Yesterday evening, Wednesday 12 August, we hosted a free partial solar eclipse watch party on Bentley Green – and what a memorable evening it was!
The event proved incredibly popular. Regrettably, we had to limit numbers to meet insurance requirements, so we are sorry to everyone who wanted to join us but missed out. We wish we could have welcomed you all.
Those who attended enjoyed complimentary drinks, homemade bakes, a raffle and acoustic music from the brilliant Alan Lockey, all while watching the Moon pass across the Sun. Thank you to Triple fff Brewery for its very generous donation of beer, which helped us provide complimentary drinks alongside soft options and donated wine.
Special thanks also go to John French, who kindly compered the event and shared timely information about what we were seeing, ensuring that nobody missed a thing.
Although the event was free, attendees kindly donated more than £200 to the Bentley Green Community Orchard & Wildlife Meadow project. Thank you to everyone who contributed – your generosity will help us continue caring for and improving this special community space.
Pat Collins, summed up the evening perfectly:
“Thank you for a memorable evening. We will never forget where we were for the 2026 eclipse. Roll on the next one – I’m saving my glasses!”
A huge thank you also goes to all the volunteers who gave their time to plan, prepare and run the event. We simply could not have done it without you.
Elisha Read, who also shared some of these great photos, said:
What a very special event Jade and everyone who was involved in organising this momentous occasion 👏👏 what a wonderful community we have here in Bentley. Great atmosphere, great people and lovely background music, thank you Al Lockey 🎸
It was wonderful to see neighbours, families and friends sharing such a rare occasion together on Bentley Green. Roll on 23 September 2090, when the next total solar eclipse will be visible from the UK!
