‘One Newington’, 9 September 2023

Southwark Kaleidoscope and Friends of Pasley Park once more joined forces to hold the ‘One Newington’ community fete on Saturday 9 September.  Having spent weeks worrying about the possibility of rain, it turned out to be the hottest day of the year.  Absolutely scorching.

The gazebos went up; the traders arrived; David arranged his DJ deck; Tony turned up with the much-needed ice cream van; Ebou laid out his games pitch and at 12.00 we were off.   

Local Contributions

There were stalls selling Latin and African food and beautiful cup cakes.  Soft toys, handmade cards, beauty products, clothes and lots of art and crafts were some of the items on display, while Henry and his African drummers pounded out the beat.  The wonderful Colombian dancers gracefully performed under a blazing sun.   People’s Company performed a short play based on Prince Monolulu, interspersed with stories of other journeys to the UK – unfortunately, with some slight interference on the microphones, but those that heard it loved it.   Then the kids from Superarts danced, pranced, twisted and turned in high octane performances, as the heat didn’t seem to affect them.

Ebou ran the sports during the day and Art in the Park provided a workshop for all. Faces were painted and the woman of mystery read the tarot cards.  And yes, we did hold the dog show in all the heat.  Under the trees in partial shade, Trevor and Peta ran a slightly reduced show, with prizes supplied by the Hound Hut.

The camouflaged army lorry was a great success and handy for shade – for those who could find a camouflaged lorry – on such a boiling day.   Oh, and the army lads came in handy as the anchors for the tug-of-war – only we could hold a tug-of-war in nearly 34 degrees – in fact, it was so successful that we held it twice, as the kids demanded a go!

Taking Part

We were truly grateful to the volunteers from Morrisroe Demolition who did such sterling work with the rigging/de-rigging.  Thanks to our Patron, Lord Roy Kennedy (particularly as he travelled from Margate), the Councillors, our MP Neil Coyle and the former Mayor, Sandra Rule, who turned up to open the fete and, in Neil and Roy’s case, judged the dog show, plus all our funders: NSET, Notting Hill Genesis, Southwark Council and United St. Saviours.

At 5pm it all came down and we cleared up and went home, slightly broiled but happy, as Newington came together as One Newington.