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Processions

Guy Fawkes effigy being paraded through the streets on Bonfire Night, Lewes, East Sussex, England, 1989

A fearsome guizer at Bonfire Night, Lewes, East Sussex, England, 1981

‘Bishop’ on Bonfire Night, Lewes, East Sussex, England, 1989

Lewes Bonfire Night, East Sussex, England, 1989

Bonfire Night celebrations in Rye, East Sussex, 2007 (Lewes on 5 November is the big one but Bonfire parades take place in about 25 other places in Sussex on Saturday nights from late October to late November. Rye is on the second Saturday after Bonfire Night)

Bonfire celebrations at Rye, East Sussex, 2007 (Lewes on 5 November is the big one but Bonfire parades take place in about 25 other places in Sussex on Saturday nights from late October to late November. Rye is on the second Saturday after Bonfire Night)

The Guizer Jarl by the burning Galley at Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984 (The ‘Guizer Jarl’ is head man for the year purely through seniority in the 17-strong committee - he, and his ‘Jarl Squad’ are the only ‘vikings’ involved and the other 900-odd guizers are anything but)

Part of the Jarl Squad pose for pictures on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984 (Contrary to popular impression these are the only ‘vikings’ permitted, by personal invitation of the Guizer Jarl)

Burning the Junior Galley before the main Up-Helly-Aa spectacular, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984 (The much smaller Junior Procession is held two hours before the main event)

Guizers with their torches at Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984 (Only the small ‘Jarl Squad’ wear Viking dress, the majority of squads choose topical costumes. Puffins abound in the vicinity)

The Guizer Jarl (Peter Malcolmson on this occasion) poses on the Galley on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, 1984

Guizer Jarl and his Squad touring Lerwick on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, Shetland, Scotland, 1984

The Galley and the Procession of torch-carrying Guizers at Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984

The ‘Guizer Jarl’ near the burning Galley at the end of the Up-Helly-Aa Procession, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, 1984

The Jarl Squad on the morning of Up-Helly-Aa, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland

The Great Garibaldi and the Scots Guards Band at the Easter Parade in Battersea Park, London, 1982

Orange Parade on the Twelfth of July, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1994

At the Apprentice Boys March, which commemorates the Siege of Londonderry in 1689, held at the beginning of August in Derry, Northern Ireland

Orange Parade on 12 July, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Members of the Protestant Orange Lodges (Orangemen) prepare to march Through Glasgow, Scotland

Man playing the fife during an Orange march in Greenock, Glasgow, Scotland, 2010 (Fife and drum bands are popular for Orange Marches in N Ireland and Scotland)

Easter Bonnet at the Easter Parade, Battersea Park, London, 1982

Vintage Cycle Club members at the Easter Parade, Battersea Park, London, 1982

Pearly family at the Easter Parade in Battersea Park, London, 1982

A mas band from Notting Hill Carnival at the Easter Parade, Battersea Park, London, 1982

Trooping the Colour on the Queen’s Official Birthday, Horseguards Parade, London, 2008

Trooping the Colour, Massed Band of the Brigade of Guards, London, 2008

Trooping the Colour at Horseguards on the Queen’s Birthday, London, 2008

Grenadier Guards at Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade, London, on a wet June Saturday in 2001

Changing the Guard, at 11.30 every morning, at Buckingham Palace, London SW1 (This is the band of the Irish Guards, with their Irish Wolfhound mascot)

Bluecoat March in 1985, with the boys from Christ’s Hospital School marching past the Lord Mayor at the Guildhall, London, England

Girls of Christ’s Hospital School on the ‘Bluecoat March’ from Newgate to the Mansion House, London, 1985

The Corps of Drums Society passing by in the Lord Mayor’s Show procession through the City of London, November 2010

The giants Gog and Magog, traditional guardians of the City of London, under the care of the Society of Young Freemen in the Lord Mayor’s Show, 2001

Tar Barrel Parade on New Year’s Eve, Allendale, Northumberland, England, 1988/9

Tar Barrel Parade on New Year’s Eve in Allendale, Northumberland, 1988/9

Tar Barrel Parade on New Year’s Eve in Allendale, Northumberland, 1988/9

The New Year’s Eve Tar Barrel Parade in Allendale Town, Northumberland, 1972/3

Lighting a barrel for the Tar Barrel Parade on New Year’s Eve in Allendale, Northumberland, 2008/9

The Tar Barrel Parade on New Year’s Eve in Allendale, Northumberland, 2008/9

Guizers on the Tar Barrel Parade, Allendale Town, Northumberland, England

Lanimer Day Procession, Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 2001 (Week-long ‘Lanimers’ at the beginning of June is similar to Border Ridings with hundreds of children taking part in the Thursday Procession)

