Middle of the Road Music for the Coronation

Alan Bignell looks back on how Fielding Road celebrated the event

Fielding Road celebrates the Coronation

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

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