IT WAS carnival time at Barton – well, not quite. Before the big day, a lot of preparation was required. And these joyful children from the Oxford estate were determined that they would have the most colourful costumes on the day.

Making the outfits had been one of the activities at a summer playscheme run by the Bayswater Adventure Centre and Bloomin’ Arts.

The picture appeared in the Oxford Mail in August 1979, alongside an article by columnist Anthony Wood about the difficulties facing the arts group.
Bloomin’ Arts had been formed in 1977 under a job creation scheme run by the Manpower Services Commission.

Support from the commission meant that 12 out-of-work young people could be brought together to promote the arts among the communities of East Oxford, South Oxford and Rose Hill for six months.

The results of their work were impressive. They established a workshop at their headquarters at East Oxford community centre and an adventure playground in Bullingdon Road, and, in all three suburbs, they organised Art Throbs – days when the communities could let their hair down in a general explosion of fun and creative activity.

But when the six months were over and the money dried up, they could find no-one to finance their activities, though a few of them gamely struggled on in the hope that something would turn up.

When the picture of the Barton youngsters above was taken, Roger Drury was the only one of the original dozen left – and he was struggling.

He had hoped that the Manpower Services Commission would give a grant to revive Bloomin’ Arts, but to no avail.

He and his friends had to beg and borrow money to buy materials and keep the activities going. They had plenty of support from the communities they were serving.

Dreena Perry, co-ordinator of the Bayswater Adventure Centre, spoke enthusiastically about their work.

She said: “It really has been marvellous to have them here. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed their photography and filming sessions, the dancing lessons, the painting sessions, and the rest. And they’ve been a Godsend in helping to plan and make costumes for the carnival.”

Mr Drury knew that such activities didn’t carry as much weight with the powers-that-be as conventional theatre productions, concerts and film shows and he admitted that his feelings occasionally welled up into an angry outburst.

However, the seeds that he and his colleagues planted in those far-off days were not in vain – in time, Bloomin’ Arts developed into Fusion Arts which, in its own words, acted as “a catalyst for creativity in Oxford and beyond”. It has inspired hundreds of projects for people of all ages. 

Where are all the children pictured above now?