Are you having a street party for William's wedding?

[funkymiss]

The reason I really started the thread was because of the street party aspect. I just couldn't see an occasion when the people on our street would want to come together collectively to celebrate something, anything.

 

There are about 24 houses on our little cul-de-sac. I know 3 other households to say hello to (including my ex boss next door) but the rest I wouldn't know from Adam. There are also few children on our road. In t'olden days, and remembering back to '77 practically every house had 2 or 3 generations living it. People had families with 2,3,4 kids who all played out together.

 

There was a focus in the community - on my street it was the pit, and they would organise trips to the seaside, and street parties etc.

 

I think we are a lot more insular nowadays. Get home from work, close the front door, shut the curtains and that's it. A lot less interaction with neighbours, the odd looking after a cat sometime or borrowing a screwdriver.

 

To suit the modern age, anti-royalists can just shut the curtains and sit in their own front rooms with their 'harry and kate' commemorative mugs

 

Anyway, if you arranged a street party now, someone would only fall down a pothole.

[Resident]

I saw this report concerning Hull. Their city council has not received a single application for a street party to celebrate the wedding of Wills & Kate.

 

Are we all too busy nowadays to organise such an event or is the community spirit missing? Do we no longer want to celebrate with our neighbours in a collective outpouring of joy?

 

Or have we had enough of The Royals altogether or this couple in particular?

 

The last street party I attended was for the Queen's Silver Jubilee and that was organised by the local pit.

 

Could it be anything to do with Councils wanting people to shell out £500 PER STREET that requires closing for such parties under the guise of "health & safety"

[flamingjimmy]

For your reading pleasure. Now don't say this comes as a surprise, surely?

 

That article's headline is very misleading.

 

It says that 'the Queen' is Britains leading tourist attraction.

 

But the rest of the article does not bear that out.

 

It's the houses that belong to the royal family that in fact are the major tourist attractions. People don't come to see the queen, they come to experience the history by looking at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle etc. I have enjoyed visiting Windsor Castle a couple of times greatly, and I'm a staunch republican.

 

If we got rid of the royals we could open these places up fully, turn them into full on proper tourist attractions and probably make even more money from them.

 

And besides, even if that were not the case, that doesn't alter my original point which is that its simply not true to say that the Queen is our number 1 tourist attraction.

[taxman]

Could it be anything to do with Councils wanting people to shell out £500 PER STREET that requires closing for such parties under the guise of "health & safety"

 

I would have thought it depended on the street. A small cul-de-sac of 24 houses is a bit different to a main road.

 

Oh well, these councils have got to try to get money somehow in these days of budget cuts and austerity measures.

 

Maybe the police would want to charge £2million for putting up bollards at the end of the road.

[taxman]

That article's headline is very misleading.

 

It says that 'the Queen' is Britains leading tourist attraction.

 

But the rest of the article does not bear that out.

 

It's the houses that belong to the royal family that in fact are the major tourist attractions. People don't come to see the queen, they come to experience the history by looking at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle etc. I have enjoyed visiting Windsor Castle a couple of times greatly, and I'm a staunch republican.

 

If we got rid of the royals we could open these places up fully, turn them into full on proper tourist attractions and probably make even more money from them.

 

And besides, even if that were not the case, that doesn't alter my original point which is that its simply not true to say that the Queen is our number 1 tourist attraction.

 

Exactly - Holyrood Palace is a great tourist attraction in Edinburgh - but only on the days her Maj isn't visiting, then they cordon it off.

[Resident]

I would have thought it depended on the street. A small cul-de-sac of 24 houses is a bit different to a main road.

 

Oh well, these councils have got to try to get money somehow in these days of budget cuts and austerity measures.

 

Maybe the police would want to charge £2million for putting up bollards at the end of the road.

 

I believe the figure of £500 quoted is a minimum figure. I cannot be sure though.

[L00b]

we're being repressed, it's the violence inherent to the system

When haven't we (non-blue blooded) been? Still not seeing your point

That article's headline is very misleading.

 

It says that 'the Queen' is Britains leading tourist attraction. <etc.>

Exactly <etc.>

It's one example, there are countless others. It's not misleading at all, you're just being needlessly punctilious (in the habitual quote-me-a-source-I-don't-believe-you-yadda-yadda-yadda that's so prevalent on Internet fora).

 

Be as punctilious as you want, the point of the matter is, people come visit here because of the 'mornarchy' (not to "see the Queen" , although I'm pretty certain a lot of tourists secretly hope to catch a glimpse when they come over). The Brit monarchy sells to the tourists and brings them in, has for a long time - after that, twist words however you want to score points.

 

Not so with France (e.g.) I daresay the Eiffel tower and EuroDisney (e.g.) are vastly more popular with tourists than Versailles.

The reason I really started the thread was because of the street party aspect. I just couldn't see an occasion when the people on our street would want to come together collectively to celebrate something, anything.

But that's your circumstances, why assume that it applies everywhere? And/or that it's symptomatic of a lack of interest for the royal wedding?

 

We've had 3 street parties already in our cul-de-sac, either at our initiative or at the neighbours', and we only moved here in Dec 2009.

 

I don't know whether they'll have one for the RW or not (probably...any excuse ), we'll not be here anyway. But we'll certainly be having one or two this summer, for sure.

[taxman]

But that's your circumstances, why assume that it applies everywhere? And/or that it's symptomatic of a lack of interest for the royal wedding?

 

 

I wasn't assuming anything, I was posting on a forum asking questions and inviting comment whilst describing my personal experiences, both in 1977 in a different time , amongst a different community, and nowadays.

[Saffy]

No .. we wont be having one .. I used to live in a village and moved from there because of all the "know everyone's business" neighbours ... I know my neighbours to say HELLO to and if anyone needs anything in an emergency we all know we are there for one another, but that's it. (Thank god!)

[Mister M]

The last Royal Wedding was a real damp squibb, probably because it was arranged by a Labour Government.

 

Possibly. There were certainly more foreworks in places like Toxteth & Brixton roundabout the time of Charles & Di's wedding. Oh well, if the Condems pursue their policies lets hope the people of Britain will make Wills & Kates dreary day a bit more memorable.