Political View: It was fun – even if it rained on the parade

The parade was organised by Peterborough Presents, a home-grown arts organisation which not only put together the project but arranged lantern making workshops during the weeks leading up to the parade.

This was the second of such initiative following the initial event some 2 years ago.

Eye is very fortunate in being the location for the parade, and it’s so rewarding that the organisation again brought this arts project to the village. Indeed, this year’s parade took the community’s relationship with the brick making industry as its theme. In addition to lots of simple lanterns, large and small, there were also constructions of illuminated dogs, dinosaurs, pedal cycles, scissors, windmills and even a stilt walker with an illuminated head dress!!

The star of the show however was the large illuminated and animated ‘monster’ which dominated the High Street and demanded to be kept fed with bricks! The illuminated bricks were shared around the children present, for them to then feed to the monster at the end location for the parade outside St Matthews Church.

To connect the parade with the history of brick making in the village was inspirational, providing a historical context and a link to the area’s proud connections with the industry. Moreover, the historical link was delivered in a fun way, engaging those of all ages in the village and providing a fantastic community event!

As the local Councillor for Eye I was delighted to have the opportunity to take part in the parade, joining Ward Colleagues Cllr Ray, and Cllr Ormston. It wouldn’t be Britain if the weather didn’t try its best to dampen spirits, but the persistent rain which commenced just about spot on with the start of the parade took nothing away from what was a very special afternoon.

Walking back to my car after the parade and seeing the delight on the faces of the children who were fortunate to acquire one of the illuminated imitation bricks, brought home to me how special events of this kind are for rural communities; which are so often neglected as locations for interactive arts projects

We mustn’t forget the brick pits near to the village which provided the clay. That reminds me to highlight the Eye Green and Star Pit nature reserves, both source of clay for the brick making process, and which since the exhaustion of the mineral have been redeployed as leisure facilities and walking trails for current generations.

If you haven’t made a visit do, make a point of doing so.

So, from the uplifting and illuminating experience of this fantastic event, arranged by the Peterborough Presents collective, unfortunately I have to conclude this week’s article on a more concerning matter. In consideration of the current financial challenges Peterborough City Council are rightly looking at redeployment or disposal of all property assets, including the Chauffeurs Cottage on St Peters Road, where along with Metal, Peterborough Presents are currently based.

In view of the success of the Lantern Parade and the positive impact this had for the community I do hope that a sensible and acceptable arrangement can be arrived at to ensure arts and cultural provisions are not overtly impacted by the need for both organisations to find replacement accommodation to continue their activities in the area.

Peterborough has in the past been described as a cultural cold spot, so let’s ensure that doesn’t perpetuate, and to do so we must apply some light, and heat to the challenge of maintaining a thriving arts and culture offer in the City.