# Thames/South Bank beach party?



## felanjy-reg (Mar 27, 2011)

Hey folks,

I stumbled upon a beach party along the Thames last night Saturday 26 March, just below BFI Southbank/Royal Festival Hall. What a super sight! 

Does anyone know where the best place to find information about upcoming 'beach parties' might be? Is it simply a word-of-mouth affair or there a website/community I could head to to find out more?

Thanks


----------



## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Mar 27, 2011)

There's lots of different groups of people that put them on so there's no single site or anything like that.


----------



## Giles (Mar 27, 2011)

There was a regular do there called "Trance on Thames" and before that "Reclaim the Beach" until last year, and they used to be listed (Trance on Thames was on harderfaster.net).

You could google and find them. 

But last year they stopped doing parties on that beach, I heard that some (possibly drunken) idiot fell off the stairs leading down to the beach, and as a result "the powers that be" started locking the gate at the top of the stairs on "elf n safety" grounds.

It would be good if someone started doing events there regularly again this summer. 

If you come across a party there - ask someone who is the promoter, is my advice.

Giles..


----------



## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Mar 27, 2011)

Giles said:


> There was a regular do there called "Trance on Thames" and before that "Reclaim the Beach" until last year, and they used to be listed (Trance on Thames was on harderfaster.net).
> 
> You could google and find them.
> 
> ...



Last one I went to (which I can't remember if it was last year or the year before) the gates were locked but it didn't seem to be stopping anyone. 

Never heard anything about the person falling off the stairs but I did hear rumours of some fairly nasty sexual assaults when women went along the river wall to find a secluded spot for a piss.


----------



## zenie (Mar 27, 2011)

check the tides, check the weather there'll probably be something on if they both look good. 

Love those beach parties


----------



## felanjy-reg (Mar 27, 2011)

Thanks guys.

The gates were locked last night, but as Monkeygrinder's Organ says, this didn't stop anyone from jumping over.

I asked a few people about upcoming events and the best answer I got was that last night's party was the first of the season.


----------



## Giles (Mar 27, 2011)

felanjy-reg said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> The gates were locked last night, but as Monkeygrinder's Organ says, this didn't stop anyone from jumping over.
> 
> I asked a few people about upcoming events and the best answer I got was that last night's party was the first of the season.


 
What kind of music was it? DJs or actual musicians? I remember a few "Reclaim the Beach" parties 3 or 4 years ago, where they had a proper live band, drum kit and all. All sorts of different styles of music. 

Trance on Thames was .... well, clue's in the name, really.

Giles..


----------



## sim667 (Mar 28, 2011)

Would it probably not have been stragglers from the march on saturday doing it?


----------



## kyser_soze (Mar 28, 2011)

felanjy-reg said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> The gates were locked last night, but as Monkeygrinder's Organ says, this didn't stop anyone from jumping over.
> 
> I asked a few people about upcoming events and the best answer I got was that last night's party was the first of the season.



One good way to check on them is the timing of low tides on the Thames at night:

http://www.pla.co.uk/display_fixedpage.cfm/id/11/site/navigation

You'll want to look at the London Bridge ones.


----------



## gabi (Mar 28, 2011)

Very very dodgy first post


----------



## IC3D (Mar 28, 2011)

gabi said:


> Very very dodgy first post


 
kinell innit ne narr ne narr..


----------



## Giles (Mar 28, 2011)

Well, this person could have discovered more information by asking anyone at the party that they saw going on, or googling for around 30 seconds......

I don't really know what the situation is with this beach - there have been a lot of events there, and I haven't ever seen one closed down by the police. 

They are never going to go on beyond a certain time - guaranteed - because if they start in the afternoon / early evening then within a few hours the tide will come in and the beach will be underwater.

Giles..


----------



## gabi (Mar 28, 2011)

ive been to a couple of RTBs that the cops shut down


----------



## felanjy-reg (Mar 28, 2011)

Haha, I can explain. I googled the beach party in the hopes of finding out more information & Urban75 returned the best results, though they dated back to 2010 and '06.

@Giles We couldn't stay long (hence why this is an itch I need to scratch), but the music they played while I was there consisted mainly drum and bass and electro (think Prodigy remixes).


----------



## felanjy-reg (Mar 28, 2011)

gabi said:


> Very very dodgy first post


 
Haha, I can explain. I googled the beach party in the hopes of finding out more information & Urban75 returned the best results, though they dated back to 2010 and '06. I did ask a few people and they were clueless and/or a bit too high to offer a decent response.

@Giles We couldn't stay long (hence why this is an itch I need to scratch), but the music they played while I was there consisted mainly drum and bass and electro (think Prodigy remixes).


