went on well beyond the allotted end time. Although the road was cleared for traffic on time the revellers stayed on, prompting pimms-fuelled declarations of love for new found neighbours - but also one of them calling the police to tell everyone to pipe down!

And that, dear reader, is the Bush all over!