Middle of the Road Music for the Coronation

Alan Bignell looks back on how Fielding Road celebrated the event

Fielding Road celebrates the Coronation
Fielding Road celebrates the Coronation

Participate

Charity Match to Be Held at Chiswick Cricket Club

St Nicholas' Warm Bank Rebranded as Wednesday Welcome

The W4 Black Tie Ball and Auction Returns

Sign up for our weekly Chiswick newsletter

Comment on this story on the

May 13, 2023

By the time you read this the Coronation and the celebrations that followed will probably seem like a distant memory. However, before we consign the weekend’s events to history, here’s a reflection on one special part of them. The street parties that took place the day after
the Coronation itself.

There was certainly no shortage of them in our part of Chiswick. In fact there were three others within shouting distance of the one in our own road. But before talking about that, I want to take my hat off to all the people up and down the country who organised similar events.

There's a huge amount of time and effort needed to set these things up and ensure they go off well on the day. In the case of our own street party, the titans who took on this responsibility were three different neighbours.

They were the ones who applied for permission to close the road. The ones who took on the task to find and secure tables and chairs for the day (the local church helped out there). And the ones who sourced and put up the impressive decorations. They also managed to find time
to organise the entertainment.


'‘A Wing and a Prayer' positioned on the footpath at the Jubilee Street Party last year

That's where our band, 'A Wing and a Prayer' came in. We had played at last year's Jubilee street party and were more than happy to do the same again. At the Jubilee party we had played on the footpath in front of our house. This time because there were skips immediately
opposite, we planned to set up our equipment in the same way outside a neighbour’s house further down the road.

However, once the tables were in place, that position would have left us isolated from everyone else. Instead it was suggested we set up closer to the tables. This we did by moving our equipment off the footpath and out into the middle of the road.

Blessed by sunny weather, the party was quickly under way. Our road is like many in Chiswick where you know the neighbours on each side of you but that's about it. Here was the perfect opportunity to meet some of the unfamiliar faces living behind the doors you walk
past almost every day.

Easing the introductions were the tables full of the food and drink each household had contributed. After everyone had had their fill, our two sets of music provided a backdrop to the myriad of conversations that continued long after our final number.

One impressive part of the event was the number of people who mucked in to clear up at the end of the day. The following morning only the bunting remained as evidence of the hugely enjoyable affair a day earlier.

Playing at the Seniors' Coronation Tea Party
Playing at the Seniors' Coronation Tea Party

Time for the members of A Wing and a Prayer to have a well earned lie in? Not a bit of it. We were up bright and early to set up our equipment for our second gig of the weekend, a Seniors Coronation Afternoon Tea. More middle of the road music? No, this time we were
ensconced inside the Chiswick Catholic Centre. Just as well too as by then it was raining!

Alan Bignell


Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 


Bookmark and Share