That's The Cockney Spirit!

The Pearly Kings and Queens are such fantastic characters and are always up for a laugh- They are all up for a good old sing song anytime anywhere. I wanted to catch this on film as I hoped this would help reflect the the character of the Pearly Kings and Queens. They know all the old Londoner songs which were sung in the festival halls during the Nineteenth Century. These songs, originally written and sang by true cockney's, were often about Love, life, and Charity....The true cockney spirit!

A Smother or Skeleton Suit.

The Pearly Kings and Queens wear their suits with pride with the place from where they are from across the back of the jacket. There are two suits known as a Smother Suit, Which is covered in Mother of Pearl buttons, or a Skeleton, One where the outline of the jacket is emphasized. The number of buttons on a suit can vary and depends on the wearer, whom add more buttons to the collection over time. This is often the case where the younger generation of the Pearly's tend to have less buttons on their jackets in comparison to the older generation of Pearlys. I think Arthur's jacket was the heaviest there with about 18500 buttons!!!! Weighing in at 22lbs, an example of a smother suit. I couldn't quite believe how many buttons were sewed onto these jackets, It must have taken ages! I asked them how they maintained their jackets, like washing them etc and they said the only way is the use a wet sponge and make the odd repair when they have time. I also asked them if the symbols used on their pearly coats jackets had a meaning. They said that each symbol had a meaning, often encompassing the Pearly philosophy, symbols which made them stand out. I asked them if there were any kind of technique they use to create the patterns and the only way possible would be to create a template and place the buttons over it, often experimenting with new patterns, some more intricate than others. Here are the meaning of the symbols found on the Pearly Suit:

• Horseshoe = Luck
• Doves = Peace
• Heart = Charity
• Anchor = Hope
• Cross = Faith
• Wheel = Circle of Life
• Symbols of Playing Cards = Life is a gamble
• Flower Pots = Costermongers
• Donkey Carts = Costermongers

A Weekend With The Pearly's!!!!

The search begins....

The search is on to get in contact with the Pearly King's and Queens....In order to make the collaboration a successful one the best thing would be to get in contact with one of them and maybe arrange a home visit or maybe go to one of their meetings when they are all wearing their costumes. This would be great as it would allow me to interview them whilst document my visit by asking them questions, filming an interview and taking photographs which I could develop further according to what I discover. This would be the best possible ways of getting to know them , the tradition of collecting Mother of Pearl Buttons to make their costumes and the work they do in collecting money for charitable organizations.

So I decided to visit the official site of the Pearly society in order to find some numbers or an email address that may help me contact a Pearly and continue my search to find a true traditional early family that I could interview. Luckily, I managed to find a phone number for one of the founders of the Pearly Society, Known as Carole Jolly. I managed to get hold of Carole and asked a few questions. Apparently the Pearly Kings and Queens are out in Covent Garden every third weekend of every month, Which happens to be this weekend. It think its time to meet the Pearly Kings and Queens of London. I really want to make the most out of this chance meeting by asking them questions, taking photographing and using film.

Link: www.pearlysociety.com