One street in Merseyside wowed this Platinum Jubilee weekend as families filled the narrow street.
One of the main organisers, Helen Bowyer, described Towcester Street in Litherland as unique, but even that is an understatement when you look at the residents who live on the South Sefton street. The road is home to generations of families, with Helen moving there 33 years ago, and now her two daughters, Kelsie and Paige, both live in their own homes down the road and their brother Lloyd only moving away last month.
The 57-year-old nurse described the street as one big family, rather than just a tight-knit community as they all came together to celebrate 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II, with bonds between neighbours on Towcester Street rivalling those in an ordinary family. Helen told the ECHO : “I’ve lived here 33 years, two of my kids live down here and the third only just moved away but wants to come back.
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"We’ve tried our best, raised £1,000 and had plenty of donations from different people and places. There are children down here who have disabilities as well so we even created a sensory area as well as having bouncy castles and the ice cream van stop by. We’re not just a community, we’re a family.”
In the street's newsletter, written by Helen, she wrote: "This is a day of fun and celebration, regardless of people's opinions of the monarchy, this is an opportunity for the street to come together and for ongoing community bonds to be established. Our sense of community has always been the reason that Towcester Street has always been a safe and happy place to live and has remained this way for many years."
Lue Rimmer has spent the majority of her life living on Towcester Street, with the 59-year-old living on the street since her birth and her 90-year-old dad still living a few doors down from her home. The nurse moved away from the street when she was 18 but quickly came back a year later.
She told the ECHO: “We’ve had a few street parties through the years. I was born on this road, moved out when I was 18 and moved back here when I was 19, I even remember the silver jubilee from when I was a kid. My daughter is 38 and lives here as well. If you grew up here and your mum wasn’t home you always had somewhere to go. We’ve celebrated plenty down the years, V Day, Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee, you name it.”
One of the other organisers, Sherine O'Hagan, spoke about how the whole street came together to help with the build-up of the celebrations. The 32-year-old care assistant said: "It’s been very stressful but the whole street mucked in. Certain groups did most but in the end I think everyone got involved.
"I’ve got three kids and we all love it here. It’s one big family and it’s nice to get together again, especially since covid.”
