Water Slides, Giant Inflatables and Fireworks - It's the Norwich Lord Mayor's Celebrations

Although the Lord Mayor celebrations were only revived relatively recently, in 1976, they have been an important part of the Norwich summer ever since I moved back after university. Unfortunately, being a pharmacist meant that most years I would be working on the Saturday, and therefore unable to come into the city in time to catch the procession, and we usually then did not make the effort to come in for the evening fireworks either. In fact, I cannot remember ever bringing my children in to join in with the festivities. What a lousy parent!

Having now given up full-time working I am in the enviable position of being able to fully enjoy every aspect of the Lord Mayor's Celebration, and this year, with the weather being so fine, I was parked up by lunchtime and exploring what was on offer. Inevitably, in order to lay on a full programme of events there are bound to be a lot of road closures and suspension of parking bays in the city centre, and motor cyclists are affected just as much as ordinary motorists. Both of my usual motorcycle parking areas close to City Hall were out of action, but the bays by Castle Mall were still open so that's where I left my trusty Piaggio for the day. From here it is just a quick cut through and down Timber Hill to Orford Place and Rampant Horse Street where one of this year's new attractions, the giant water slide, had been installed.

Operated by Cancer Research UK, this was the first time the water slide had been installed in a city centre. For a £10 donation you were able to ride the slide twice upon an inflatable ring from a point almost level with the Chantry car park right the way down as far as Marks and Spencer. There were no changing facilities, so careful choice of clothing was required, although at least a scorching sunny day meant that you dried off really quickly.

Although it seems churlish to offer criticism of an attraction designed to be a fun way of raising funds for a worthy cause, it is fair to say that the ride would have benefited from a bit more water. Although the pumps were working flat out there were parts of the slide that remained dry - the water tended to run towards the sides of the three lanes leaving the central portions exposed to slow down, or even stop, the inflatables on their downward journey. It is also true that the water, although clear and fresh at the beginning of the day, was looking a bit murky by early evening. Still, those using it, and those looking on, seemed to all agree that it was something a bit different.

Which is more can be said for the giant inflatable octopus draped across the Guildhall. It's re-appearance is a bit like getting the Christmas decorations out of the loft in November, and deciding that we will use the old ones after all. It is not even as though their is any obvious connection between Norwich and the cephalopod molluscs, unless you think of all those main roads radiating out of the city as being somehow tentacular. Also putting in a familiar return was the flaming arch on Chapelfield Gardens, although Fred Flintstone, the giant figure outside City Hall (Gulliver?) and the inflatable dog (Gromit?) contributed further this year to the random nature of the decorations. Did someone in the council purchasing department purchase a job lot of these inflatables a few years back? Are we to expect to see them re-emerge next June, and the June after that...? Are there even more of them lurking in the basement of the municipal stores awaiting to be used, and if so, do any of them have any connection with each other, or even any significance to Norwich?

  As well as the usual street closures, visitors to the city centre over the weekend also found that the Chantry Road car park had been taken over by local good-time promoters BoNanafana, and a group of Graffiti Jam artists were preparing a series of panels for the St Stephens underpass. The smell of spray paint was quite intoxicating, but the results were impressive. Although the heat of the day meant that the temptation to stop and dance may have been tempered by the scorching sunshine, coupled with the absence of any accompanying bar or catering facilities, it was good to hear yet another source of music adding atmosphere to the day. I also caught a show by the two members of Team Power Stilt springing their way across the car park dressed as giant basketball players. Later in the evening a performance by The Shooting Stars would have appealed to anyone in the mood for a bit of Rockabilly Western-style Rock'n'Roll.

A makeshift stage at the bottom of London Street was created by comandeering the popular busking spot close to the old entrance of Habitat. During the day a succession of world music acts performed under the umbrella of 'Going Global', and later in the evening Norwich Arts Centre rolled out their grand piano and invited a succession of local musicians to entertain us with a tune. It was a feast of colour and rhythm during the day, and a gentle delight to hear the tinkling of the ivories in the evening, but such a shame that the performers had to appear in front of the giant board proclaming the imminent arrival of an 'all-you-can-eat-buffet-style' restaurant. Surely this could have been masked over for one day, or an alternative vista found?

The funfair rides in Chapelfield Gardens offered plenty of white-knuckle ways to pay good money to feel like throwing up, or a chance reminisce up on the gloriously traditional merry-go-round. Busy queues at the food and ice-cream stalls never seemed to shorten quite enough to tempt an indecisive punter like me, even though those over the age of eighteen could pass through the flaming arch and enjoy a pint of Woodfords from the beer tent, unconvincingly themed as The Flintstone Bar. I churlishly settled in the end for a £1 goody bag from one of the EDP sellers, which provided me with something to read, something to eat, and a bottle of water.

