British carnivals are different to other countries. Sometimes something quirky appears in amongst the familiar sights.

I was sent to cover the local carnival, it was the usual, morris dancers, brass bands, school floats, may queens and people in fancy dress collecting for charities. Nothing unusual or worth writing about if truth be told, Sean was taking lots of pictures and I was going round looking for the personal stories to add to the pictures. I was picking up the usual things about families and local connections, then I came across a may queen story to cap them all.

It was the car that got me first, a Morgan, always liked them, anyway I went for a closer look. These girls are either mummy's barbie doll or so up themselves it is unbelievable, so I don't often ask them much, however sat on the back of the Morgan was a pretty girl but the name plate called her Samuel, so I took a closer look and if I used my imagination then yes this girl might just be boy. I had to ask some questions, the first one I wanted to know was 'Are you really a boy?' but it would not be the first, that would be rude.

'Hi my name is Amy, you are from?'
'Littlemoor' replied my interviewee.
'That is a few miles away?'
'Took about an hour to get here'
'Have you enjoyed the parade?'
'Been fun'
'How many have you been in this year?'
'This is the third, mum wants to enter a couple more'
'I can't help noticing the board says your name is Samuel, is that right?'
'Off course it is, but most call me Sam or sometimes Sammy'
So now comes one of the oddest questions I have ever asked 'So Sam I am wondering why you have entered a may queen contest?'
And then this boy I guessed to be fourteen started to tell me why he was sat on the back of a Morgan wearing a pale pink gown with organza skirts and a satin bodice, with a perfectly made face, his hair in tight curls with flowers threaded into them, pink net opera gloves on his hands and a small parasol by his side.

It started at school when it was announced that a May queen was being looked for, it was included in a newsletter that Sam took home, where his parents read it and in their usual liberal way saw it as a sexist contest that also discriminates against boys. Sammy told me they often took up fights over such issues, but they often end a few days after when they have calmed down.
'So why was this one different?'
Turns out the reason Sam's parents did not let go of this one was Sam's stubbornness. They said a boy should have the opportunity to be a may queen, and that Sam should put himself forward. He said no and that was it, he had a long talking to about equality and no sex is better than the other etc. and then to his shock they approached the school who put them in touch with the organisers, who also got a lecture on equality, by the time a week had passed Samuel was the only person who had either offered themselves or been proposed by others to be the May Queen.
'But you could have said no'
He could have but he had the same values as his parents and felt a point should be made, so he went along with it, right up to the point that it was made clear by the organisers that a may queen should look like a queen, not a king. By which time Sam and his parents were in too deep to back down without an embarrassing climb down, so at his parents insistence and the organisers muted enthusiasm, Samuel became this years may queen for Littlemoor.
'You look very err can I call you pretty? You could have played it as a drag artist might and exaggerated the feminine style'
Sam thinks that a couple of women who organised the may queen were not happy and made it as uncomfortable as possible, he thinks in the hope he would back out, but his mother just upped the ante every time they made a suggestion his mum embellished it. They said he must wear a dress, his mother found the pink one he was wearing, a plain dress would have done but he had this one. He stood up so I could take in the meringue of net skirts that created a fantastic look.
'It looks fantastic, do you not mind being seen in it?'
He had had quite a bit of teasing at school initially once the whole thing of him being the may queen became public, but he seemed to be the sort of lad who does not take such things to heart and would tell them about his views on male and female equality. In the face of strong opinions most teenagers back off. He did admit that having his hair permed was rather embarrassing.
'You had your hair permed, as in going to a salon, curlers etc?'
Turns out one of the organisers has a salon and said that she would give Sammy a cut and blow, but in a fit of not showing weakness his mum suggested a perm would look good, the organiser agreed, and the tight curls with flowers was the result. He had even gone back when the curls lost their tightness he said. School he admitted was a little difficult for a week or so and he was hardly ever called Samuel now, most common was Sammy.
'And do you mind the name and the look?'
Not really he told me, he was not a sports sort of lad, breaks were often taken up going for walks with friends or just chilling on the edges of school. He had made new friends because of the may queen, though I guessed he had lost quite a few.
As we talked I noticed how feminine his gestures were, his gloved hands sat in his lap, every now and then the breeze disturbed his hair and a very effected hand moved it back into place. He was sat very prim and proper without a back support. Then I noticed his shoes, pink off course but with heels on that I guess were 3" and high enough for wearing all day I thought.
'The shoes, you have heels on, but no one will see them.'
His mother, or mummy as he often calls her, felt that he would need to have a female gait and heels would help with that, it was not all riding around on the back of a car he insisted, there were interviews and judges to meet, so if he was going to look like a queen then he needed to move like one.
'Have you won any of the contests?'
He had not won anything, I don't think I needed to ask why, being a boy would be a hurdle to many for most judges I guessed. Did he mind not winning. No it seemed he enjoyed being able to make such a public declaration about his views. But as he did so he rearranged his skirts, tucked his feet underneath and put a wayward hair back into place, and I thought, he also quite likes this. So equality of an unexpected kind. Some girls like going around looking and behaving like boys, here is a boy who likes looking like a girl.
'Thank you for your time Sammy, could we take some photos for the paper and do an article about you?'
'Not a problem' and he struck a very feminine pose for Sean 'Just let me see what you write before you print it, daddy says newspapers don't like the truth, so I just need to know what you say about me first'
'I shall Sammy'
'It has been nice talking Amy. Can I ask you one thing?'
'Yes, go ahead'
'What is the perfume you are wearing?'
After all the things he had just told me, that was the most shocking. A teenage boy had just asked me about my perfume and it would not be to buy a gift for me I was sure. 'Obsession'
'It smells gorgeous, I think I shall ask mummy to get me some'
Lost for words I walked away with Sean already onto another photo opportunity.