Punch And Judy Celebration Is A Huge Success

Saturday 12th May 2012

Punch and Judy (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

It was a perfect warm, sunny day and the crowds of people turned out to watch a truly historic event. Over one hundred Punch and Judy Professors met in Covent Garden, for Mr Punch‘s very special birthday party.

Punch and Judy men and women had travelled to London from all over the UK and indeed all over the world including puppeteers from Italy, the USA and Japan.

Slapsticks and Sausages!

Proceedings commenced at 2.30pm with a speech by organizer Glynn Edwards who stood in front of a giant Punch and Judy booth. There was a round of applause for the oldest performer, a lady in her eighties. Then Samuel Pepys came on and the spectators were asked to give a rousing shout for Mr Punch. On the second call a hundred Mr Punch’s sprang up from inside the booth and cavorted to the delight of the audience. Their Judy’s then came up and they danced together and then disappeared while the crowd sang happy birthday Mr Punch.

The birthday cake was sitting on the puppet stage and from it were pulled a string of 350 sausages. Some of the sausages had labels representing notable historic events to emphasize just how far back in time Mr Punch’s history can be traced.

Once the sausages were out up came the crocodiles and finally the Mr Punch’s with their slapsticks to chase them away and restore order.

The Grand Parade

The main celebrations ended with a grand parade round Covent Garden. A marching band lead the way, the musicians all dressed as Mr Punch. When the procession arrived back at the giant Punch and Judy booth there was a sing-song and a big cheer to end proceedings on a high note.

It was the best birthday party ever and Mr Punch can now look forward to his next big party in twenty-five years time to mark his 375th.

Wonderful Entertainment

At either side of the main stage there were Punch and Judy Shows set up and performing throughout the day. It was fascinating to see the guest performers from overseas at work. The public were treated to some wonderful entertainment by masters of the art of puppetry and Punch and Judy.