Super hot, super fun
Well, after the last couple of “spring/summer” gigs that felt like we were in the middle of winter, temperature-wise – we finally hit the good stuff for this gig. And yeah of course now it’s a bit too hot. Ah well. Get the sunblock and the sunnies on!
We did this gig for the first time last year, and really enjoyed ourselves, so we were very pleased to be invited back again in 2024.
We’d made more of an effort this year to dress ourselves and our drums in Christmas glitter and tinsel (for the drummers only – the dancers are far too cool and elegant for tinsel!) – and Ngawara completed the look for many drummers by producing from the back of the van an enormous bag of spare tinsel which she distributed to all and sundry. Yay! Thanks Ngawara! Reminds me of the olden days in Batucada when we used to have a giant bag of floral leis that we’d all dive into just before a gig. Good times!
The parade itself is very long – alllllll the way down the hill into town – and of course to get to the start you’ve already had to walk alllllll the way up the hill, which is always fun when it’s hothothot.
There aren’t many suburban parades left these days, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why we enjoy this one so much – you are literally passing by people’s front gardens, and they’re all out with their deckchairs set up on the berms, enjoying the show. It’s really cool.
As you get closer and closer to town there are more and more people, and once we get to Speldhurst Park, where the Christmas market is going full swing, we get everyone from there as well, so it makes for quite a finish.
Once we’d reached the end of the official parade route we re-gathered and did an impromptu static performance on the side street to cheer on all the parade participants who came after us – and then of course, as always, we did our mandatory Team Photo.
And then we went across the road to the pub.
A great day out, a lovely enthusiastic audience, and (finally) some summer weather. What more could you wish for? Let’s do it all again next year!
Photo gallery
Photos by Alison Green, Kelly Etuata, Kent Nation, Megan Glass, Rebecca Routhan and Vicky Lin. Click on any thumbnail to see the larger version:
