Fat Tuesday Cheer
After the rained-out Umbrella Parade on Sunday, it was at least dry for Fat Tuesday festivities on Tuesday. Hastings Old Town was packed with people: the event focussed on half a dozen hostelries who imported live bands. The Dragon, which, it was rumoured, had brought in some well-known musicians at the last minute, spilled out into George Street, where the tide merged with the overflow from the Hastings Arms opposite, writes Antony Mair.
The Venetian mask business didn’t seem to have taken off. We’d had a bite to eat in the Black Pearl, where some heavyset chaps were sitting at the bar in surprisingly ornate masks – a curious mix of Don Giovanni and the Godfather. But most people were interested in goodnatured drinking. A lady shaking a collection box outside Porters allowed me to take her picture, though, just to show that some people made an effort.
were about eight musicians sitting round a table playing a variety of instruments – clarinet, guitar, concertina, violin, flute and what looked like a couple of lutes. It was brilliant diddly-dee stuff and we loved it. The high spot was probably the lady who sang a sad shanty with a refrain that we all joined in to sing – “They won’t let us go to sea any more”. When I asked if I could take her photo she insisted on displaying her Fat Tuesday T-shirt. Her smile says it all.
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