Young participant in the Procession on Lanimer Day, Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 2001 (Week-long ‘Lanimers’ at the beginning of June is similar to Border Ridings with hundreds of children taking part in the Thursday Procession)

Children at Lanimer Day in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland (‘Lanimers’ is a week-long celebration in June marking the granting of the status of ‘Royal Burgh’ by King David I in the 12th century. Lanimer Day, on the Thursday, is for the children)

‘Purple Pixies’ at Lanimer Day in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland (‘Lanimers’ is a week-long celebration in June marking the granting of the status of ‘Royal Burgh’ by King David I in the 12th century. Lanimer Day, on Thursday, is for the children)

Harvest Home at Swallowfield, near Reading, Berkshire (from the Illustrated London News, 1863)

Harvest Home custom in France (Illustrated London News, 1854)

Battle of Flowers evening parade, Jersey, Channel Islands (The ‘battle’ is history and the event has evolved into a huge procession of floats decorated with flowers, a major industry of the Channel Islands)

Masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival, London, 1983

Young masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival. London, 1987

Cat masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival, London, 1988

Masqueraders at Notting Hill Carnival, London, 1988

A young masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival, London, 1983

A ‘Mas Band’ at Notting Hill Carnival, London, 1983

Cat masqueraders at Notting Hill Carnival, 1988

Cheerful masqueraders at Leicester Caribbean Carnival, 2004 (Similar to Notting Hill but more organised!)

Masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival, London, England

Masquerader at Notting Hill Carnival, London, England, c1995

Arbor Day, Aston-on-Clun, Shropshire, England, 1986 (The legend of the origin of the custom concerns the son of the manor returning with his new bride)

The May Queen and her Retinue in procession to her ‘coronation’ on Royal May Day, Knutsford, Cheshire, 1983

Manley Morris Dancers in the Royal May Day Procession, Knutsford, Cheshire, England, 1986

Jack in the Green in the parade on Royal May Day in Knutsford, Cheshire, 1986

Manchester Morris Men in the parade on Royal May Day in Knutsford, Cheshire, 1983

Swinging the Fireballs’ on New Year’s Eve in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 1983/4

A tableau in Bridgwater Carnival, Somerset, 1984

A float in Bridgwater Carnival, Somerset, 1984

The Bannock Emblem being paraded around the town before Common Riding at ‘The Muckle Toon’ of Langholme, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

The Duchess of Kent inspecting the ‘Chelsea Pensioners’ on Founder’s Day at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, 1984

‘Chelsea Pensioners’ at the Founder’s Day Parade at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, 1984

Members and their families of the Hearts of Oak Friendly Society, with their banner and staves, gather for their Club Walk on the Saturday after Oak Apple Day 1984, Fownhope, Herefordshire

Members of the Heart of Oak Friendly Society, with their club ‘staves’, on their Club Walk in Fownhope, Herefordshire, England, 1984

The men of Fisherrow ready to go on the Fishermen’s Walk through Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, 1984 (This is the combined club walk of the United Fishermen’s and the Fisherrow Friendly Societies)

‘Fishwives’ in their kirkin’ shawls on the Fishermen’s Walk through Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, 1984 (This is the combined club walk of the United Fishermen’s and the Fisherrow Friendly Societies)

Cheerful ‘fishwives’ on the Fishermen’s Walk in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, 1984

‘Harvest Home’, celebrating the final load from the fields at the end of the year’s harvest (from Chambers Book of Days, 1862)

At the Harness Horse Parade on Easter Monday in Regent’s Park, London, 1973 (Now moved out of London to the South of England Showground at Ardingly, West Sussex)

At the Harness Horse Parade on Easter Monday in Regent’s Park, London, 1982 (This event is now held out of London at the South of England Showground at Ardingly, West Sussex)

The Harness Horse Parade on Easter Monday in Battersea Park, London, England, 2002 (This well-known Easter Monday event has moved out of London to the South of England Showground, Ardingly, West Sussex)

Swinging the Fireballs on New Year’s Eve in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 1983/4

On Westminster Bridge, London, during the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, on the first Sunday in November 1984

At the start of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run in Hyde Park, London, England, c1990

Crossing Westminster Bridge on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, London, England, c1990

Ice Queen at the Battle of Flowers, Jersey, Channel Islands, 2006 (The ‘battle’ is forgotten and the event has evolved into a huge procession of floats decorated with flowers, a major industry of the Channel Islands)

