Kingston Carnival, Regent St Festival: I went to Kingston upon Thames on Sunday September 3 2006 to photograph Kingston Carnival because I hoped to take at least one picture in the town to include in a show, Another London, I was preparing with two friends to take place in Kingston Museum in January 2007, and I made two pictures which ended up in that show.
But both were of Beeraahaar Sweet Combination, a prize-winning Carnival Mas Band based in Stamford Hill, Hackney, miles away in North London and with no real connection to Kingston. Kingston, formerly in Surrey, since 1965 has been a London borough on the edge of London, but until 2020 still home to the central offices of Surrey County Council.
Kingston Carnival began in 2001, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, although this year it was postponed, but is planned to return in 2027.
Later I went to the Regent Street Festival in central London which had a Spanish theme. Below I’ll post with minor corrections what I wrote in 2006 and links to more pictures.
Kingston Carnival
Kingston, Surrey
A little bit of Hackney came to Kingston on Sunday morning to provide the Kingston Carnival. Hard to see why Kingston can’t put up its own carnival, but Beeraahaar Sweet Combination are a fine group that I’ve photographed at Notting Hill and Mardi Gras in Hackney, and even a small group of them gave the event a little atmosphere. Just a pity there weren’t more groups and people from Kingston in the parade to match them.
The stalls around the Guildhall showed there are a diverse range of communities in the area, but the parade didn’t really reflect this. Shipping in a carnival procession provides a little diversion, but surely the whole point of a borough paying for a carnival is to encourage community activities within its own boundaries?
More pictures on My London Diary
Regent Street Festival
Regent St, Westminster
From Kingston I caught the train up to town and to Spain, which was happening in Regent Street, closed to traffic for the day. Of course not closed to shopping, which perhaps rather limits what the organisers could do. I didn’t find the event too exciting, and the large crowds around anything that was going on reflected that too little was happening.
The police, mainly down a side street, were putting on a good show, one of the funniest I’ve seen for a long time, demonstrating how the police are supposed to restrain people, and use weapons such as pepper spray. The gulf between theory and practice is amazing.
I tried out a free sample of a revolting sherry-based drink, watched more Spanish folk dancers than was good for anyone’s sanity, avoided the sand on the ‘beaches’ and decided it was time to go home.
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