A Fun Day in Harmondsworth

Last Saturday saw Harmondsworth host a celebratory day of village life. A crowd of around 350 people turned out in the bright autumnal sunshine to enjoy the activities put on by local community groups, including Transition Heathrow.

Our contribution to the day saw us hosting a conker championship on the village green in front of the Five Bells pub, which saw a persistent stream of young contestants engage in a bout of conker-swinging action. Usually, the key to victory is to pick the right conker, and many of ours proved to be particularly resilient since they had been in storage for over a month, which was plenty of time to season the center to the point where it could take some serious punishment. The result of most fights ended up being determined by the string breaking before the conker.

Another activity that proved to be extremely popular was the planting of bulbs on the green, as overseen by Joe throughout the afternoon. The bulbs (from Ansells Garden Centre) were varieties that were especially selected to complement the area, and for their ability to thrive naturally. Come spring, the planted bulbs should bloom to produce a colourful floral arrangement at the heart of Harmondsworth.

Elsewhere the Com.Cafe crew were keeping the kids entertained in their usual inimitable way, Kingsley from Hayes FM was knocking out tunes and compering, the Five Bells barbeque was delivering tasty burgers, Groundwork Thames Valley’s Spots and Stripes team was on hand with a range of giant games, a raffle was held by local Sipson resident Danny with prizes donated by local business and Mallow the miniature pony was on hand to offer rides.

Jane Taylor from HASRA who was running the Heathrow Village Life stall said of the day “This is fantastic – it’s great to see people coming out of their houses and meeting new friends and neighbours. This is just what we needed.” It was also good to see the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress ofHillingdon and John McDonnell MP present to support the event. The incredible turnout of families and obvious enjoyment was topped off with a spectacular twenty minute fireworks display on the recreation ground after sunset.

None of this would have happened without the contribution of a wide range of people from the Heathrow Villages, but especially the hard work and dedication of Kate Birch, our local Community Development Officer. There’s no doubt in our minds that the event was an unqualified success, and we look forward to helping out with whatever Kate comes up with next.

For some more photos of the day, see our Flickr set.