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www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz<br />
NEWS<br />
<strong>Ashburton</strong> <strong>Courier</strong>, <strong>December</strong> 7, <strong>2023</strong><br />
29<br />
Festive street party gathering<br />
BY MALCOLM HOPWOOD<br />
“We have agreat neighbourhood and we<br />
love gathering people together.”<br />
So say <strong>Ashburton</strong>’s Janeen and Neil<br />
Donaldson.<br />
They are part of ateam on their street<br />
of Reighton Drive who have been<br />
gathering neighbours for morethan 20<br />
years.<br />
About 40 people from the street and<br />
three surrounding streets assembled at<br />
the Donaldson home the weekend<br />
beforelast to enjoy an early Christmas<br />
together.<br />
The annual Christmas gathering of<br />
Reighton Drive neighbours started in<br />
the year 2000, when they brought their<br />
rugs and chilly bins to Allenton School.<br />
Then it moved to David and Julie<br />
Hampton’s home and, in the last three<br />
years, it’s relocated to Janeen and Neil<br />
Donaldson’s next door.<br />
Now an organising committee of five<br />
couples arrange the afternoon and, all<br />
the neighbours need to do, is bring<br />
themselves, their refreshment and<br />
some meat for the barbecue.<br />
“It’s been very successful. It’s an<br />
opportunity to meet at Christmas,<br />
renew friendships and welcome new<br />
people to the street,” Janeen said.<br />
“While we wave to each other,it’s<br />
important to set an afternoon aside to<br />
get together,” Neil said.<br />
“We have elderly people in the street<br />
who don’t want to shift because of the<br />
neighbourhood and the street party.”<br />
Reighton Drive in Allenton was<br />
surveyed by Mervyn Beauvais and<br />
named after his home in Yorkshireand,<br />
as the area was developed, Filey,<br />
Bennett and Beauvais Places, were<br />
RENEWING FRIENDSHIPS: Residents<br />
from Reighton Drive and three<br />
surrounding streets gather for Christmas<br />
each year. Right Peter Yates(left) and<br />
David Hampton on barbecue duty.<br />
added.<br />
Invitations are sent out to the four<br />
streets by resident Peter Yates, and, on<br />
aSunday before Christmas, the party is<br />
always held.<br />
Janeen believes it’s agreat idea to<br />
enhance acommunity and recommends<br />
it to other <strong>Ashburton</strong> streets.<br />
“It brings people together at<br />
Christmas,” she said.<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
FESTIVE LIGHTS<br />
Residents are encouraged to dust off<br />
their festive lights and decorations and<br />
enter <strong>Ashburton</strong>’s inaugural The Best<br />
Christmas Lights house competition.<br />
There are scores of residential<br />
properties around <strong>Ashburton</strong> already<br />
decked out in festive light displays and<br />
the competition could see some of<br />
them win acash bonus, justintime for<br />
Christmas.<br />
The competition is acollaboration<br />
between Property Brokers <strong>Ashburton</strong><br />
and Hokonui radio station, and a<br />
bonus for members of the public<br />
searching for some festive viewing<br />
this month. Houses in the competition<br />
will be listed on the Facebook page on<br />
both of the companies so members of<br />
the public can visit them and cast their<br />
vote for the people’s choice award.<br />
Property Brokers’ competition coordinator<br />
Courtney George said there<br />
were great prizes up for grabs with<br />
$500 for first place, $300 for second,<br />
$100 for third and $100 for people’s<br />
choice. It was not too late for people to<br />
enter, she said. Entry forms can be<br />
found by emailing courtney@pb.co.nz<br />
As part of the competition rules the<br />
festive lights on the residential<br />
properties need to be turned on<br />
between 7pm and 10pm each night.<br />
Judging for the competition takes<br />
place-late next week, with the results<br />
announced on-air <strong>December</strong> 18.<br />
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