Passionate elders of Leeward Islands People’s Association wanted to promote racial harmony – and inspired a tradition that is still going strong 55 years on
T
he Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis are 4,000 miles from Greater Manchester and a fraction of the size. But the dual-island nation inspired a tradition in the English metropolis that is still going 55 years on – the annual carnival in Moss Side.
Geraldine Walters, 79, a retired mental health nurse who was born in St Kitts, and her late husband, Rudolph, from Nevis, were on the very first organising committee from the Leeward Islands People’s Association (Lipa).
She remembers how passionate everyone was about making it work – so passionate that when funding from the authorities arrived late one year, carnival treasurer Rudolph took out a loan to fund it, using their home as collateral, without her knowing.
