A Fair Day's Pay
Dateline: Monday, May 31st, 2004 - Kingston Green Fair.
I have worked at Kingston Green Fair in both 2003 and 2004, part of the time manning gates and collecting gate money. I am somewhat disappointed in the attitudes displayed by a tiny but highly noticable proportion of the public that I have encountered on those days, and whilst I don't represent the organisers, their policy or their opinions, I do feel the need to address these attitudes. Although the vast majority of people attending the Fair are not only willing but happy to pay the entrance charges, and in spite of the council giving the Fair organisers legal authority to restrict access to Canbury Gardens to charge for entry, there are always some who refuse to pay for one reason or another.
The towpath running alongside the Thames, between it and Canbury Gardens, is without question a public right-of-way, and if they wish to use this route pedestrians and cyclists cannot be denied access. It is fair to assume that there are amongst these people those whose only interest is indeed in exercising their lawful rights of access, and in strolling or riding along the river unhindered - and who can blame them on a pleasant sunny day? Unfortunately, people often claim right of access to the towpath merely as an excuse to circumvent the entry charge. I have even witnessed pedestrians claiming right of access to the towpath then, blatantly within sight of the gate, wander off into the Fair.
Then there are the individuals who claim that "I'm only going to the pub". Again, for some it is true, but for many it is a blatant lie. They'll happily blow their money on possibly some of the most expensive beer in Kingston, and yet they will use the pub as an excuse for not supporting the Fair that they then spend the rest of the day enjoying. Again I can bear witness, first hand. The pub in question is the Boaters Inn which is sited - unfortunately, in this circumstance - within the bounds of Canbury Gardens, although there are also steps up from the towpath. The Green Fair is without shadow of a doubt one of its busiest days. Extra staff are drafted in, and a barbecue sells food from the back of the pub to the passing trade. Even so, whilst the pub trade clearly benefits hugely from the Fair, I understand that the management do not make any contribution to its running. They are happy to reap the profit, but not help defray the cost. (Pretty short-sighted if you ask me, for without significant financial input the Green Fair cannot take place.)
This leads neatly to those who spuriously equate "green" with "free". Some people are under the false impression that charging entrance is for the purpose of turning a profit. Simple reason and economics notwithstanding they manage to convince themselves that staging an event which attracts over 10,000 people in one day is somehow possible at zero cost. Somehow they manage to convince themselves that health and safety issues for such numbers will magically disappear because it is an environmental fair. The cost of toilet facilities, of drinking water, of safety equipment, and of safety and security patrols just don't come into their reasoning. They ignore the need to make allowance for the dangers of theft and disorderly behaviour - after all every single member of the public is going to be on their best behaviour, and wouldn't dream of stooping to violence or taking advantage of the rich opportunities for theft. There's no need for first aid arrangements because no-one would be as inconsiderate as to have an accident or fall ill. The entertainment equipment - the marquees, the sound equipment, the chairs, the tables - well they all materialise out of nowhere don't they? Well no, they don't. Then there are all the administration costs in simply organising the event - telephone costs, postage, printing. Even though the event is arranged over the months by unpaid volunteers the costs still mount up. Staging an event this big costs money. Real money. Multiple tens of thousands of pounds, all told. Anyone who believes otherwise is deluding themselves.
There's a fourth class of people, who almost slipped through the net - the people who flatly refuse, as a matter of principle, to give a penny to "hippie freeloaders", whilst at the same time wanting to enjoy the day's entertainments with everyone else. Not only is there hypocrisy here, but irony too. The irony is that it is in fact they not the "hippies" who are the freeloaders, although this no doubt escapes them entirely. Being aware of green concerns, and taking a participatory interest does not automatically imply either hippie tendencies. Besides, "hippie" does not imply social degeneracy. I, for one, am neither.
Let us not forget the final category who make abundantly clear their belief that the Fair shouldn't even be allowed to take place. They object, not to the principle of charging for entrance to the Fair, but to access to Canbury Gardens being restricted for the purpose of this particular event. Not much you can say about them. In the last decade green politics and concerns have come from being a minority issue dismissed as the province of tree-huggers and nutters to one recognised as a priority the world over. Now, I don't wholly subscribe to the "green" perspective on every issue. For instance I have no objection to safe nuclear power (i.e. the problem lies not with nuclear power as a matter of principle, it lies in ensuring its reliably safe containment, which is a matter of practicality not principle), and consider the blanket demonisation of motor vehicles somewhat absurd. I am wholly areligious. I have no "spiritual" connection with the Mother Earth. Plants and animals don't send me into paroxysms of ecstacy. However, I do wholly and utterly believe in freedom of belief and expression, and also understand the survival value of not totally abusing the balanced planetary ecosystem which sustains life, and us with it. I would like future generations to inherit a world where they can walk free, still breath the air, eat wholesome food, and not get burnt to a crisp by the star that is the original source of the planet's energy. It's not an unusual desire, and I'm not uncommon in holding it. These days most people recognise to some degree that there are environmental issues which simply cannot be disputed or left to chance, even if only as a matter of sensible caution in the face of the unknown. And yet there are still others who fail to understand this, and worse still do not have the good grace to allow the rest of us to express ourselves freely and without confrontation.
From my own experience I have no doubt that there are some who only come specifically on the day of the Fair just so that they can feel smug about causing a stir. You can see it in their body language. You can see it in their eyes. Some are adolescents displaying their characteristic need to challenge regulation, but at least half are "respectable" adults who should have grown out of such behaviour long ago. (What sad comment is that on their lives?) This is particularly true of the cyclists who insist on free access to Canbury Gardens via Kings Passage, claiming a bogus right of access. (Access from Kings Passage to the river is NOT a public right-of-way. Besides, how much effort does it take to cycle the extra distance to the riverside at the north end of the park, especially when some have already come from that very direction?)
From a practical perspective, there are solutions to some of these problems. The abuse of access to the towpath could be solved by fencing the boundary between it and gardens, but it would be unsightly and would seriously detract from the atmosphere of the event itself. The excuse of attending the pub could be mitigated by fencing it off from the gardens, allowing public access only from the towpath. The trouble is that these draconian actions would be being implemented to stop the abuses of the selfish few, whilst increasing the cost to the honest and consciencious, and detracting from the enjoyment of all. This starts to miss the point. The Kingston Green Fair is not about the gate money, it's about the environmental issues of sustainability and celebrating our environment and the richness of life. If the measures required to ensure the revenue themselves begin to become the major cost, the object of the exercise is lost. The money is simply a means to an end. The money simply ensures that the event can happen - no more, no less. It's an easy equation: no money, no Green Fair. There are those who would be glad of this, but they represent a tiny fraction of one percent.
Why was I moved to write this? I don't know. Perhaps in the vain hope that some of the people who caused unecessary irritation (is it ever necessary?) this year will read and re-consider. I know - I'm dreaming, but what's to lose? (No, it's not a city in France.)
Not to end on a low note, it is only right to stress that whilst some people may have strange principles or ethics, by far the majority of people recognise Kingston Green Fair as being a good day's education, celebration and entertainment, and above all value for money. Most people go home happy, with a smile. I was on gate duty towards the end of the day in 2004, and I take just a little pride in my own tiny contribution to an event which lead to people leaving spontaneously saying not only "goodbye" but "thankyou". People are far more apt to complain than compliment (a sad feature of modern society), so every one of those thankyous was worth 10 moaners. The detractors and cheats are, without question, in the minority. It's no bad thing.
