Be Excellent To Each Other

OMG guys. Local juice is about to be spilled.

Today the local council tweeted a map of all the local road closures and council funded street parties that are happening over the next few days. As we have some journeys to make I checked it and was pretty surprised to find our road on it as both a local council funded party and a road closure.

So, I texted the lady four doors down to ask if she knew anything if it. Her six year old is in my six year old’s class at school, so I figured it would give them a chance to have some fun.

So! She said yes, they’ve had plenty of leaflets about it (we’ve had none) but funnily enough she was talking to another neighbour today who told her that invites were only extended to half the street, and that the other half of the street are not invited. Specifically, only the houses up to my friend’s house are invited. Hers is the last house on the invite list.

This is a screenshot of what was on the council site.

Here is a clearer map.

That bit in the middle does NOT have cars parked on it (stupid Maps). It’s a communal green. The perfect place to hold a street party. There are about 40-50 properties on our road in total

BUT, the party is only for the properties on the red lines. We live where I have drawn the yellow lines, so we are in the half if the road that haven’t been invited.

So I thought it was a bit far fetched that someone would obtain council funding for a street party for a street and only invite half the street, so I asked my next door neighbours, and true enough, nobody this end of the street has any knowledge of it.

School mum send me these photos of one
of the flyers.

But although getting council funding for a street party and deciding that you’re only going to invite half the street, Caroline, is indeed funny, school mum friend has been told that they have been told that they are organising it and setting it up ON THE GREEN outside the houses of everyone that they haven’t invited!

So, I feel two ways about this. Firstly, I think it is pretty amazing because it is so ridiculous (we’ve not lived here long so I don’t know if there is some beef with the two ends of the road?), and because a jubilee party is pretty much the opposite of anything I’d want to go to. BUT I’m also a bit sad that there is going to be a party directly in front of my little boy’s window that his friend who lives four doors down can go to and he can’t, but also sad people can be that petty. It’s a very small road and yet someone has managed to sow division in it and has been actively telling those invited that others aren’t.

That’s sort of sad in its own way. I thought we’d left all of this neighbour divisiveness behind when we moved out of the flats, but maybe it’s everywhere.

Any other street parties happening near the BEEX collective? Maybe there are and you’re just not invited

(Sorry for the multiple posts, I couldn’t put the pictures inline on the mobile site to fit with the text).

Once you've uploaded the photos, you can click the "show BBCode buttons" button and add the pictures from there.

That's super shitty, I really don't get why, unless there's something you're not aware of (maybe the council will only fund up to X people per party, although seems unlikely especially as most of it is BYO). Having it on the green makes it seem extra mean.



Sad to say, it's pretty widespread. I see this at work. Some people can only feel important or special by excluding others.

The petty part of me wants to suggests printing off a whole bunch of copies of the invites and then circulating to the rest of the street.

OMG, so it does. I never noticed that before. I shall remember that for next time. Thank you!

I had a look in the council website and no, the money is just allocated on a ‘per street’ basis for those that have applied. I assume that the organiser (presumably this Caroline woman) finds that all her friends live in the cul-de-sac end of the street, or that there is some previous ‘us and them’ history between those along the green and those beyond it. I spoke to the woman next door, who has lived here a good number of years, who said that pre-pandemic there used to be a street parties on the green every year or two and they’d specifically be organised for the entire street in the school holidays.

Oh Mimi, seems your road is as dysfunctional as the Windsors themselves. Why not put up a large poster of Harry and Megan somewhere prominent just to troll the most devoted partygoers?

Or a big cut out of Camilla to celebrate our future queen?

I didn’t know there was any kind of neighbourly division until now. Well, from what I’ve heard there hasn’t been one until this. It’s SUCH a tiny road as well.

We need one of those ‘sad/angry people in local papers’ stories of some glum looming neighbours whilst a party to which they aren’t invited rages on behind them.

Maybe the far end of the street has a different postcode and the council funding only extends to one postcode?

I say this because my street has two postcodes, one for the odd numbers and another for the evens.

Fucking evens. Bunch of wankers

No, it is all under the same postcode, but I’m not sure what the funding has gone to as you gave to take all your own food/barbecue stuff. Either Caroline has pocketed the cash or there is a truckload of bunting about to be put up.

Must be mega prizes for that bingo and/or table tennis/pool

Wow, that’s a real dick move from the organisers.

An incredibly dickish move, but if you organise a community event and cut out half the community, how much fun can it be anyway?

I don't understand why they're closing the road if they're having the party on the Green.

I don’t either. Either one of those things (the road closure or it being on the green) could be wrong though as those things are all second or third hand information and aren’t on the flyer. Though the council site does say the road is closed. That also makes no sense if it’s not on the green though, as as that end of the road is a dead end, so there would be no traffic going through there anyway, and would just stop us ‘green-enders’ accessing the earlier part of the road. Or maybe it’s only closed after the green? Who knows. It is all a bit bonkers.

Just turn up and help yourself to a plate of food.

You have to bring your own food. Might take a plated up roast dinner over.

It'd be a bold move to turn up and mingle, but I think it would show them up. Plus, it might be nice to meet people.

OR set up a splinter/rival party and make that heaps more fun.

We need photos

Okie dokie. It’s clear from the midpoint of the greeners.


But here the non greeners are having a rave up, albeit all squished down the end to get away from us big-enders.


More people than I thought, but it’s only just begun. It’s ‘til late’, so we’ll have to see if Caroline has a few too many sherbets and goes on a sweary rampage later. I bet they are playing Sweet Caroline on a loop.

That’s entirely on someone’s drive!

Liz is not impressed

Haha, yes, it’s a very concentrated party. I wonder how many of them are neighbours and how many are friends and family of the organiser, as there almost seems too many people for the number of houses, but either way I’m glad it’s contained and not too loud. Yet.

I’m also guessing we know which house belongs to Caroline now

Balloon Lizzie is great, by the way!

I’ve just been for a walk round a couple of the bigger public events in Bromsgrove.
The one in Aston Fields has really good food being served by a couple of the local restaurants, so had fish, chips and a pint there.

On the high street there’s a big stage with singers all day and a bunch of stalls doing activities, including one that had made Her Majesty. Unfortunately I think the high street one has suffered more turnout due to the weather.

Yes, it’s a miserable old day. I did wonder if it was going to be a complete wash out here, but it’s more a drizzly kind of miserable.

Was the stall selling balloon models? Just noticed she’s even sitting on a ballon throne.

They were doing balloon making activities for kids I believe.

A pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say.

Changes from day to day.

Who won the pool/table tennis?

Probably Caroline.

I hope it all was fine in the end.