Cinderella themed float at the Battle of Flowers, Jersey, Channel Islands, 2006 (The ‘battle’ is forgotten and the event has evolved into a huge procession of floats decorated with flowers, a major industry of the Channel Islands)

Sinead Brennan, Miss Jersey, on parade at the Battle of Flowers in St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, 2006 (The ‘battle’ is forgotten and the event has evolved into a huge procession of floats decorated with flowers, a major industry of the Channel Islands)

‘Father Jack’ (a character from the irreverant 1990s TV series ‘Father Ted’) on a St Patrick’s Day Parade, Dublin, Ireland, about that time

At the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Belfast City Centre every 17 March, Belfast, Northern Ireland

‘St Patrick’ himself and patriotically attired followers at the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland

Beltane Fire Festival, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland

Highland Gathering, Lonach, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire - with many clan tartans on display

Clans on parade for Lonach Highland Gathering, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

At the European Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow (The event is at a different venue in Scotland each year)

Beltane Fire Festival on 30 April every year on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland

Sir William Wallace Grand Lodge of Free Colliers (The Pinkie Men) from Falkirk, Scotland (A traditional miners’ ‘Walk’, with linked little fingers, symbolising what they had to find their way in the pitch dark of the pits as only one miner per group was allowed a lamp)

Sma’ Shot Day, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, which celebrates early triumphs by the weaving trade unions (Weaving is long gone from Paisley but the ‘Charleston Drum’ still summons citizens to the parade and the effigy of an unpopular boss, known as ‘The Cork’, inevitably gets burned)

The Wren Boys Parade on Boxing Day in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland

The Wren Boys Parade on Boxing Day in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland

Procession to the crowning of the ‘Queen of the Revel’, Marhamchurch Revel, Cornwall, England, 1996 (Like a May custom but near 12 August in honour of St Morwenna)

Charles I Commemoration procession, from St James’s to the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, England

Burning the Clocks, Winter Solstice parade to mark the passing of time, Brighton, Sussex, England

Old soldiers in the Mall, London on Remembrance Sunday, c1990

The Straw Bear on his rounds during the Straw Bear Festival, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, England

Procession through the village on Grovely Day, Great Wishford, Wiltshire, England

Academic Procession in Tom Quad, Christ Church, Oxford, England (Academics adore these!)

Gorsedd ceremony at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Neath, Wales, 1993

Giant imagery procession, Mazey Day, Market Jew Street, Penzance, Cornwall

Mazey Day ‘Tackers and Cheelds’ during the Golowan Festival in Penzance, Cornwall, England, 1994

The May Queen and her attendents, Lustleigh May Day, Dartmoor, Devon, England

Lichfield ‘Greenhill Bower’ procession passing the statue of Dr Johnson on Whit Monday in 1850. (On Spring Bank Holiday nowadays)

The Sergeants at Mace, Sword Bearer and the Town Crier in Lichfield ‘Greenhill Bower Procession on Whit Monday 1850 (Now on Spring Bank Holiday)

The Morris Dancers at Lichfield ‘Greenhill Bower’ on Whit Monday 1850 (Now on Spring Bank Holiday)

The King on his steed on Garland Day, Castleton, Derbyshire, England, 1973

Jazz Band drummer at the Raising of the Maypole at Barwick-in-Elmet, near Leeds, West Yorkshire, on Spring Bank Holiday 1987

Procession through the village of Great Wishford, Wiltshire, on Grovely Day (29 May, Oak Apple Day), 1982 (Perpetuates an ancient right to gather ‘snappinge-wood’ from nearby Grovely Forest)

Procession of St James Lodge, Tarbolton, the Masonic Lodge of which Robert Burns was a member. By David Octavious Hill, later a famous pioneering photographer. (From ‘ Scotland Delineated in a Series of Views’, c1850)

‘Wodemen’ or ‘Green Men’ carried clubs and hurled squibs to clear the way for the Lord Mayor’s Procession in the 16th and 17th centuries (From ‘London’ Vol VI, edited by Charles Knight, 1844)

Carrying the Holly Tree at Brough, Cumbria. Until the nineteenth century a burning holly branch was paraded around the town on Twelfth Night. (From Hone’s Table Book, published 1827)

A tableau at the Lord Mayor’s Pageant in 1616. The Lord Mayor of London has sworn fealty to the Crown since 1215 and his journey to do so became The Lord Mayor’s Show (From Chambers’ Book of Days, 1864)

