5:06pm Sunday 19th July 2009
By Ruth Lumley
In years gone by, neighbours would crack out the bunting at the drop of a party hat.
In recent years, the street party has suffered a demise but like leggings and Spandau Ballet, they are making a comeback.
Today communities across Sussex joined thousands of people across the country for The Big Lunch.
Ricardo Sabates spent the run-up petitioning his neighbours, hiring bouncy castles and recruiting face painters.
The father-of-two, of Loder Road, Brighton, said: “We have had a really good turn out despite the weather not starting out too good but it's brightened up and people are staying.”
Loder Road residents were given labels with their names and house numbers on to encourage neighbours who may know each other by sight to get to know each other better.
There was also a picnic in Pavilion Gardens and a street party in Sandgate Road, Fiveways.
The Big Lunch is the brainchild of Tim Smit (CORR), from the Eden Project, and entrepreneur Paul Twivy. They want communities to come together by growing produce, creating music and art, dressing their street and cooking and eating together.
Tom Coady, who lives in Sussex Heights, invited his neighbours to join the party in St Margaret's Place, Brighton, and he hopes it will be the starting point for more community initiatives.
He said: “In my wildest dreams it would be the start of something more. I’d like to plant tubs of flowers on the railings at some point.”
Organisers of The Big Lunch in the Lewes Road area are hoping their event will bring to together long and short-term residents alike.
Colette Bernhardt, of Triangle, a residents group for people living in the Lewes Road area, said: “Lewes Road can be seen as a bit of a thoroughfare and it’s a very studenty area.
“We want to give people a sense of community, if people have problems or things they want to do there is a platform.”
In Worthing, the residents of St Anselm's Road, Loxwood Avenue, Shermanbury Road and Sackville Way all let their hair down.
Ashley Davids, 37, of Chancton Close, said: “Some people have lived here for 50 years. There is a wonderful mixture of young and old, youth and experience.
“I originally come from South Africa, and my wife, Katarina, from the Czech Republic, and it was nice to move into a street where we felt so welcome.
“There is a great camaraderie here. People make the effort to actually talk to one another.”
How do you try to promote community in your area? Tell us below.
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