Celebrating all that's good in Kensington Place

Street party on 20 September 2009

By Tessa Gunputh, North Laine resident

Setting up

We held our 2009 street party in Kensington Place on Sunday 20th September, hoping that by that date most residents would have returned from their holidays, and we had a very good turnout. A willing band of volunteers spilled out onto the street at 10am to a grey but dry day. Nick and Neil garlanded our pretty street with blue and white bunting and tied balloons to railings, while the rest of us set up the sturdy trestles that we had hired from Hireall (a good tip from Tidy Street - thanks Sara!). Craig very kindly allowed us to store them in his immaculate house between delivery and collection.

Condensed to the middle of the street

We condensed the party to the middle of the street , as we had scaled down our plans compared with last year. The 2008 Kensington Place street party (KPSP) had been the all singing, all dancing prototype organised by the wonderful Natasha, but she had other productions to focus on this year - she is expecting her second child! I think she has her priorities right and we wish her well. So we hosted a simpler version this year but hope that with more support in the planning stage next year we'll be able to incorporate ambitious plans for KPSP10.

The street looked very festive

Peter Crowhurst brought out the 'My House, My Street' banners , which listed the names of residents for each house stretching back to 1851 and we proudly displayed them again.
With red carpet down the middle of the street (thanks to Brighton Marquees), a central food court with a BYO BBQ section, gazebos over long tables covered with home-cooked food all donated by residents, a bouncy castle and games, Kensington Place looked very festive. We hung up the fabulous banner from last year with handprints so that new people could add their mark.

A welcoming drink of Pimms

Emily and Peter, despite dreadful colds, did a wonderful job of running the Pimms stall, from where they dispensed free Pimms garnished with strawberries, cucumber and mint as a welcome drink to the party. They had to alternate their Pimms with swigs of cough mixture to keep going. The rest of us went for the traditional mix.

Spot the baby competition

Ten brave residents provided baby and current photos of themselves for the Kensington Place 'Spot the Baby' competition. Some looked just the same now but others were harder to match up to their angelic former selves. We all had great fun trying to guess who was who. Poppy Mannion cleverly matched all ten photos and won a large jar of toffees and a sugar dummy. Peter Harold created a very professional display of the bouncing babies, so thank you to him.

Drawing the raffle

Peggy drew the raffle and pulled out the winning ticket - hers! Despite cries of "fix, fix", we were all pleased for her. Thanks to Blackout, Easynews and Travis Perkins for donations. Alison made some marvellous and beautifully presented platters of home-made produce as prizes. Thank you to her and to everyone else who donated bottles etc as prizes.

Racey games for the children

Phoebe and Laurie ran the Racey Games for the children. Tabitha found that the best way to win the egg-and-spoon race was to run holding the egg onto the bowl of the spoon. Brilliant! Laurie carried Plum in her sack by the handles to help her reach the finishing line. Whatever the unconventional methods employed, the competitors all had immense fun, so thanks  to Phoebe and Laurie.

Street cricket

The street cricket, ably umpired by Johnny again, brought out the competitive side of us all, as the 'Garden ' side of the street struggled to defend its prize of last year's trophy. But the 'Railings' side triumphed and now hold the cup proudly until next year's match.

Mixing with friends old and new

We all enjoyed the opportunity to mix with established friends in the street and to make the acquaintance of more recent newcomers. We are blessed to have marvelous residents in Kensington Place. The unique design of our street makes it easy to mix and chat.

All that is good

The street party is a celebration of all that is good here. Next year, with more funds and a bigger planning team, we can have an even better time. KPSP10 will be the big one!

(Click here for some more photos of this event.)

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 201, November/December 2009]