To think street parties are completely awful?

[TheHuntingOfTheSarky]

So, our road is having a street party today. The road is closed and lots of people have been up and about this morning stringing bunting from every available place and setting up their BBQs.

Anyway, I hate it. I want to spend the day with all the curtains drawn watching Netflix, drinking wine out of the bottle and eating pizza. But I can't because it's "for the children" and my DDs have been looking forward to it for weeks and most of the activities (oh yes, there's a tug of war and everything) are happening right outside our house. So I am going to have to show my face (at least for a bit), make small talk with the neighbours and pretend to be enjoying myself.

I know, I know. I'm a miserable old cow. But I can socialise properly when I want to, I promise. I just like to do it with people I actually like rather than people I just happen to live on the same road with. Every time I tell friends how I feel they just laugh and say "oh don't be silly, it sounds like great fun, you'll have a lovely time" or think I'm joking and actually I can't wait until it starts. No one understands!

I'm probably BVU aren't I?

I moved to Scotland recently - is it strictly no street parties here ever? Or just no royal ones?
I think I'd quite enjoy a street party, for the kids naturally

There are a few "Big Lunch" events going on a few kilometres away, but I feel awkward showing up on my own (DP is off hiking). I like the idea. I live in an ex-council block and think that getting to know my neighbours over an event like this would be great.

I can imagine that if it's literally outside your door you feel you have to participate. I'd probably be grumpy about it too.

Not neighbours get together of course. My neighbours growing up always had a Hogmanay party in a different house each year and BBQs in nice weather of course. But I have never heard of anyone holding the kind of street party described in this post.

The deeply unreliable weather may be the main reason for this of course.

come to mine
we have rain AND roadworks outside at the moment
not a cheery face or a bit of bunting in sight....

"born into wealth"
Well, yes, but it's not really as if she had any say in the matter.

If I were the Queen I reckon I'd rather be indoors eating pizza and necking wine from a bottle.

I have been outside for an hour or so having a bit of a cosy gossip with one of my like-minded neighbours about how we hate things like this and how we're going to get pissed later.

Feel marginally better now

I'm still waiting for it too piss down over ours.

This might sound strange but the 2/3 organisers of ours have done the whole thing to suit themselves.

notfornothing as pp stated Hogmanay parties and a last minute BBQ is more the style here. The weather and probably the ridiculous licensing laws make street parties almost impossible.

notfornothing I am not Scottish but have been here 25 years.
Never seen a 'street party / community party'.

Mind, I've mostly been Edinburgh and environs where the phrase:
'you'll have had your Tea?' (ie not the most genial and generous of hosts) still applies in some quarters

Don't think The Royals are so popular up here. I remember seeing HM and Philip and Charles and Anne go past in a carriage in a side street by Holyrood in the early 1990's. It was Garden Party time and they were all dollied up and ready to wave to the adoring crowd. The crowd was zero deep and people couldn't have cared less.

Mind, my street may be having a 'secret party' where all the newcomers are not invited (or, possibly, just me...)

KayTee8 sorry, x post.

Yy to weather. It's pishing down here, as per...

Yy to Hogmanay Parties and impromptu barbeques. Also, some amazing lock ins. Happy Days.

Yabu. It's a great opportunity to chat to some neighbours you may know less well. I don't understand this attitude tbh, would you want some help from a neighbour if your car wouldn't start? Or if pipes were leaking? What about neighbours who may be elderly/lonely? Don't you want to have a relationship with them?

Hunting so you've been standing outside admist the street party, bitching about it?

That's not really cricket I'd have thought, surely?

Amidst clearly.

The bi-annual party on my street is a big thing, but we would never do one for a royal occasion - too many lefty republican types, I think.

It's a pretty friendly street anyway, and I am not one for enforced group jollity, but the street party is a good chance to get to know some of the newcomers or people from the opposite end of the street I'm less likely to bump into day to day. But there are a few families on the street who aren't interested and don't participate, and that is absolutely fine.

Giraffe I do have a relationship with some of them. Just not all of them. I doubt anyone has a real relationship with all of their neighbours if they live in a road with more than a dozen houses on it.

At least I went outside Eigg

Good for you Hunting. Try to work up some festive cheer.

Sarky I'll up your tug-of-war with a communal sing-along

We're having our Big Lunch tomorrow. Although the first was to do with royalty none of the rest have been. It's really lovely. The local samba band go round all the street parties in the area, and normally a fire engine from the station at the bottom of the road comes on to our street and the kids get to jet water at each other.

We're quite quiet on our street but you can be in and out of your house and get involved as much or little as you like. There's a lot of kids from DD's school so it should be fun. If it stops raining!

It's people with your attitude that we don't have a sense of community anymore. The war years everyone knew everyone the community spirit was great. Yes people work more now a days but what's a friendly hello. It sounds like great fun, I'm slightly jealous.

Posted too soon.

Oh yes, we had singing, dressing up, sharing of bbqs and foods. So so lovely.

Except I just don't feel the love for 95% of my neighbours, most of whom are lovely people but if we were friends, then we would be friends and not people I eat with once a year. I hate the enforced joviality of it all.

Oh ffs. I've said a friendly hello. I've been out. Everyone's fine. No one is asking me to put my house on the market because of my lack of "community spirit". You're taking things a tad too seriously I think Jessica

Also in Scotland and nothing happening here apart from pissing rain.

But I am just back from Tesco where near the front entrance there was a large, untouched display of royal birthday cakes.

I wish our (grumpy) street was having one!