Is This Ealing's Most Sociable Street?

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Street party and other car free events often held in Framfield Road in W7

The residents of a sociable street in Hanwell held a street party on Saturday 16 September with a food-fest theme.

Now an annual early autumn tradition, the party on Framfield Road was the result of months of planning and hard work from a big team of volunteers.

The road also runs monthly play streets to allow families and young children enjoying the novelty of having the road closed to traffic, parked cars removed and the freedom of the street to chat, play on bikes and scooters and generally get to know their neighbours better. A rare privilege for people living in West London!

The weather was kind to the organisers and apart from a couple of short showers it stayed dry and defied the poor forecast. With neighbours mingling freely with residents from up and down the long, 200 house street, there were lots of activities for the children, including Jenga, games, competitions face painting and more.

The King’s Arms kindly provided resources for some pizza making fun which was very popular! One of the most lovely thing though was seeing teenagers playing football for hours with children as young as six. Children that would never normally run into each other in normal everyday life are suddenly brought together by a neighbourhood gathering like this.

Live music was provided courtesy of David Stone & the King Buster Blues Band as well as the Hanwell Ukuele band and the Framfield Road Band. Kicking off the party at the beginning of the day they got everyone young and old dancing on the street!

For the very first time the residents were treated to the colourful display of a Shanshin performance (Japanese music and dancing) which was simply entrancing. There was quite a Japanese flavour to the day with plenty of home-made sushi on offer on the sharing table – you had to be quick to get it though as it proved very popular!

Kim Price, one of the main organisers of the event said: “this year there was a big emphasis on cultural food on the sharing table and an amazing array of home dishes was provided. The theme was ideal for making the most of the huge diversity of the street's richly cosmopolitan community.”

Indeed it did, just a few of the many dishes on offer included a variety of curries, pasta dishes, Spanish omelette, paella, Ju-Shi (a delicious rice dish consisting of pork, carrot, and fish paste), also a tempting selection of beautifully baked cakes, cookies and dessert, including home-made scones and jam made from fruit picked from the Framfield allotments. 

The event was sponsored by Purple Brick Estate Agents who also donated a generous prize of a £50 Debenhams voucher for the competitions. The King’s Arms also kindly gave a £50 voucher for a meal at their popular new pub on Hanwell Broadway. Entrance money for the competitions will all be donated to the Alice Gross Music Foundation.

A wonderful community day in what is arguably the most friendly and sociable streets in London.

Felicity Sandford

 

September 20 2017