The Big Parade

The Blossom Festival is an annual fixture in the Hastings Events Calendar! It involves big floats covered in flowers crawling through the streets watched by hundreds of public.

I took Bax to walk in the parade as part of the Council float. We had to wait for ages behind our float which was a pink cadillac with five blossom queens inside. Bax was so good and well behaved but we had to wait for ages before the parade began. I don't think Bax had any idea what we were doing. He kept whispering to me: "Can I go in the pink car please" And I'd say only when the parade finished, then he'd wait a minute and say "Is the parade finished?" We hadn't even started walking!

After a bit my mates up in the car who were playing the parts of the Blossom Queens kidnapped Bax and he got to sit up in the car with them. Having gotten what he wanted he was all shy and hid between two queens. Then the parade began and we started moving. He kept looking over his shoulder and saying to me, down in the crowd "Come up into the car mum".

Half way around the parade circute he'd gotten a little braver and was sitting at the wheel of the car driving it through the crowd. By the end of the parade he was sooo brave he was standing on the front seat, one arm draped over the window and the other waving royally to the crowd - see picture. Great stuff!!