Outside the Forum the main stage was playing host to a variety of entertainment, and at times it was difficult to find a spot to stand, let alone sit, and watch. This is exactly what the organisers were hoping for and, with glorious weather lending a hand, everyone was clearly enjoying either being a participant or spectator. I watched the Rock Choir, Gandini jugglers, and a selection of young dance acts, and the mix of local and national talent gave a lovely balanced feel to the day. Coupled with a compere, and a video link to the big screen, the whole programme seemed to run extremely professionally and almost produce a 'festival' feel. Top marks.

Simply walking around the city led to more acts and surprises. In Gentlemans Walk a stage had been erected in front of the old HMV store, with about a dozen tall poles and a variety of foliage. We later watched as a couple of young acrobatic dancers performed an interpretation of Kate Bush's 'Red Shoes', which was a s mesmerising as the music itself. Later, several street theatre groups mingled with the crowds to provide pop-up performances, and even the Gandini jugglers returned to entertain with another dazzling display of precision and synchrony.

The highlight of any carnival is traditionally the carnival procession, and whilst Norwich does not have anything as politically incorrect as a 'Carnival Queen' we do have a gender unspecific 'Lord Mayor', who is elected in June and is celebrated with a procession through the city streets as the shops close for business at the end of the Saturday afternoon. Starting in Newmarket Road, the floats make their way down St Stephens Street, passing Debenhams and The Bell Hotel before circumnavigating Castle Meadow and ending up in Tombland. Picking a good spot to watch is key, and many people start to arrive, complete with folding chairs, several hours before the procession is due to start. I settle for a place on the slopes of Timber Hill, adjacent to the Bell, and know that it must be a good place when the Mustard TV crew arrive and set up their cameras directly in front of where I am standing.

After the extremely fit and dedicated runners participating in the Lord Mayor's 5km road race had done their thing, which explained why we had been unable to cross the road even at the designated 'crossing points' from just after half past four,  the tension mounted as we awaited the arrival of the procession. We heard the unmistakable sound of the bagpipes even before we saw them, but sure enough it was the pipes and drums of the City of Norwich Pipe Band that first came into view, and stopped just by us. It must be thirsty work, and one of the pipe players must have been celebrating his 70th birthday, judging by the helium balloon attached to his pipes. After a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' he was presented with a pint from the crowd, which he willingly emptied.

After the pipers came the town crier, our traditional Whifflers and Snap Dragon, followed by the civic dignitaries including our new Lord Mayor, Brenda Arthur, and then it was the variety of dancers, floats and local clubs and organisations that make up the annual procession. Thanks to a campaign by our own local Eastern Evening News the number of floats had been boosted a recent high of 70, and included a complete cross-section of Norwich life, businesses, and clubs and societies. Many clubs had acquired the use of trailers pulled by HGV cabs - the sight of a convoy of lorries with so many people on the trailers had a surreal topicality after all the recent television pictures of the M20 in Kent, and the approaches to the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais.

Congratulations to the winning floats, but a special mention to local company InTouch Systems for their magnificent pirate ship. Correctly placed right at the rear of the procession to create maximum impact, this float has now become an annual favourite, and really lays down the gauntlet (or cutlass) for other local companies to get behind the Lord Mayor's Celebrations. If InTouch can come up with something that spectacular just think what our larger local businesses could contribute if they had the will.

As the crowds dispersed at the end of the procession and the streets filled with the hordes in search of refreshment the pubs did a roaring trade, as did the food stalls on Theatre Street. One of my favourites, the Bite The Bullitt mobile BBQ, had completely sold out by the time we arrived. Even Tesco Metro on Guildhall Hill was doing a roaring trade in take away sandwiches and wraps. The demand for beer had left even The Garnet struggling to meet demand, they could not chill down the white wine quickly enough, and had run out of ice. By contrast, The Murderers on Timber Hill served us up with a chilled Chenin Blanc and a refreshingly cold pint of Peroni without any delay.

There still seems to be some confusion about public consumption of alcohol on the streets of Norwich. The majority of Norwich city centre is covered by a Designated Public Place Order, which gives police the power to confiscate alcohol from anyone behaving in an anti-social manner, or from persons under eighteen years of age. Alcohol purchased from pubs and clubs most probably has to be consumed on those premises under the terms of their license, but alcohol purchased from 'off-licenses' and supermarkets can, in theory, be consumed in public if you are over eighteen so long as you are not behaving in an anti-social manner. What constitutes 'anti-social' has to be argued on the spot with a police officer or a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO). Not a particularly satisfactory arrangement, especially on a gloriously hot Saturday evening when many law-abiding citizens would like the freedom to drink responsibly without having to endure the long queues and pay the high prices at some of our licensed premises. Rant over!

