Wacky hats in Tidy Street

Some of the Tidy Street residents in their hats

Photo by Heather Hacker

'Mr Richard' played the guitar

Photo by Henry Bruce

One of the many home-made cakes

Photo by Henry Bruce

Heather had made a special cake for Joyce's birthday

Photo by Henry Bruce

Street party on 13 September 2009

By Sara Bragg, North Laine resident

This year 2009 Tidy Street opted for a more modest event than in the previous two years - a Mad Hatter's tea party from 4-6pm, rather than an all day event.  Yet we think that in terms of the returns from the energies invested in organising it, it was even more successful. More residents joined in than before, and the level of socializing and neighbour contact was fantastic. We discovered just how many wonderful chefs live in the street - thanks to all of you who provided sandwiches, scones, cakes, biscuits, teapots, tea cups, plates, tablecloths, and so on.

Wonderful wacky hats!

As you can see from the photographs, many residents joined in the party theme by wearing wonderful and wacky hats. Those who didn't have their own were helped by the generosity of 'Revamp' in Sydney Street, who donated a box of party hats to borrow.

We would also like to thank 'Brighton Marquees', who provided carpet (for the third year running), which as usual made all the difference to transforming the street and making it a safe and secure place for children to play.

Some thank yous

We should also thank: Lore, who organised cup cake decoration activities for children; Kemp Street, whose 'Know Your Neighbours' quiz provided the inspiration for our own version; 'Retail Therapy', who donated the prize for the quiz winners as well as a talented musician to provide acoustic music; Mark and Elliot for photocopying; David and Amanda, Hugo and Thea for storing our tables etc; and B&H Council's Mike Wright for helping with road closure.

Mike and Billy were the clear winners of the quiz, which was well deserved since they also put a huge amount of effort into helping to organise it. Thanks to them and to everyone who came!

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 200, September/October 2009]