At a time when most people had spent eight weeks staying at home, trying to juggle work and home schooling, it gave us something to be truly grateful for and to focus on. It was a chance for us to step out of our isolation boxes and, from a safe distance, see people again, in a social setting.

The lockdown has given people time to consider the important things and many of us have been able to begin to understand and appreciate the sacrifice made during the Second World War, not just the millions of lives lost, but also the upheaval and the years of rebuilding countries.

And, like many others, our street did us proud. We are a friendly bunch and many of us have lived here for years – some since the houses were built in 1937 – but with the normal routines of work, supermarket and anything child related, the most we usually see of each other is a quick wave or hello as we head off in the car.

As we went about our hectic lives, previous milestones have come and gone almost unnoticed. The 60th, 65th and 70th VE Day anniversaries didn’t bring us together like this one did. Even invitations for street parties to celebrate the Queen’s various jubilee celebrations went unanswered, the most recent being her sapphire jubilee in 2017, celebrating 65 years on the throne.

So it was even more special to mark this special occasion by coming together with our front gardens decked out with chairs, picnic tables, everything from snacks and sandwiches to barbecues, and a few drinks – it wasn’t a typical bank holiday booze-up.

The clouds disappeared in the early afternoon and the sun shone down on us as we remembered the special occasion, asked how everyone was, and also gave thanks for those putting themselves on the line today in the battle against Covid-19.

The ‘official’ street party was from 4pm-6pm, but many stayed a couple of hours beyond that. We all agreed it was an occasion that had brought everyone in the street much closer together. And, even though people had happily waved or said hello in the past, there were several names not known until Friday and we all discovered an interesting range of occupations and interests contained in our little part of the world.

You cannot choose your neighbours, but this has made us all realise how lucky we are to live where we do. The street party gave us the chance to appreciate what a nice street we live in and realise what we do for each other – even if it is just keeping an eye out for deliveries or anything out of the ordinary.

And to think . . . if it wasn’t for lockdown, it probably wouldn’t have happened.

As we packed up and said our goodbyes, we agreed we must all get together again when lockdown is over. Whenever it will be, it is something we are already looking forward to. And that probably will be a proper booze-up, bank holiday or not!