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SIDMOUTH
CARNIVAL AS IT WAS
as
told to the Sidmouth Herald in 1994 by the late
FRANK
LOCK
Sidmouth
Carnival has a chequered history dating right back to the early
years of the 20th Century. Like many other events, it came to a
halt after 1938 under the impending cloud of war. It
was resurrected in 1949 until 1952 and then after another break of
four years was resurrected in 1957 by Frank Lock who with many
others, including Robert Franklin, who acted as secretary, was
determined to bring this popular splash of entertainment back to
the streets of Sidmouth.
Frank
talks fondly of those days when creating a witty theme was the
main criteria in producing a prize winning entry. In those days
entries either came under the title Tableau or Moving
Representation; if you entered as a tableau and moved, you were
disqualified.
Dances
The
Carnival Queen was selected at dances and concerts held at the
Manor Pavilion which were so popular that people had to be turned
away at the doors. But of course that was in the days before
everyone was glued to their TV!
Local
artistes performed and famous celebrities were invited to make the
presentation.
During
Carnival week collectors in fancy dress would be on the street
shaking their tins to the accompaniment of a barrel organ.
Frank
also remembers back to the Twenties when the music was provided by
the Cuddy’s Nest Jazz Band named after the old Globe Inn in East
Street, affectionately known as Cuddy’s Nest, a nickname for a
wren’s nest.
‘There
were one or two good players’ said Frank ‘The rest just made a
noise but everyone seemed to love it.’
For
the newly resurrected carnival of the 50’s
music came from the Sidmouth Town Band and had a posse of
horse riders from Blackmore’s Stables and a fire engine heading
the procession. It
was regarded as quite a daring move when, in 1958
a generator was
used to illuminate the Queen’s float; previously light had been
supplied by acetylene lamps.
Things
were changing and the simple floats of early days were in the
first stages of becoming the magnificent extravaganzas of light
and colour we see today.
Prizes
were also simple in those early days. The big item on the agenda
in the 50’s was the Tradesmen’s Ballot, a raffle with tickets
sold all over the town.
‘Practically
every tradesman donated to this,’ said Frank. ‘And the prizes
would be such things as a shilling on the favourite from the
bookmakers, or a free hair cut from the hairdressers. There was
always over a hundred prizes with a grand draw at the Winter
Gardens.’
In
1957 it was decided to give every penny earned from the carnival
to charity and that first year the committee presented £200 to
the Hospital Comforts Fund, a considerable sum in those days. But
this generosity sadly led to the carnival’s third demise. When a
cloudburst at the 1960 event caused calamitous flooding, the cost
of the mopping up operation could not be met by carnival funds -
the kitty was empty.
No
money
‘We
had no money to go on with’ said Frank. ‘Of course it was very
dissapointing, especially after our start in 1957, which was like
a summer’s day, despite being the second Thursday in October.
People tried to keep going , I can still remember the Girl Guides
marching on through the downpour soaked to the skin.’
One
of the bandsmen, however, was not quite so brave. Having got half
the way round the town, valiantly playing to the fast dwindling
crowds, he suddenly stopped and announced: ‘Blow this, I'm going
home!’
The
longest gap in the carnival’s history was to follow until it was
brought back to life by Bruce Langton of Langton Pinney in 1982.
He
kept it going until 1991 when once again it was threatened simply
because of the enormous amount of time and effort needed.
Few
people have access to unlimited time these days, plus the know how
needed to provide the all important organisational skills.
It
was at this point that Stuart Hughes came to the rescue, being the
only person to come forward in response to the plea from Bruce and
his committee.
Footnote:-
LAST
SATURDAY 22nd September Sidmouth Carnival reaches a
major landmark in its history when it celebrated its 26th
Anniversary and Stuart celebrated 16 years at the helm.
IT IS SAD THAT THE CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL WHICH HE FOUNDED IN
1992 WILL NOT BE HAPPENING THIS YEAR DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS AND NO
SPONSORSHIP OR DONATIONS. IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT THE CHRISTMAS
CARNIVAL WILL EVER BE STAGED AGAIN.
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