The Big Lunch

In less than 24 hours we'll be hanging the bunting, setting up tables, bring the food out of our kitchens and sitting down to lunch with our neighbours. It's been a fair few weeks in the planning. 3 mail shots, 1 gathering (and quite a lot of Pimms...), 1 meeting with the Council, countless emails and here we are!


The guys at the Eden Project came up with a great idea to encourage people right across Britain to get to know their neighbours - The Big Lunch! The idea is that the people of Britain to stop what they're doing and sit down to lunch together on Sunday 19th July 2009 for no other reason than to join together in one great big street party. So that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. Between now and then I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather...

If the idea behind it all is for me to get to know my neighbours then I'm pretty much on track. When I first contacted everyone on our street to find out whether they fancied joining in the fun I probably knew a dozen or so people on our street. Now I can pretty much name check everyone. In London that's no mean feat. Many people don't even know their immediate next door neighbour.

One of my neighbours, Joy, will celebrate her 50th year living on our street this year! Apart from short spells in Islington and Bristol, Joy has lived in this area all of her life and remembers well the street parties to celebrate VE Day in 1945. How amazing is that? Here we are in 2009, 64 years later, getting together for another street party and I can't wait to hear from Joy whether she thinks it matches up!

Steve Bridger who writes the Big Lunchers Blog wrote about Joy's story yesterday and you can read it here.

But for me it's not just about meeting everyone. It's also about the food! I absolutely adore cooking for other people. There's nothing better than spending time and effort making something, however simple, that people enjoy eating. So, for my contribution tomorrow, I'll be making Anya Potato Salad, Tabbouleh, a Tomato & Goat's Cheese Tart, Brownies and Shortbread. I'd better get cooking...