More Deeply Into Winter

More deeply into the Mill Road Winter Fair, that is. My last post was rather thrown together when I got home on Saturday night, but going through the pictures today I find I've got a lot of portraits and a few activities which I didn't mention. And as it's been rather grotty weather I amused myself by constructing a little collage of details of the colourful event.

But first I should probably introduce you to Mill Road itself. It's where it all started for me, I suppose, because it used to be the site of the old maternity hospital! 

Historically the area is quite distinct from the rest of the city and it shows. It developed after the railway arrived and was built as cheap housing for the working people employed on the railway and the industries that grew up around it.

Nowadays it's most easily described as diverse and very proud of it. I would think you would find most of the nationalities and religions of the world within half a mile of Mill Road.

Dancing In The Street : The Cambridge Swing dancers were there, lindy-hopping their way through the afternoon and encouraging anyone who wanted to to join in. I resisted the temptation.

There were buskers a-plenty and many charities had stalls handing out freebies and collecting money for their causes.

ReSound are a Cambridge-based choir, here singing along with the Lifecraft Singers.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Arco Iris is a community Samba band. Apparently arco iris is Spanish for rainbow, which seems very appropriate. The sound they make though is thunderous, with forty or so enthusiastic drummers!

Allotment are a band who specialise in what they claim to be "traditional independent alternative retrospective acoustic standing-still dance music" and who include a hurdy-gurdy player in their number! 

Left wing politics was also on the street on Saturday.

Grupo Negaça Capoeira demonstrate capoeira, which is a form of improvised, non-contact martial art / street dance. Difficult to describe but it looked like fun.

Louise Eatock who performs under the name of Flaming June.

And Becky Langan who's a very original percussive finger-style guitarist.

Would you care for another dance? Salsa comes to Mill Road.

There were all kinds of other things going on which I didn't get around to: artists opened their studios; a bouncy castle for children; Santa Claus; dozens of food stalls from around the world; market and craft stalls; the local mosque opened its doors; tea and cakes; talks and guided walks; storytelling; face-painting and so on and so on....

It was definitely a bit cold for playing a keyboard though.

Take care.