Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Ashford Carnival and Shopping Week
Ashford crowns its Carnival Queen in this film from 1949. With Her Highness are the handmaids, the Mayor and the official Jester, who we later see sitting in a pram at the Baby Show!
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Overview
This amusing film starts off outside Ashford's Corn Exchange. As this is a civic occasion the town clerk, in the wig, announces the election of the May Queen, who arrives with her handmaidens followed by the Lord Mayor, to be crowned, applauded and photographed. Garlands are given to each handmaid and a court jester appears onstage doing silly things. We're next at a Baby Show, with babies, their mothers and a man, in nurse’s uniform, pushing a pram containing the jester.
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