What happened when Bexley took over Lesnes Abbey for a day
The sun turned up and so did everyone else. By mid-morning the grounds of Lesnes Abbey were filling with families, the smell of Chef Yogis' vegan curry was drifting across from the food stalls, and a small child near the stage had already decided that ceilidh music was made specifically for her.
The Bexley Eco Festival is sponsored by Cory who provide safe, clean and sustainable management of London’s recyclable and non-recyclable waste. Cory use the River Thames as a green highway to transport much of our non-recyclable waste. This saves around 100,000 truck movements a year, providing an important way of getting traffic off the road and making London safer and less polluted. Cory had their own stall at the Bexley Eco Festival to provide information on what they do.
The festival was attended by The Mayor of Bexley and the Deputy Mayor of Greenwich.
Cory with the London Borough of Bexley Mayor and the Bexley Waste Team.
The Woodlands Procession with The Mayor of Bexley.
Daniel walks through the abbey
Several times throughout the afternoon, the conversation stopped mid-sentence. Daniel, the eight-foot wire and wildflower figure created by the Luke Brown Company, was making his way through the grounds again. He moved slowly, flanked by two guides in matching khaki, carrying in his frame the messages visitors had woven into him throughout the day. Children ran alongside him while the adults got their phones out to snap a pic or video.
Daniel, the Dandelion - Walk of the Dandelion by the Luke Brown Company
On the Stage
Fiddles, an accordion, and one very committed toddler
The stage was framed with eucalyptus and roses and hosted by Andre Bright. Boppin' Bunnies opened the stage for the youngest contingent, and by noon, Ceilidh Tree had taken over with their fiddle, accordion and guitar; the kind of music that means you simply have to tap your feet.
The Kimberleys played at 2:30pm, Gonul Ali followed at 3:30pm, and TARU, who had been running drumming and dance workshops in the Kids Zone all afternoon, performed before the festival finale closed the day.
Community & Charity
The organisations that showed up
The RSPB were there with bird boxes and information about threatened species. The London Borough of Bexley's Waste Team had a spin wheel and an interesting explanation of what happens to food waste in Bexley. It actually gets turned into energy that powers local homes, which is really interesting when someone is actually showing you the equipment rather than just telling you about it on a poster.
The RSPB and the London Borough of Bexley Waste Team
Countrystyle Recycling brought two of their vehicles - a DAF truck and a compact street sweeper - which were super popular with the kids. Their horns were blowing all afternoon. The Children's University were there too, and the Wiggly Wild Show brought out a bearded dragon who was cool as a cucumber about the whole situation.
Countrystyle
Children's University
UK Homes 4 Heroes is a charity that’s been supporting homeless veterans since 2010. They had a prominent pitch at the festival, and the man behind the stall, in a full Pearly King jacket, was still giving double thumbs up to photographers at 4pm. Some people are just built for a festival.
UK Homes 4 Heroes
Makers & Produce
The stalls worth slowing down for
Studio Kesh had a table of handmade upcycled baskets in muted greys and ochres, each one different, and Trashure offered hand-beaded jewellery made from upcycled materials. Eavesessence set up under a dramatic dark canopy and filled it with crystals, healing jewellery, and a sense of calm. Simply Seamoss had wildcrafted seamoss products for natural health, skincare and wellness, and The Earthy brought Asian-inspired superfood overnight oats.
Eavesessence
Food & Drink
Six stalls and one very good afternoon for lunch
Zizi's Kitchen
Chef Yogis were doing modern Indian vegan and vegetarian (dal, curries, samosas) from a well-organised pitch that stayed busy from the moment it opened. Next to them, Zizi's Kitchen was serving Lebanese and Sierra Leonean fusion: jollof rice, shawarma wraps, and chickpea curry. The combination of the two meant the food end of the festival smelled extremely good for most of the day.
The Meat and Bread grill and The Gourmet Sausage Maker set up side by side and between them covered most of the crowd who wanted something hot off the grill. Acai Island's pink gazebo was hard to miss - acai bowls, smoothies and frozen yoghurt with toppings – and was busy with young families all afternoon.
The Meat and Bread and Gourmet Sausage Maker
Acai Island
For drinks: bubble tea, Hawaiian snow cones and Raymondo's Ice drinks. On a warm September afternoon in SE2, the snow cone queue was long!
Bubble Tea
Until next time
By late afternoon, the queues were getting shorter, the last performances were underway, and Daniel had made his final journey through the abbey grounds. Children with painted faces were carrying things they'd made, stallholders were beginning to pack away, and Lesnes Abbey was slowly returning to being Lesnes Abbey again.
For a few hours though, it had been taken over by music, food, local organisations, makers, performers, and a very large walking dandelion - which is a pretty good way to spend a Saturday in Bexley.
The Bexley Eco & Wellness Festival, sponsored by the London Borough of Bexley and Cory Group, has been running since 2019. If you missed it this year, keep an eye out for details of the next Bexley Eco & Wellness Festival. We'll see you at the Abbey.