Arbroath has held more pageants than any other place in Britain, and I was invited by Hospitalfield and the festival committee to be lead artist on a pageant /procession through the town on April 6th 2020, which was the 700 year anniversary of the treaty of Arbroath.
Months of work and preperation with community groups and schools had to be abandoned when Covid Lockdowns were initiated. The decision was made to restage the pageant for 2021 in a way which was safe for people to enjoy and one of the main ideas was that the pageant became static whilst people moved among the artefacts, meaning people could gallivant around the town seeing things under their own steam at their own pace.
The Clattering Cavalry was born out of an anecdote about “if you had a horse you were in the pageant”. I took a motif of a Pictish horse which proliferates around Angus, and used this is a container for a lot of pattern and colour work which had been made the year before with groups. The cavalry was populated with key figures from the cultural history of the town, intermingled with recent locals who had taken action during the pandemic to support their community. Thus, a multi facetted grouping of riders appeared on the streets of the town. Frederick Douglas, the famous abolitionist had spoken in Arbroath in 1846, appears now with Victorian era working class women poet Elizabeth Campbell, cartoonists, people who ran marathons to fundraise for suicide prevention, people who sang and provided entertainment from their living rooms.
A neighbourhood walk celebrated the Bellrock Lighthouse and more specifically, the haptic reminder of the danger of the sea in cast iron serpent door handles found at the Signal Tower museum. Local artists devised sculpture and craft activities with a march of jellyfish and bubble serpents embellishing the Fit o the Toon and playing host to existing pageant prop objects.
The programme included a medieval dog fashion show and an historical puppet show which celebrates the history of Agnes of Dunbar, (film of puppet show to be screened locally in August).
A bank on the High street populated with riders collaged from secondary school pupils t shirt designs. 
Poet Elizabeth Campbell with William Sharpey the anatomist. 
The Abbot who was present at the signing of the declaration. 
Smokie the Red Lichtie mascot and Gnasher. 
Frederick Douglas in front of the Trades Hall where he addressed a crowd in 1846. 
Model of the Bellrock lighthouse by Douglas Laing. 
Contemporary fishing history represnted by an archive of family photos. Printed to oilcloth and placed in public as a social space. Herring puppet represnting the Hogmanay tradition of putting a wee crinoline on the fish for a first foot present. 
Ice sculpture by local artist Karen Elliot. 
Serpent bubbles for Bellrock Lighthouse,outreach and activity on this live walk was undertaken by three local artists, Karen Elliot, Jilly Henderson and Kristina Aburrow. 
detail showing Kathleen White inspired horse, Arbrothian Kathleen was an embroiderer and head of department at Glasgow School of Art. 
Detail from Ruffs, our medieval dog coat fashion show! 
Ruffs 
Arbroath 2020+1 Ruffs Dogs in the Park, Arbroath ….Pic Paul Reid 
Arbroath 2020+1 Ruffs Dogs in the Park, Arbroath ….Pic Paul Reid 
Walking through the Fit o the Toon. 
Reading the Harbour History. 
Pansy the greyhound and Thistle a German shorthaired pointer take part in a dress rehearsal outside Arbroath Abbey for Ruffs Dogs in the Park. Ruffs is a socially distanced medieval-themed fashion photoshoot inspired by historic pageantry and all the wonderful dogs of Arbroath. Dog-lovers in the region are creating home-crafted regal coats for their pooches to model in a fashion photoshoot staged in the Beacon Green on Sunday 4th August between 2 and 4pm as part of the Arbroath 2020+1 Festival which started on Friday and runs until September 19. Ruffs is one of over 30 events celebrating the 701st anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. Neil Hanna Photography http://www.neilhannaphotography.co.uk 07702 246823 
Warddykes primary school puppet detail 
Warddykes Primary historical narrative puppet show 
Scene from “We Canny a’ be Agnes” Warddykes primary school puppet show tribute to Agnes of Dunbar
Mandy McIntosh 