Royal Wedding weekend in Acton

Whether you want to watch the wedding, reveal in the regalia or simply make the most of the long weekend there's a great deal going on for Royal Wedding long weekend.

Acton's very own gardener/broadcaster Michael Wale will be covering the Royal Wedding for LBC 1152am radio from 7-10am and he promises that Acton will get a mention.

The Rocket will be showing live coverage of the event on the big screen in the bar starting from 10am. The pub will be open Sunday hours, serving breakfast from 10am until noon, lunch until 5pm, then dinner from 6pm until 10pm.  Filip Filipovic, owner of the Rocket said 'We are all very excited about the wedding and will be having a glass or two of bubbly to wish the newlyweds best of luck.  A couple of our front row tables have already been booked and we hope to have a nice weather to make the whole event even more special."

Ealing Council has confirmed that 27 applications were made for street parties across the borough.  

Here at ActonW3, I've heard rumours of at least three streets in Acton holding street parties.  I'd love to know more about how your weekend is shaping up, what's the menu, decorations, so do let me know. And if you haven't started thinking about what to do - have no fear - everything you need is right here in Acton.

Charlie Suchak, of Greetings Card and Novelties on Acton High Street told me they have a good selection of bunting, decorations, and party supplies for St. George's Day and The Royal Wedding. I stopped by this week and nabbed some Wills & Kate bunting, along with a pair of British Flag deely boppers.

The Pound Shop in The Oaks Shopping Centre has lots of flags and other novelty items too.

And if you're looking to get away from all the royal hoopla, look no further than The Station House on Churchfield Road. Owner Tracey Allum says 'we'll be a royal-wedding-free zone but we will be celebrating the bank holiday weekend in style."

The capital plans to party in record numbers to mark the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Councils have been astonished by the level of demand for road closures and say the capital is on course to rival the number of parties held when Charles and Diana married 30 years ago.

"Official" street parties have more than doubled since David Cameron told the nation to "get on and have fun" on April 29. In a speech on April 10 he called on councils to make celebrating easier and revealed he is holding a street party at Downing Street with wife Samantha after the nuptials. The number of streets being closed for parties has since doubled to 854.

A council spokesman in Hammersmith & Fulham, where there will be 34 official parties, said: "We've been taken aback by a massive surge in the last few days before the deadline. We were in the low 20s with four days to go but it seems a lot of people tried to get things going at the last minute."

The most "royalist" borough is Richmond upon Thames, with 85 parties, followed by Wandsworth on 79 and Newham on 67, according to Local Government Association figures.

One street party in Aldensley Road, Hammersmith will be covered by two camera crews - from US network ABC News and a German channel - covering "typical" London celebrations.

Chris Gittins, founder of StreetsAlive, a group that helps communities organise street parties, said councils were more helpful with red tape and speed of response than with the last major street party event - the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. Insurance costs have also come down from a typical £150 per party to £50.

Barking and Dagenham is the only borough out of the 32 where there will be no party at all. A council spokesman said: "We are not stopping people but we can't offer any money. Groups have asked for help with the financing but we don't have any money available."

It is estimated that around two million people will go to street parties across Britain, twice the number in 2002 but still well below the peacetime street party "high water mark" of 10 million for the 1977 Silver Jubilee.

There will be large screens set up in Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park for people to watch the wedding live.

22 April 2011