Bones of Paine procession
Telling history on the move through Salford
Bringing a fascinating piece of local history alive with the people of Salford in collaboration with the Working Class Movement Library.
The story of 18th century radical thinker Thomas Paine's bones, and how they ended up in Salford (but not Manchester) is one that we have been telling at various Salford events in 2019.
The culmination of this story took the form of a procession through Salford on the last Saturday of November with our now familiar skeletal effigy being biked through the streets from the Working Class Movement Library to the People's history museum.
Unlike larger processions, which by virtue of their size warrant a road closure, our Bones of Paine parade took place amidst busy Saturday afternoon traffic - a combination of early Christmas shoppers and football fans.
A bizarre moment of spectacle, this modest community parade was a great example of how we brought alive an unusual story and, in doing so, attracted the attentions of people who encountered our Bones of Paine groupies along the way.
Continuing with the bones theme, the procession finale included a Mexican Day of the Dead-inspired dance by local Mexican dance group Colibri who have joined us on several occasions for our Manchester Day parade.
