Wigan VE celebrations will still go on

Residents in Heaton Street, Standish, will be holding a ‘Front Garden Party’ where everyone comes out and has a picnic in their front garden.

Annette Brown and her next door neighbour, Jan Doran, have organised the event and have contacted everyone in street asking them to take part.

More than 26 households have said they are participating in the party - which will be carried out with social distancing in mind as each household will stay in their own front garden.

They will dress up and eat homemade cakes at the party, which starts at noon.

The event will be held on May 8 to coincide with the historic day that Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied forces in 1945.

Planned parades, street parties and church services in the borough, which were planned for Mesnes Park across three days in May, have had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus.

Annette, 49, said: “The celebrations will be in our front gardens to keep social distancing.

“People will have Great British buntings up and music will be played from that era.

“Some residents will be in fancy dress also.”

From 3pm, people will also tune into the radio to hear Winston Churchill doing his famous speech, while they will sing Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’.

Stay at home street parties will take place across the UK to celebrate the occasion.

Annette, whose husband David has designed a poster to advertise the event, said: “There will be a lots of people across the country doing things to mark the

day.

“Obviously the lockdown will make things more difficult but it’s important to celebrate this day and remember why it’s happened.

“It’s also a way of keeping morale and providing a bit of cheer and putting smiles on people’s faces during this difficult time.

“A lot of people living on our street live alone so we asked them about it and the idea went down really positively with them.