Carnival

Last Saturday was Carnival day in Biggleswade. This involved local schools, businesses and services decorating floats and parading through town. This years theme was "children's TV past and present" the local paper has some good pics of the day here The photos on my blog are all my own. Above is a photo of the top of our road which is a little way out of town but there was still quite a crowd waiting for the carnival parade. Below is the float containing the Carnival Queen and her court of princesses and princes. (sponsored by one of our local independent coffee shops)
I particularly like this "white van" which has been converted into Scooby Doo's mystery mobile.
I'm beginning to get used to living in Biggleswade now, which is a good thing as we exchanged contracts on our new house this week after completing the sale of our flat the week before. Our new house won't be built until the end of the year (providing this summer's fair weather continues. I'm wondering if this is the BBQ summer the weathermen were on about last year?)

It's funny because when I moved to London 12 years ago I thought that London would be a place of freedom of expression and quirkiness, and yes London can be like that. More recently though I've been feeling that London only does "freedom" and "expression" in an organised kind of way. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Biggleswade is a funny old place here are some of my observations just from today in Biggleswade:

The local butcher, a burly, cockney geezer type was merrily singing a long to every record played by Dale Winton on the radio but he gave a particularly hearty rendition of the London Boys: London Nights. He didn't have a care in the world as he weighed out sausages and cuts of lamb!

An old lady harangued me in ASDA, she stared into my trolly balefully then looked at the toilet roll in my hand and said "You aren't going to pay nearly £5 on toilet roll are you?" (it was rather a lot of toilet rolls I hasten to add, but they were those fancy quilted ones) I just smiled awkwardly said yes and trundled apologetically off with my trolley. (not doubt the old lady mafia of Biggleswade will all know by tea time that I waste money on fancy toilet roll.)

I over heard the man who runs the jewellery stall on the market saying to his son "What more could you want from a Dad? I got you a banjo from eBay didn't I? What other Dad would do that eh?"

So yes its a funny old place, Biggleswade but its fun.