----------



## felanjy-reg (Mar 28, 2011)

Sorry about the duplicate post.


----------



## felanjy-reg (Mar 28, 2011)

Oh, and as for the police, we were there at around 1pm and they obviously hadn't appeared until then, so...


----------



## zenie (Mar 28, 2011)

gabi said:


> ive been to a couple of RTBs that the cops shut down


 
I've been to quite a few where there's been a pressence and the solstice one the other year where it got moved and they _tried_ to shut it down  It's river police's juristiction there I think? 

Dancing on a beach in the middle of London on a hot sunday afternoon in your bikini - life doesn't get much better than that


----------



## Crispy (Mar 29, 2011)

Someone once told me that it's, like not officially London, cos it's in the river yeah? So the pigs cant touch it, right? Or something


----------



## zenie (Mar 29, 2011)

But it does beg the question why they haven't stopped them doesn't it?


----------



## Mation (Mar 29, 2011)

zenie said:


> Dancing on a beach in the middle of London on a hot sunday afternoon in your bikini - life doesn't get much better than that


I've never danced in gabi's bikini 



Crispy said:


> Someone once told me that it's, like not officially London, cos it's in the river yeah? So the pigs cant touch it, right? Or something


----------



## kyser_soze (Mar 29, 2011)

Crispy said:


> Someone once told me that it's, like not officially London, cos it's in the river yeah? So the pigs cant touch it, right? Or something


 
It's the responsibility of the PLA & River PO-lice, so only the Mcnultys can git ya and that for endagering shipping on the Thames.


----------



## Giles (Mar 29, 2011)

zenie said:


> But it does beg the question why they haven't stopped them doesn't it?


 
I suspect because they aren't really bothering that many people, just having fun, and also once there is a crowd there, they would have to gather quite a lot of police to force it to stop, and they've got other things to do. 

And as I said earlier at least the police know that a party on that beach cannot go on all night, due to tides. They know that after a few hours, the rising tide will force everyone to pack up and go home.

Giles..


----------



## Boycey (Mar 29, 2011)

Crispy said:


> Someone once told me that it's, like not officially London, cos it's in the river yeah? So the pigs cant touch it, right? Or something


 
what i've been told is that the river is not the met's responsibility and that the river police have no jurisdiction on the banks of the thames, don't know how much (if any) truth there is in it.

it's no secret who does the parties and they're generally well promoted and in a very easy to close down location (though there is a risk of people jumping in the thames), they never seem bothered as long as some effort is made keep things clean- a quick chat with an officer goes a long way to ease tensions. i remember one party where this didn't happen and the gates were locked and lined with coppers, you just had to walk past them and jump the gate- they would mind out of your way if you asked them. very odd.


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Mar 30, 2011)

They cops defo wanted to stop one I was involved in.  It was the evening of the opening of the RFH and there were 1000s of people already there.  Still it all went down river at the Oxo tower instead


----------



## zenie (Mar 30, 2011)

DJWrongspeed said:


> They cops defo wanted to stop one I was involved in. It was the evening of the opening of the RFH and there were 1000s of people already there. Still it all went down river at the Oxo tower instead


 
Me too  They didn't stop it though did they? 

All a bit of a haze that one was


----------



## shaman75 (Apr 20, 2011)

Well I'm planning to go down there this Saturday eve and see if one materialises.  You never know...


----------



## DJWrongspeed (Apr 21, 2011)

You can kind of work it out from the tide timetable

Friday/Saturday both look good


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2011)

yes


----------



## mango5 (Apr 22, 2011)

Tomorrow 9.30 - 3.30. There are no secrets on Google.


----------



## Giles (Apr 23, 2011)

Its not this lot,is it:
_ 
Let the seaside come to you during the Thames Festival at the South Bank beach, when the banks of The Thames are transformed by beach huts and a pop up cafe.

Thames beach
Brought to you by the Southbank Centre as part of its Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations, the South Bank beach aims to bring all the sunshine and fun of the seaside to the centre of London. With artistic beach huts and the chance to catch a few rays of sunshine over your weekend, the beach is bound to be popular with all ages during the spring and summer.

Seaside thrills
The area outside the Southbank Centre along Queen's Walk is being transformed for the South Bank beach, where you can gaze at the 14 artist commissioned beach huts along the 70 metres of urban seaside. Head to the banks of the River Thames for a mini holiday by the seaside as part of the Southbank Centre's nostalgic celebration of Britishness. _

If there's any kind of "official" arty nonsense going on right in front THE BEACH, I could imagine that the first few to ignore it all by turning up with generator, decks and bunch of clubbing casualties might be...... i dunno .... more frowned on, artistically, maybe? Or it might go the other way, and your party heads are seen as part of YBAWs (Young British Arty W***kers) and no-one dares tell them to stop. Offer someone like Tracey Emin enough booze that she starts swearing about margate and what a slag she used to be, etc, and she could be said to be on your side........

