Star date: 9th June 2018

MAD HATS, CAKES AND CURIOSITY IN SWINTON

Victoria Park in Swinton went curiouser and curiouser today as Salford Mad Pride saw silly hats, 'eat me' cakes, music, games, stalls and some serious messages about mental health.

As the Alice sign said, 'You're mad, bonkers, off your head...but I'll tell you a secret...all of the best people are...'

Full details here...

Never mind Parklife in Heaton Park, this was Salford Mad Pride in Victoria Park where the community came out to celebrate madness in all its forms and shapes, backed by some serious messages.

As Alice arrived from Wonderland to greet visitors to the free jamboree, silly games were going off, a cavalcade of musicians took to the bandstand and stalls were helping kids and adults create mad headwear.

The maddest hat was surely one made of real bananas on the bonce of a lady, who explained that it was a reference to the Freddie Mercury classic I'm Going Slightly Mad...And suddenly it all made sense...

...And speaking of mercury, there was a very strange stall run by Jane Wood and Mike Scantlebury - who an hour earlier had been performing as the Jane and Mike Band - which aimed to raise the issue of the heavy metal in people's teeth.

Back in the day, mercury was used in the making of hats and was said to be the root cause of hatters going 'mad'...

"Maybe mercury fillings are still having a bad affect on people" said Mike "So Jane's written a song about it which she performed, and I decided to write a crime fiction thriller about somebody who finds out the truth that mercury is dangerous, and perhaps causes dementia in older people...and there's lots of people who want to shut him up."

While Mike had his book, titled Filling In, on sale, Jane was pushing alternative toothbrushes... "A special toothbrush that was suppressed in the 1930s because dentists would be out of a job" she explained "The bristles are capillaries, so instead of brushing plaque into your gums these just suck it up like plants. Tooth Wizards distribute them online, and I've been using them since I had all the mercury taken out of my mouth."

Yes, it was one of those days when anything and everything went, including rows of Wonderland cakes with 'Eat Me' signs attached, and, over at the Voicebox stand, a blackboard chalked with the message 'Because...We Can...We Should...We Shouldn't' – and 'We Can't' crossed out...

The most visual display was the Start in Salford Sea of Hands, with loads of yellow plastic hands growing out of the grass, scrawled with poignant messages about suicide from the community...

"It's a mass display of support for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or having mental health issues" explained Start's Dennis Baldwin "It's about offering people support in a very basic simple way, to reach out and start a conversation that could save someone's life."

The Sea of Hands is next heading to the AJ Bell Stadium on Thursday, on display before the Salford Red Devils match. There were also stalls at Mad Pride from most mental health organisations in Salford offering advice, support and information. But the idea of the day was to have surreal fun in the midst of the issues...and it was a huge success.

What can you say? Hats off to the organisers!