Belle Isle is full of stories of neighbours who have gone out of their way to help each other.
On Friday 15 September 2023, Ben, the Belle Isle Community Builder used the bus stop at Belle Isle Parade to collect some of their stories. Please have a read, and add your stories below:
An old man grows plums in his garden and gives them to my grandma.
I lead the veterans’ parade in town.
Somebody offered a guy a lift whilst he was waiting at the bus stop.
A community group came together to pick apples together from trees that grow on public land. They shared the apples with other people in the community.
I have been in the area for 3 months and my English is not good. Everyday my neighbour asks if I need any help.
When somebody passes away the whole community comes together. We celebrate their life with loads of fireworks. Belle Isle is a village of REMEMBERANCE!
During lockdown residents of Cromwell Mount held street bingo and shared food to help with people’s mental health.
Everyone on the Circus looks out for one another, somebody does my washing for me.
I look after a friend who can’t get about anymore. I bring her shopping and take her out on day trips
I’m a student and when I moved here I didn’t have the internet and so my neighbours gave me their password.
We got a trampoline, but we couldn’t set it up. Two separate neighbours came and helped us build it.
I built some bird boxes and put them up on our street because I wanted to see some more wildlife.
“I help people all the time, I trained as a field doctor in the RAF mate! Look at the size of this first aid kit”
My neighbours motorbike got stolen. 6 neighbours went out and found it.
A lady next door helped build one of our beds. She is very friendly.
A stranger just helped somebody catch the right bus and gave them directions.
When we are away on our holidays our neighbours take our bins out for us and we do the same.
“We are a tight knit community here”
My neighbours go to the shop for me.
The community came together to plant some flower beds on East Grange Square. A neighbour who makes stuff out of wood built a table to go in front of the bench next to the flowers.
My partner passed 18months ago. Since then, my neighbours sometimes drops food off for me on my front door step.
A man collapsed near the post office and a stranger carried him back home.
I live by myself now, but I have lots of good conversations with people at the bus stop or shops.
An old man on our street grows his own vegetables and gives them out to his neighbours
The postmaster at Broom Nook would check on residents to make sure they were ok.
When we have a bbq we invite our neighbours over to share food.
My neighbour used our saw to help cut our sofa in half. She was amazing!
My neighbours look after our house when we are away. They are very nice.
The community used to come out for a bonfire on the field at the end of West Grange Rd.
Every Friday me and my neighbours, we take it in turns to cook for each other food from our home Ghana. There are 5 families all together.
When I lived in Belle Isle a kind old man would mow our lawn for us and did our garden just out of the kindness of his own heart.
Two ladies set up a community garden on the west granges.
Most people are friendly, some people are kind.
We share food recipes with our neighbours.
A man was defacing the bus stop, I told him to stop because it is public property.
You can read about another time Ben spoke to people about their Belle Isle stories, this time near Kasa.
Please tell us your Belle Isle Stories.
Have you got an interesting story about the past in Belle Isle?
Can you tell a story about time when neighbours in Belle Isle helped each other?
Can you tell a story of a time when you felt proud of Belle Isle?
Has a story in Belle Isle ever inspired you?