Giles..


----------



## TopCat (Apr 23, 2011)

So that's today yeah?


----------



## Crispy (Apr 23, 2011)

Yeah


----------



## Boycey (Apr 23, 2011)

i was part of the crew building the huts and laying the decking for the festival of britain, if you go party down there please admire our handiwork and don't fuck it up 

the decor was done by the artists none of whom could qualify as "Young British Art Wankers" if their treatment of the tech crew was anything to go on...


----------



## TopCat (Apr 23, 2011)

See you all later...


----------



## pootle (Apr 23, 2011)

Here's hoping rain doesn't stop play!


----------



## bluestreak (Apr 23, 2011)

if only i could make this...


----------



## editor (Apr 23, 2011)

Here's the email for tonight:


> Thames Beach Party : Reclaim the Beach http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2404964496
> 
> Location        : Thames shore, just outside the Royal Festival Hall
> Date / Time     : 23rd April 2011 - 9.30pm onwards
> ...


----------



## editor (Apr 24, 2011)

I got distracted by the bright lights of Brixton, but if anyone's got any pics, it would be good to update the urban page (which comes top/near the top for 'Reclaim the Beach')


----------



## tufty79 (Apr 24, 2011)

Boycey said:


> i was part of the crew building the huts and laying the decking for the festival of britain, if you go party down there please admire our handiwork and don't fuck it up
> 
> the decor was done by the artists none of whom could qualify as "Young British Art Wankers" if their treatment of the tech crew was anything to go on...


 good work - i loved the beach huts and the bit of beachyjoy above the beach. tried to make sandcastles out of bollards/seats 



editor said:


> I got distracted by the bright lights of Brixton, but if anyone's got any pics, it would be good to update the urban page (which comes top/near the top for 'Reclaim the Beach')


i can provide fuzzy cameraphone pictures, or my companion's got some comedy shots of me chasing a duck if you like? 
i proved that, like a cat, i can sleep anywhere last night. including on a beach in the middle of a party


----------



## Fingers (Apr 24, 2011)

Yes it is a top quality pics of Tufty chasing a duck.  I will send you the link to the pics Ed.


----------



## editor (Apr 24, 2011)

Photos galore here! 
http://www.urban75.org/blog/reclaim-the-beach-party-on-the-river-thames-april-23rd-2011/


----------



## tufty79 (Apr 24, 2011)

Rah!  disappointed at the lack of duckchasingpicinclusion though


----------



## editor (Apr 24, 2011)

I saw no ducks!


----------



## tufty79 (Apr 24, 2011)

I shall get on to fingers pronto


----------



## Fingers (Apr 25, 2011)

Duck!


----------



## editor (Apr 25, 2011)

It's just a teensy wensy bit on the blurry side and - to be honest - is rather unrelated to the beach party!


----------



## tufty79 (Apr 25, 2011)

Fingers said:


> Duck!


 
*applauds*
(((duck)))



editor said:


> It's just a teensy wensy bit on the blurry side and - to be honest - is rather unrelated to the beach party!


fair enough - i was being a bit silly


----------



## mango5 (Apr 25, 2011)

Glad you had a good time tufty.


----------



## zenie (May 19, 2011)




----------



## Sandy Andy Robertson (Aug 30, 2011)

That stretch of sand by the Oxo tower is called Dirty Beach by the group of artists who do the sand sculpting and clean all the litter off the beach. You can find out when the next party is going on by following the twitter feed DirtyBeachTV or going on the website http://www.dirtybeach.tv/


----------



## makzilla (Apr 16, 2012)

http://www.facebook.com/events/394359657251252/


----------



## joustmaster (Apr 17, 2012)

makzilla said:


> http://www.facebook.com/events/394359657251252/


link doesn't work.


----------



## r0bb0 (May 12, 2012)

Hi peeps, does anyone know is this on 2nite?


----------



## Giles (May 12, 2012)

There is supposed to be a party there next Saturday 19th.

Giles..


----------



## shaman75 (May 12, 2012)

i saw a post saying it was on now: http://www.partyvibe.com/forums/parties/51048-reclaim-beach-sat-london.html


----------



## r0bb0 (May 14, 2012)

yeh it was on an slammin, big ups x


----------