So it was, then, that we ended our day watching the firework display from the top of Timber Hill, a fantastic burst of colour and noise to end a marvellous day in this fine city. Crowds thronging, drinking in the streets, dancing and music, and everyone enthused about the summer vibe. If only we could get the same thing going throughout the rest of the year, and if only we could have that weather all through the summer.

Congratulations to Norwich City Council, and the people of Norwich. You done good, boy.

'Head Out, Not Home' - Bringing Covent Garden to Norwich?

This Thursday evening will see the third in the series of 'Head Out Not Home' events organised jointly by the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) and Norwich & Norfolk Community Arts (NORCA). Designed to tempt city workers to linger a while after work, perhaps enjoy a drink or something to eat at one of the city's bars or restaurants, the 'Head Out Not Home' campaign is focusing on the Thursday evenings between June 25th to August 27th. Although I am not one of those who works in our 'Fine City', I made the effort to come in for the first two of these evenings just to see how successful they are turning out to be.

This is the second year that 'Head Out Not Home' has attempted to sustain the city centre footfall beyond the 5.00pm drop-off as the shoppers and workers largely drift off homewards, abandoning the area around Market Square to the pigeons and the Big Issue sellers. Only later will the numbers begin to swell again as the cinemas and theatre audiences return, possibly grabbing something to eat first at somewhere quick like Wagamama or Pizza Express. Family diners are more likely to drive outwards to visit Pizza Hut or Macdonalds somewhere on the circuit of retail parks that now surround the city.

 The late opening of the Norwich bars and clubs mean that youngsters now come out much later - it is not unusual for friends to now not meet even for pre-drinks at someone's house much before 10pm, and when they do go out it will be Prince of Wales Road or Riverside that takes their cash. So how exactly can Norwich city centre expect to acquire a regular evening 'buzz'?

Thursday was chosen as the day most likely to stimulate interest - many of the larger stores and the two shopping malls traditionally remain open later on a Thursday, and indeed in the lead up to Christmas the streets can seem as busy, if not busier than a Saturday afternoon. In the Summer, though, even the big department stores seem quiet.

On the first Thursday of this year's campaign I arrived in the city centre at about 5:00pm, just as the outward traffic jams were approaching their peak. I had done my homework, so knew exactly where to head to see the planned entertainment. I also knew that several of the local car parks have cheap deals in the evening. For example, Chapelfield is flat rate £2 after 3:00pm, The Forum is £1.80 after 5:30pm, and on a Thursday night John Lewis is completely free after 5:00pm. The weather was warm and sunny, and I was optimistically looking forward to catching some summer atmosphere.

Betty Brawn on Timber Hill

The line-up for June 25th was advertised as indie band 'Thieving Icons', performing on St Gregory's Green (adjacent The Birdcage and the Grosvenor Fish Bar), Covent Garden favourite Betty Brawn appearing on Timber Hill, Cuban rhythms on Gentleman's Walk from singer Kandela Mi Son and the Chilli Con Salsa dancers, and 'local' Gambian musician Sefo Kanuteh playing on Hay Hill.

Sefo Kanuteh on Hay Hill

First disappointment was finding that 'Thieving Icons' were a no-show. Their pitch had instead been poached by a local busker. Betty Brawn had her work cut out attracting a crowd on her pitch on the cobblestones of Timber Hill - not exactly the busiest thoroughfare at any time of day, and struggled to find volunteers to feature in her act without depleting her audience even further.

 Sefo Kanuteh was performing to a small scattered audience on Hay Hill, close to where the local soup kitchen later provides hot food to the city's homeless. One shirtless young man, obviously under the influence of something much stronger than Calpol, was swaying rhythmically whilst oblivious to the fact that his tracky bottoms had slipped down exposing much of his buttcrack.

Kandela Mi Son on Gentlemans Walk 

Kandela Mi Son sounded wonderful on Gentleman's Walk, and the dancers led the way for several passers-by to be tempted to join in. In between sets, though, there was nothing of interest going on to stem the exodus and, more worryingly, no blackboard to announce the start of the next set. For all we knew the show could have been over for the evening.

The Vagaband on Gentlemans Walk

Last Thursday, unfortunately, was not much better, even though we had enjoyed an absolute scorcher of a day, and the temperature was still up in the high twenties. Local favourites 'The Vagaband' were doing a sterling job under the shade of the gazebo in Gentleman's Walk, and guitar duo 'Café Warriors' were doing their best on Hay Hill. Kilted knife juggler and Rubik Cube solver (I joke not) Pete Dobbing was suffering the same fate as last week's Betty Brawn underneath the trees on Timber Hill, and seemed almost embarrassed by the absence of an audience. After performing at Covent Garden Market, Norfolk must seem a little quiet by comparison.

