The original, in Hyde Park, London.

If you wanted free entertainment at the weekend, Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park was the place to go. With rabble rousers from across the political spectrum there was something to amuse or outrage all tastes.

These were snapped in May, 1974. After two and a half years, this was my 99th roll of film through the wonderful Leica M3 which had now become a part of me.

Back when the British bobby was not focused on rape and murder …. by his own.

Screed.

Yer what?

Ice cream.

Sceptics.

Are you kiddin’ me?

Nothing changes.

A presence here for over a century, per Wikipedia.

Lost interest.

Out for the count.

Comrade Lenin. British dental work at its finest.

Yeah, right!

Four eyes.

Surely not?

Shy.

Meh!

Leica M3, 35mm Summaron and 90mm Elmar, TriX developed in Rodinal, scanned on the Nikon D800.

The upper end.

Taken in January, 1974, Mayfair and Kensington are the ritziest areas of London. Then occuppied by the beneficiaries of inherited wealth, once those fortunes were expropriated by the state via inheritance taxes the properties largely passed to middle east oil seeking a safe haven.

Leica M3, 35mm Summaron, TriX, scanned on the Nikon D800.

All of a piece

Hyde Park, London, November, 1973.

The uniforms may have changed and the perambulators (“prams”) are now high tech, but the rich still delegate child care to paid help in upscale London.

Leica M3, 35mm Summaron, TriX, ‘scanned’ on a Nikon D800.

Insane violence.

Doubtless Punch & Judy are long retired in out woke society, but the shows were incredible fun. They usually ended up with the two puppets beating the hell out of one another, much to the delight of the children watching. A single puppeteer did all the work.

These snaps are from August 1973 in Kensington Gardens, London. Note how well dressed the children are in what was an upper demographic area:

Leica M3, 280mm Telyt, Visoflex II, Ilford FP4 developed in 1:50 Rodinal, rated at 250ASA. Negatives scanned on a Nikon D800, 60mm Micro Nikkor.