Prince Charles Visits Ipswich and Cambridge

Prince Charles visits Ipswich Caribbean Association and a Cambridge children’s play scheme, both supported by The Prince’s Trust.

Prince Charles gets out of a limousine and is greeted by a cheering crowd, held back by a policeman. The Prince stops to talk with a woman in the crowd. Inside the Caribbean Association centre on Woodbridge Road, Ipswich a band is playing in front of a painted Caribbean backdrop. The band is Splash Street Funk, formed by Steven Marston and friends with help from The Prince’s Trust. They play guitars, keyboard, saxophone and percussion. Prince Charles is introduced to band members and begins to play the bongos standing alongside the drummer playing the congas, who shows the Prince the hand rhythm. He then shows the Prince how to play the vibraslap. Anglia TV data identifies the percussionist as Vernon Massington. Girls perform a dance routine to ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson as the Prince taps his foot. Data from Anglia TV identifies the dance troupe as Vintage 83. Next, the Prince and the people accompanying him visit the refreshments and meet young people wearing chef’s hats. Dishes on display include chicken Creole style and ackee patties. The Prince tries spiced carrot juice with milk, and asks what else is in it, as they joke about seeing in the dark. Anglia TV data identifies the providers of the refreshments as Tropical Catering. Prince Charles then meets a young man with a spiky punk hairstyle, identified as Cliff Cox, who leads him towards a photography display. In a sequence identified only as Cambridge, in front of a brightly coloured bus, an outdoor children’s play area is arranged with air cushions to encourage youngsters to jump about. Young children walk along a balancing beam as the Prince talks with the women supervising the playtime. The equipment has been purchased with help from The Prince’s Trust. The reporter was Chris Young for this video made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

Royalty; The Prince’s Trust; Charities; Prince Charles; Prince of Wales; Music; Dancing; Food and drink; Children’s play

Additional Description

Ipswich Caribbean Association known as ICA was founded by Albert Grant in 1975 and from 1980 had premises on Woodbridge Road, Ipswich. Prince Charles was welcomed to Ipswich Caribbean Centre by Abdullah Mamujee, chairman of the Ipswich and Suffolk Commission for Racial Equality (ISCRE). Following a fight at a 2009 music event where people were injured, Ipswich Borough Council reviewed its funding of the club and withdrew the grant of £50,000 a year in 2010. The organisation closed and the premises were demolished in 2012. In a video on YouTube, Imani Sorhaindo explains the significance that Ipswich Caribbean Association had for the local community https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbeoNzgtDII