Day 50: Playful at the Parade

To celebrate the turning on of the (rather unspectacular) lights in Leigh-on-Sea they have a (rather spectacular) evening! Shops stay open late, with added Santa’s Grottos and hot dog stands. There’s even a small funfair. Seemingly all the residents throng around enjoying taking over the road, freed of cars.

Children and adults of all ages come out, cheerfully welcoming the darkest months and gritting their teeth for Christmas-present-buying season.

The parade, that starts a good while into the evening, sees a number of local floats and groups pass by – from bands of stick-twirling girls to the Lifeboat crews and the cast of a pantomime. They carry buckets and collect for good causes, but mostly it is a simple celebration of joy and light and fun.

It’s not the longest parade. They aren’t the largest of floats. The music is amplified but not booming out. This is a quaint, sweet, lovely occasion. With a lot of heart!

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow. – Gilbert K. Chesterton

Ease of play: 8/10

Resemblance to play: 6/10

Aggression: Low-to-Medium (a lot of people to push through!)

Speed: Slow-to-Medium

Enjoyability: Medium-to-High

Potential frequency of play: Low