St Piran’s Day procession in Truro, Cornwall, England, 1996

St Piran’s Day procession in the dunes near Perranporth, Cornwall, England, 1996

The Salmon Queen tours Tweedmouth during the Salmon Feast, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, 1995

The Salmon Queen and attendants at the Salmon Feast, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, 1995

The Sheriff’s Ride, a formal riding of the bounds of Lichfield, Staffordshire, 1984

The Sheriff’s Ride, a formal riding of the bounds of Lichfield, Staffordshire, 1984

A ‘Widow’ and the Mayor make their way to the John Knill Ceremony at Knill’s Steeple on Worvas Hill above St Ives, Cornwall, 1986

Civic procession to and from the Cathedral on one of five ‘Horn Days’ in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, this time on Christmas Day 1965. The famous Horn Blower is fourth from the right.

Officials at the proclamation of ‘The Mart’, the first big travelling fair of the year, Tuesday Marketplace, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, on St Valentine’s Day 1984

Passing through the Barbican whilst Beating the Bounds of the parish of St Botolph, Aldersgate, London, 1986

The Wine Porter sweeps the path for the Vintners’ Procession led by the Bargemaster, the Beadle and the Clerk, Upper Thames Street, London, 1986

‘Westminster Hall, showing the Ceremony of Opening Term’, what we now call The Lord Chancellor’s Breakfast, (By Richard Doyle from ‘Manners and Customs of ye Englyshe in 1849’)

The procession of the Judiciary from Westminster Abbey to the House of Lords for the Lord Chancellor’s Breakfast at the start of the legal year on 1 October, London, 1972 (Lord Hailsham, in the wig, was Lord Chancellor at the time)

Graduation Day, Queens College, Cambridge University, England

Graduation Day, Cambridge University, England, 2003

New Graduates muster on Graduation Day, Cambridge University, England, 2003

On the trienniel Common Walk around the boundaries of Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, 1984

The Lord Mayor of Westminster’s New Year’s Day Parade, London, England, 2000 (Visiting American bands are an annual feature of this parade)

Sousaphone player at The Lord Mayor of Westminster’s New Year’s Day Parade, London, England, 2000 (Visiting American bands are an annual feature of this parade)

Pearly Kings and Queens at the Lord Mayor of Westminster’s New Year’s Day Parade, London, England, 2000

The vicar and village schoolchildren on Garland Day (May Day) in Charlton-on-Otmoor, Oxfordshire

Masquerader in Birmingham International Carnival, Handsworth, Birmingham, England, mid-1990s

Civic Procession to the Cathedral on Mayor’s Sunday, the first Sunday after his election, Winchester, Hampshire, England, 1984

Procession to the Well Dressing at Bisley, Gloucestershire, England, late 1990s (Unlike the Derbyshire tradition, at Bisley garlands are carried in procession from the church to the elaborate Victorian wells, on Ascension Day, and put on display)

Lord Derby laying the first stone of the Seamen’s Orphan Institution, Liverpool, in September 1871 - Newsham Park is still there but the Institution moved out in 1949 (Illustrated London News)

The Lord Mayor in his golden coach during the Lord Mayor’s Show, London, 1988 (The coach dates from 1757 and can be seen at any other time in the Museum of London)

HAC pikeman at the Lord Mayor’s Show, London, 1981

Doggett’s Coat and Badge Winners in the Lord Mayor’s Show by St Pauls Cathedral, London, 1988

The Lord Mayor’s Show in 1750 (From ‘Old England’, published c1860)

British Telecom staff extolling the ‘999’ service in the Lord Mayor’s Show, London, 1987

‘Michaelmas Monday - Election of Mayor in Olden Times’. The portentious Mayor’s Procession passes while a subversive ‘mock’ mayor is being feted on the right (From ‘A Handbook to Newcastle-upon-Tyne’, 1863)

A road roller, an unusual but perfectly reasonable part of the Worshipful Company of Paviors section of The Lord Mayor’s Show, City of London, 13th November 2010 -

The Lord Mayor’s Show, City of London, 13th November 2010 - Lord Mayor Alderman Michael Bear

Lord Mayors Show, London, Light Cavalry Escort to the Lord Mayor. 2001

Castle Barnard Ward Club in Lord Mayor’s Show, London, 2008

Dickens Festival, Rochester, Kent, England

The Queen arriving at the St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the Garter Ceremony, followed by the Yeomen of the Guard, Windsor, Berkshire, 1980s

Procession of the Queen and Members of the Order of the Garter through the town during the Garter Ceremony, Windsor, Berkshire, 1980s

Trades parade at the start of Preston Guild 2012, an event which takes place once every twenty years.