Fun day bridges 200-mile gap

Residents living 200 miles apart came together for a fun day in Blackpool funded by a £500 grant from Friends of Muir Group.

The event in Bethesda Square was attended by people living in the surrounding streets and by a group from St Ives, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

The St Ives group was made up of people living in Muir Group Housing Association properties who were visiting Blackpool to see how the association operates in other areas.

Muir Group Housing owns several properties in Bethesda Square and the event was organised by Julie Moore, a resident board member of Friends of Muir Group, the charity run by the association.

“It was lovely to have the group from St Ives visiting us and we’re sure we gave them a day to remember,” said Moore. “The streets came alive with activity and colour and there was a real sense of communities coming together.”

During the event residents brought their empty hanging baskets to be refilled with plants for free and there was also a circus skills training session, the chance to create healthy fruit kebabs, face painting and free hotpot and pies.