The Fratton Together Lantern Parade brought the usual chaos, creativity and carnival vibes this year!

After attaching lights and sticks to the lanterns, we prepared ourselves for the tidal wave of local residents arriving to claim their makes for the parade. As usual, the best laid plans for lantern distribution went awry, but we were able to reunite most lanterns with their makers ahead of the parade.

We enjoyed the samba beats of batala as we paraded through Fratton. Dave found a creative way to get around his lantern not having a stick - check out the photos! Whilst carrying some larger lanterns, we were able to marshal the parade safely from start to finish. After enjoying our complimentary cups of tea, we did an extra bit of GoodGyming, carrying lanterns that were too big for cars and vans back to the Pantry.

Dave and I counted people coming into the Bridge Centre and gave out programmes whilst enjoying the City Band playing Christmasy-sounding pop songs.

It was a lovely atmosphere - the RSPCA's big dog danced past us and Dandelion Daniel strode by and we had time to play beach ball plus a couple of retro arcade games. 🕹

Jane and I swept up the outside area to make it look welcoming to visitors.

We placed prgrammes around the site and got a green cloth for the background of the selfie sofa that Dave then modelled for!

We also ran around the area placing markers for the dandelion trail. A couple of venues were outside of the Bridge Centre so shower dodging became a new sport!

After a fun day of activities in the heart of Fratton we had to pack everything away.

The red sofa needed to go home, which involved a couple of maneuvers through doorways! The chairs had to be stacked, in a new home! And the Pantry and Brigde Centre needed restoring to their former states.

The lanterns for the Fratton Together lantern parade in November (Look put for that task signup soon!!) were left out in an arrangement to showcase them for the upcoming workshops.

After the forecast all day rain 🌧 failed to materialise (apologies for now jinxing it 😣) I popped to Kingston Rec to give the new saplings a much needed water.

Whilst there, I removed the last few collars that were starting to strangle some of them!

This was a beautiful, thoughtful show with an evocative soundtrack.

I helped welcome visitors and give them a leaflet which listed future events. Then at the end, we set up the chairs in a semi circle for the school children who are coming tomorrow. The winner of the chair-moving competition was impressive, sliding 6 in one-go! 🏆