Mummy Zen

It’s always nice to return from holiday to a sunny warm London. It makes coming home after a wonderful time away less disheartening.

I love how London transforms in the spring and summer, from a cold, grey city with people bundled up and barely making eye contact, to a lively fun city with people sitting outside in cafes, parks, by the river, all feeling happier and more sociable. It’s a great time of year for families to get outside, have some fresh air, play in open spaces or take a day-trip somewhere. When the sun is out, people start planning picnics, barbeques and other outdoor get-togethers.

On Sunday 18 July, the Eden Project and its supporters invite you to participate in The Big Lunch. The idea is that you share a lunch or even go as far as throwing a street party with your neighbours. I think it’s a really nice idea for establishing or strengthening a sense of community in your local area and getting to know people right on your doorstep with whom you might never have crossed paths before.

By the time I heard about it last year (the first Big Lunch), it was a matter of days before and too late to organise anything. We live in an apartment building with a communal garden and I thought it would have been a perfect excuse to plan a barbeque or picnic out in the garden with everyone bringing food and drink to share. We hardly ever see any of our neighbours so it would be fun to find out who shares a building with us. According to The Big Lunch blog, research has revealed that nearly one in ten of us have no idea who lives next door!

If you are a bit hesitant about lunching with your neighbours, here are 6 reasons from The Big Lunch website as to why you should join in:

1. To stoke up community spirit – we call it Human Warming.
2. To make the third of us who live alone feel happier, closer and… friendlier.
3. To show how local people can change a neighbourhood for good, forever.
4. To conquer our natural shyness, to open our curtains, doors and minds and look out for one another the way we used to.
5. To share stories, skills and tools, so we all end up richer in every sense.
6. To discover common ground across age, class, faith, race and the garden fence, and to remind ourselves that charity begins at home, or at most, a couple of doors away.

Their website and blog provide all the information, tools and suggestions you could possibly need for organising a Big Lunch. Their latest blog post for example is the first of six posts about growing your own food for your Big Lunch! Alternatively, if you are less keen to organise it yourself but would like to participate in a local gathering, you can search for one taking place in your area. July might seem a long way off, but if The Big Lunch sounds like something you’d enjoy, I’ve given you plenty of notice to start thinking and planning!

Do you know your neighbours well? Had you heard about The Big Lunch? What do you think about the idea?

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1. A Teddy Bear’s Picnic
2. In praise of family city living
3. How did you celebrate your child’s second birthday?