Carnival Day.

The weather was kind to us today. It was windy, as it always is at the seaside but apart from that it was mainly sunny for the whole day.

We all met down at the car park at 10.00 to decorate the boat. We had been going to use the surfboat which is wider than the Celtic longboats the club rows in but the trailer it was on was not functioning. Instead we wheeled one of the longboats down from the boatpark using the trolley wheels and then transferred it onto a spare trailer. Then began the decoration process. Everyone had brought something from fabric to fish. Eventually the boat was transformed into a sea scene with fishes blowing in the wind and everywhere festooned with real seaweed and dahlias (to look like sea creatures). Add in a sea witch fashioned from an exercise ball and much black plastic and the boat was done, ready to be towed up to the start by a large tractor.

It was at that point that I took myself off to walk up the High Street calling in at the craft gallery where at last I was able to stock up on some seaside momentos. I can't show them but they will make lovely presents. On the way I took photos of the decorated houses and costumed residents. 

Will show more of the houses tomorrow. Because we were at the end of the procession I didn't get to see any of the other floats or walking groups. No doubt there will be plenty of photos on FB for me to look at later.

Spoiler alert - we came 2nd in the decorated float category. Yay. The Friendship Inn came first as usual and deservedly so. They start working on their float and the decor for the building at Easter and it shows. This year their theme was 007 and as well as the locally based puns they had a mock up car and all the characters on their float.

As I walked up there was a major jam with cars held up for half a mile on either side of this (above) when a Tesco van had to inch its way past a tractor and trailer. As there is just one road through the area it only gets closed for two hours during the actual procession. I think that things would be better if they could stop cars parking on the road until after the procession as then we wouldn't have these jams. Just moments after taking the photo the van which had been creeping past the trailer caught the wing mirror of the white car on the right. The owner standing next to it was very annoyed but firstly she should have had the sense to flip her wing mirror in and also not left her car a good 18 inches away from the kerb.

More seriously during the procession an ambulance on blue lights couldn't get past. It was fortunate that we had grass to one side which the tractors could slide on to. For most of the route there are houses on either side with nowhere for any vehicles to go.

The start point by the golf course.

With the arrival of the boat we were able to don our costumes and a wonderful lot they were. The seagull was amazing and I thought Peter looked good with his tail draped over the side of the boat. We also had; mermaids, crabs, jellyfish, lobsters, an octopus, a shark and a prince. Plus me as a turtle. Sorry no photos of me as Peter gets so huffy if I ask him to take photos even without having to contend with a wig, beard and trident. We had music and a guy playing his cornet but the float behind us had a massive sound system so the cornetist played along to that. I danced my way down the length of the High Street and used my wide turtle shell to keep people away from the tractor. Some people have no sense and wanted to let their small children walk along inches away from the gigantic wheels.

The procession ends at the playing fields which for the next few hours become one enormous party. There are the usual stalls selling overpriced tat for the children, food stalls and a bar. That's pricey too and the rowers had brought along their own supplies. People sit in large groups, children run around with bubble guns and of course there is lots of dancing to the loud music played by a DJ. I met quite a few people I know from all my different groups and danced for a long time with some of the walking group one of whom also goes to disco aerobics. I've decided that at nearly 70 I can do what I like and going to aerobics has given me a lot more stamina and confidence than I used to have. As I danced I waved to our aerobics/Pilates teacher who was there with her sister and friend still in their fancy dress with amazing silver wings/capes. My turtle costume, and Peter's had gone in the back of our car as soon as we got to the field.

By 5.00 we were feeling tired and headed off home where there was an nice surprise waiting for me. The plants I'd ordered for the pond had arrived. They've come bare rooted wrapped in wet sacking so I hope the aquatic compost and plant baskets arrive soon. For the moment I've put them in ordinary pots in the pond. Although I really liked the idea of a pygmy water lily in the end I decided agaisnt getting one as it might take a long time to flower and would grow very slowly. Instead I chose; a dwarf bulrush, water mint, bog bean with stems that float on the pond surface and two different water irises. One is mostly white and the other mostly purple. This way I will have more native vegitation to encourage wildlife which is something I want to do.