Hundreds of people joined in the Mayday Festival on the Southborough Cricket ground on Bank Holiday Monday, with the welcome return of children dancing around the Maypole.

It was the second Mayday Festival organised by Nell Price and the Southborough Street Community. Last year they revived the Maypole tradition in Southborough for the first time since the 1800s.

This year saw the event expand in size with 50 stalls, a bouncy castle and many more people. The rain held off and there were even brief glimpses of sun.

Nell Price (pictured below) said: “We are the first people to put a Maypole here since the early 1800s when it was banned by the church that’s in front of me, but they are very relaxed now and they have allowed us to have a Maypole back on Southborough Common”.

The event saw the May Queen, Ladies in Waiting and a May King all recognised for their fine costumes and enthusiastic dancing.

You can hear more about the event, Southborough in Bloom and the history of the Maypole by clicking on this link to the Southborough News YouTube site.

You can see interviews with Nell Price, Rachel Gale of the Maypole Hire Company and Mandy Wharton of Southborough in Bloom. Plus local artists Kat Vezmar and Michelle Parfitt explain their work. Finally on the 9 minute film you can hear a song from The Chartham String Band.