Sweeps Competition – Rochester, Kent: I’d all the time averted festivals just like the Dickens Competition and Sweeps Competition at Rochester. One way or the other these occasions appeared to be artificial slightly than genuine in contrast to the older carnivals, a few of which nonetheless happen, although there are far fewer than twenty or thirty years in the past – when my native carnival petered out.
The Rochester festivals are very a lot latest sponsored promotions of tourism to the city and the Medway space, though the Sweeps competition claims to dates again over 400 years, when youngster chimney sweeps celebrated Might Day, mentioned to have been their at some point off within the yr, and got here into city to benefit from it with an excessive amount of mischief and mayhem.
The free Sweeps competition was really based in 1981 and lasts three days – in 2024 it begins on Saturday 4th Might and ends on Financial institution Vacation Monday, Might sixth. It has managed to proceed whereas cuts in authorities funding have resulted in others being deserted. It is vitally completely different now from its supposed origins, with folks teams and Morris dancers coming from across the nation to carry out to hundreds of tourists.
Working with my pal, photographer John Benton-Harris on guide tasks I had seen his photos of the occasion, and in 2011 he twisted my arm to get me to accompany him to the competition. We met at London Bridge station and took the practice for the roughly 75 minute journey to Rochester.
It wasn’t the happiest of days for both of us. John misplaced his pockets which fell out of his pocket in a café and had disappeared by the point he realised and returned to search for it, and I managed to poke myself within the eye with the slanted finish of a nylon digital camera strap that turned out to be remarkably sharp, after which all the pieces seen by way of my regular digital camera eye was slightly a blur. I nonetheless managed to take an important many photos.
The most effective a part of the day for me was really the practice journeys there and again with John the place we had some stimulating conversations, with each of us having fun with a great argument about pictures and photographers. He had an outstanding data of photographers and pictures in New York the place he had grown up and identified many in particular person – which powered the long-lasting 1985 Barbican present and guide American Photographs: Pictures 1945-1980 , however he failed to understand most of the later photographers I admired.
After I wrote briefly in regards to the competition on My London Diary I famous that “what appears to be totally lacking are the form of drunken orgies that used to mark the spring competition. Or maybe I used to be simply within the incorrect place? ” For all the weird costumes and masks one way or the other the competition did appear slightly tame, missing any of the form of power that makes Notting Hill carnival so particular. But it surely was additionally very a lot kinder on the ears, nearly totally acoustic and by no means reaching the extraordinary excessive horsepower decibel ranges of Ladbroke Grove.
We had been there on Monday 2nd Might 2011, the ultimate day of the three day competition, as I hadn’t been ready to overlook the London Might Day march the day gone by or the protest in Brighton on the Saturday and had thought that the ultimate procession could be value photographing. However as I commented “What I hadn’t realised was that comparatively few of the dancers keep on for the ultimate day, and though the procession was fascinating, it was significantly smaller than I anticipated.”
Given the circumstances I believe I managed pretty effectively with my photos, however I don’t suppose both John or I made any photos that might stand amongst our greatest. Following his premature loss of life final August his personal private web site is now offline, however you may see a few of his work on the Mary Evans image library (click on on the picture to see extra) – however nothing there from his many visits to Rochester, nor within the 2021 Huck Characteristic or his APAG entry. Nonetheless on-line are a couple of of his essential articles which give a good suggestion of his pondering on pictures on his The Photograph Pundit weblog.
John thought extremely of a few of his photos from earlier Rochester festivals and included round 15 of them within the roughly 150 photographs in his unpublished ‘Mad Hatters – a diary of a secret individuals‘, a guide of his photos of the English which I helped him produce. I labored on all the images and gave him an excessive amount of recommendation of which he very sometimes took discover.
I resisted later makes an attempt to go to Rochester with him for this and different festivals there, and may I am going again once more its prone to be on a day with out the competition crowds. Rochester does appear a really fascinating historic city and there are some nice locations to stroll within the space.
Extra photos on My London Diary at Rochester Sweeps Competition.
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All pictures on this web page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
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Tags: American Photographs, folks teams, John Benton-Harris, Kent, Mad Hatters, Might Day, Might competition, Morris Dancers, Morris sides, peter Marshall, selling tourism, Rochester, Sweeps Competition, Sweeps Competition – Rochester, The Photograph Pundit, tourism, vacationers, practice journey
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