No Cars in Bromley & Stockwell Festival: On Saturday 23rd September 2006 I went to Bromley where there was a ‘No Car’ day taking place, only to find there was little or nothing to photograph. Bromley is on the south-east edge of London, and although it has a heavily built-up centre with tall office blocks is surrounded by huge car parks and outer suburbs with many streets of 1920s and 30s semi-detached houses most now with several cars parked outside. Although the area has some good public transport for many of its residents living without a car would be unthinkable. I hung around for a short time but took few pictures, only a single one I thought worth putting on-line, then walked past the War Memorial and on to the station.
More was happening in Stockwell which is the centre of London’s Portuguese community and I enjoyed the festival although it was on a small scale. There are now much more organised and larger events every July in Larkhall Park, but rather less intimate and its a while since I covered such things. My accounts written in 2006 below.
No Car in Bromley?
East Street, Bromley
The good thing about Bromley is that it has a very fast train service from Victoria. So it only took me a few minutes to get there to see its car-free street festival, hidden away in a side street a couple of minutes walk from the busy (and pedestrianised) shopping streets and the large and crowded car parks.
Bromley is very stony ground for sowing environmental seed, and the lack of interest shown by the inhabitants in what was going on was unsurprising, if disappointing both to me and to the organisers. I hope a few more strayed in later in the day.
Stockwell Festival 2006
Slade Gardens, Stockwell
I wanted to be back in Stockwell for the festival parade. There wasn’t a lot of interest on the festival field – some Portuguese sardines and beer (nasty fizz), a sort of inflatable tent, the usual face-painting and drumming etc for kids, bike workshops and a fair trade stall.
But the parade itself was a small and lively affair, with lots of people demanding I take their picture.
I enjoyed it [and took many more pictures than I put online.] But when I saw my bus coming along the road I decided it was time for home.
Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos
All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.
