Royal Wedding fever is beginning to hit the nation and even if you are not an out and out royalist, the extra bank holiday is surely to be welcomed. Communities and families alike are taking the opportunity to indulge in a little nostalgia and many are organising traditional street parties or neighbourhood picnics with one eye fixed firmly on the good old British weather and the other fixed firmly on the good old health and safety legislation!
No longer can a few neighbours get together on a whim and set up tables and chairs the length of the street without the endless filling in of forms and applications. I have even heard that celebrations have had to be cancelled because of the need for expensive public liability insurance. But panic not, there are endless ways around this, public spaces such as parks, greens and even, in some cases, pavements, car parks and gardens can be wonderful spaces for building community cohesion through a celebration. There is a charity organisation - streetparty.org.uk which has been set up specifically to help with the organisation of such events and Scarborough Borough Council has even run a training course!
If you really are a 'cup half empty' type person, and expect a British downpour deluge on the day, then take the celebrations inside community halls, schools or even the garage. Some villages have gone one step further and have organised a summer celebration later in the year, but remember this is Britain and considering the summers we have experienced over the past few years, April the 29th looks as good a bet as any for a bright, sunny and heart warming party.
Themes such as the seventies and eighties have been adopted, harking back to the Queen's Silver Jubilee and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Dust off the bunting and the Union Jacks to bring some much needed patriotism in these times of cut backs and austerity. Children can be part of the preparations and can be given the task of designing and making table decorations over the long Easter break. Don't risk the best china and glass out on those rickety emergency chairs and tables, the red, white and blue themed colours can be wonderfully extended to disposable cups and glasses - there are even patriotic Union Jack cups that are now available and grandma won't even need to disappear to do the washing up!
Now, have you thought about the problems of wind? No, not the type brought on by auntie's egg and cucumber sandwiches, the type that is likely to blow in on the day from the west...or east... or north...or...! Red, white and blue paper cups can make practical receptacles for all those nibbles such as crisps and nuts, which could easily end up decorating the hedges and rose bushes if they are not placed in deep containers as the gentle caressing breeze decides to turn into a full on westerly, whipping the snacks into air borne missiles!
As the party continues into the night, and the atmosphere heats up, even if the weather hasn't, you really will be grateful that those glasses are the bouncing type. Mrs Jones from number 22 is getting on incredibly well with Mr Smith from number 10 and the previously horribly harsh taste of the duty free Spanish red seems to have improved from ghastly plonk to a silky, smooth vintage with every sip, or is it gulp? Mrs Jones seems to have lost all ability to grip tight onto anything other than Mr Smith and on track to break the world record for dropping drinks - thank goodness for those plastic glasses.
And so it comes to harsh reality of the next morning and the clearing up. As you emerge bleary eyed from your front door, aspirin, rubber gloves and stiff brush to the ready, you really will be grateful that you are not sweeping up smashed glass, disposable cups and glasses are much, much quieter - they are not even going to disturb Mr Smith and Mrs Jones who are gently snoring together in a red, white and blue heap in the hawthorn hedge. How's that for community cohesion?