Between the camel and the elephant

Ya Raqs were invited to take part in Chester's Midsummer Watch parade. This is one of Britain's oldest festivals. It was first held in 1498, and included a family of giants and a collection of fantastic beasts, among them a unicorn, an elephant, a camel and a dragon.

The original parade was organised by the city guilds and was performed regularly until the 1660s, when it died out. It was revived in the 1980s and has now grown to include new characters, made and carried by school and community groups in the city, as well as retaining the original ones.

We found ourselves between the camel and the elephant, which seemed somehow appropriate.

Our role was to process, rather than dance, but we managed to have the occasional impromptu performance when the opportunity arose.

Our instructions were to make a lot of noise, so we arrived well equipped with riqs (tambourines) and sagat (finger cymbals) that we used to good effect, along with the odd zaghareet (a loud Middle Eastern yodelling sound).