Pete Dobbing on Timber Hill

The most successful pitch seemed to be the spoken word Open Mike event on St Gregory's Green hosted by Cat Woodward and Shey Hargreaves from Norwich's Writers' Centre. Whether it was the quality of the poetry, the chance to sit on the grass with a portion of cod and chips, or simply sup at a cold drink, but this was the closest thing I had yet seen to a Norwich evening 'vibe'. Well done.

The Spoken Word Open Mike at St Gregorys

So we have more of these evenings to come, all paid for through the 1% levy on the rateable value of local businesses levied by the City Council on behalf of Norwich BID. So what do we think of it so far?

I certainly do not want to appear negative, and support the whole principle of  'Head Out Not Home' wholeheartedly. Anything that can help create an evening atmosphere close to what we have come to expect elsewhere in our European cities has to be welcomed. But there are one or two observations and comparisons that have to be drawn.

1) The Name - 'Head Out Not Home'. I am sorry, but I have really struggled to get my head round this one. I have been writing it and researching it for over two weeks, yet I still end up calling it 'Don't Go Home, Stay Out' or something else that is close, but earns no cigar. Whatever was wrong with 'Norwich Evenings', or a name that would draw people in, not simply attempt to stop them leaving? Whilst I would not necessarily advocate anything as edgy as Robbie Powell's 'Dirty StopOuts' evenings (which are not at all dirty, but actually very good!), it needs to be more snappy.

1) The British Weather - One reason why we never plan in advance to eat or drink 'al fresco' in this country is the unreliable nature of our weather. Last year it was too cold or wet to linger on many evenings, so going home seemed like the sensible option. This year we have been so much luckier. In order to provide shelter to performers and equipment 'Head Out Not Home' provides white gazebos at each pitch. When the weather is favourable, it would be nice to see the artistes emerge from under the gazebos and perform in the evening sunshine. Whilst the St Gregory's Green gazebo had the beautiful backdrop of the church, the 'Cafe Warriors' had to perform with  a rusty white Renault van parked up immediately behind them on Hay Hill. Temporary stages are probably out of the question, but the gazebos should be positioned more carefully if they are to be used as performance spaces.

Café Warriors in front of that white van on Hay Hill

2) Location - Many European cities are lucky enough to have central squares or plaza surrounded by bars and restaurants. In order to create an atmosphere conducive to stopping and watching street entertainers we need to feel comfortable and relaxed. Whilst St Gregory's has its own intimate atmosphere that appears to work well, Timber Hill conversely has little going for it. Hay Hill is little better, and whilst Gentlemans Walk has the greatest potential there is little in the way of ambience once the market shuts. The best pitches are probably outside the scope of 'Head Out Not Home', or not under the control of the City Council, but one would have thought that The Forum, or Millenium Plain outside of Chapelfield, would lend themselves better to this type of entertainment - bars and restaurants, and plenty of space for a casual audience too. And what about a limited local relaxation of the by-laws banning public consumption of alcohol? I would have loved to have sat with a bottle of wine enjoying the recent live feed of Don Giovanni, but three bum-numbing hours on the steps of The Forum without a discrete slurp of Pino Grigio was too much to contemplate. Presumably 'Head Out Not Home' is currently deemed an alcohol-free zone, too? (although several performers seemed to have cans on the go).

3) Information - Yes, I did clock the volunteer stewards at each pitch, but what was badly missing was a timetable of events or shows at each pitch. If you happen to wander past in between performances you have no way of knowing whether you have arrived too early for the start, or too late for the finish. Not everybody previously researches their Thursday visits as carefully as I did. I know from volunteering at events organised by Norfolk & Norwich Festival that attendances are heavily influenced by distribution of leaflets, and carefully worded posters. The current display of Go-Go Dragons has captured the public imagination because they know exactly where to find each dragon.

The feedback that came overwhelmingly from last weekend's Lord Mayor's Celebrations was that we all loved the atmosphere of those three activity-packed days and evenings in the Summer sunshine. Whilst nobody expects the centre of the city to be like that every evening, it does show that folk will come out in large numbers, and want to see the city centre buzzing.

Thank you Norwich. We do appreciate it, and really do want it to work. I know that this is not the Mediterranean, or Paris, but there are a lot of us that cannot afford to eat out every night or go to the theatre. This initiative should not just be about making the corporate tills ring, or attracting tourists, but about creating a vibrant streetlife for us because, without the Norwich residents coming out in force you cannot create a fake vibrancy for all the tea in China (or beer in Southwold).

Keep up to date with the rest of the 'Head Out Not Home' Thursday evening programme at http://www.norwichbid.co.uk/the-norwich-experience/early-evening-events/summer-events-schedule/
or by checking out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/norwichevenings?fref=ts

Hope to see you all there one evening!