The Christmas Parade

I love a parade. Watching them. Being in them. I wave and applaud with the greatest enthusiasm. Don't know who they are , doesn't matter. It's all good. So I made way downtown this past weekend for the Channel 7 / RAC Christmas Parade with great anticipation.


The weather is a taste of a true Perth Christmas: clear skies, morning warming to a hot afternoon. Parents with kids in tow are either hiding in the shade or running from bouncy castle to one amusement or other (including the local chapter of Star Wars Storm Troopers who had set up a photo opp station) to burn off excess energy until the parade starts.

Of course, there are marching bands-this one has violinists marching along with the brass- and every dance school in the metropolitan area has a dance sequence marching in the line up. Local media hypes...er, I mean, types wave from convertibles and the few floats do impress with roaring life-size dinosaurs and pirate ships.

It should surprise no one that wild camels traverse the huge deserts here in OZ. So why was I surprised to turn my head and see three wise men riding camels happily sauntering passed me? Can't imagine anything more appropriate in a Christmas parade now that I am thinking about it. Of course, Santa brought up the rear.
Perhaps a sign of our super safety-conscious times, but no candy was thrown from any vehicle or float. What is a parade without risking life and limb by dodging between land yachts and unicycles to score cheap candy, I ask you?