Town Fun

The stench of stale urine wafted up from the pavement as I walked to work this morning through streets that were swimming in a weekend of litter. It was not as it looked the remnants of a riot but purely the leftovers from a 3 day weekend of annual festivities. This was the 44th annual town celebration. A weekend when the streets close off to vehicles and fill up with pedestrian traffic. Stalls line the streets filled with pottery, jewelery and all manor of tat for a gauntlet of market shopping. Another street lines with fast food stalls and grills. All kind of sausages, meats, kebabs, burgers and beer for the consumption of the masses. Further up a stage dominates the center blaring out a badly organised ensemble of bass while teenage girls sing out their hearts to a modern mix of music and old men lament to the tune of days gone by, each accompanied by their own appropriately dressed and moving dance brigades. At the top of the high street the rides stand tall. An enormous inflatable slide for crazy acrobatics and a whirling 'fifi dance' to make mama's feel sick. The best of all are the dodgems. Who needs security fences? I captured these moments in a country where the word 'queue' is non-existent as you can see change over is a manic affair (although I'm not sure it properly captures it but it's a good indicator). We had to wait at least 6 x to manage to grab a car.

The days are long and disco music blasts into the night air. (I am thankful I no longer live right beside that stage because my first 2 years of this weekend were sleepless affairs where we slept on the floor and tried to pad the windows with our mattresses to dull the boom of the speakers - to no avail I might add!).  I have to admit through it's craziness I love it. It is the one weekend where I forget where I live. A weekend of hustle bustle that brings all ages, sexes and races together for a weekend of madness. It appears for a moment that no one is above another that we all - as we should - live and enjoy this community together. A weekend where for a moment it seems bigotry and hate is suppressed so that all may enjoy the wonders of the town's festivities. Apart from the craziness shown above and the fact that it costs me a small fortune in fairground rides I say bring on these day's a little more often.