Of course you've already seen some of them on the first four posts about the Horse Market. Here are some more:
They were all playing well and in tune. O.K., who was watching the parade with me, has been part of his home village's orchestra for almost 40 years now; he plays the trumpet. I've not yet been to any of their concerts, but I will most likely get to attend one this weekend, and am very much looking forward to that.
Anyway, he was watching the bands closely and kept commenting on them, saying things like "They march as irregularly as we do," or "They really know what they're doing, well practised", and so on. It was interesting for me to look at them with an expert at my side! I imagine it is not easy to play, stay in tune and in rhythm all the time while walking along the streets, lined with crowds of cheerful (and sometimes noisy) people.
When I was little, I always loved the marching bands most; the way the big drums made my tummy resonate was exciting!
Something else I loved about the Horse Market was the funfair set up east of the town centre. It is still set up every year, and after two showers (one of which we watched from the shelter of a building's entrance while eating something we had bought at the market), O.K. and I walked there and had a look round. We did not go on any of the rides but enjoyed seeing others having fun - or at least pretending to! - and spending their money to be whirled around in the air for a few moments.
The sun was out now, and everything looked cheerful and festive:
This is not yet the end of my Horse Market posts... I've a few more pictures, one set about fashion (through the ages) and one of pictures I like because I find them interesting on a deeper level.
I want to write that I think I like the marching bands best in parades but realize I have wanted to write "I like this best" about everything you've posted about the parade! (Except perhaps the tractors.)
ReplyDeleteYesterday, in downtown Cleveland, we had a parade for our basketball team's winning the NBA championships. One point three million people were said to be there. One of my sons in law was. You could not have paid me enough money to be there! I'm thrilled that they won, but am not a crowd person!
Oh my! With 1.3 million people around, I would not have wanted to go and watch the parade... but in my hometown with its just about 90.000 inhabitants, such crowds will never happen :-)
DeleteI did the ultimate nerd thing in high school: marching band! I played the flute. Haha. I always wished I had learned to play the trumpet instead, but by the time I started high school I'd been playing the flute for three or four years already and it was a bit late to change. Does OK still play? I'm afraid I haven't touched a flute since graduation and probably couldn't play a note these days.
ReplyDeleteI like marching bands, and yours look wonderful.
He does indeed still play, Jennifer - as I said in the post, I am going to attend one of their concerts this weekend! I've already seen his uniform, black trousers and a burgundy jacket. Not the most convenient outfit on a hot summer's day; sometimes they are allowed to be in shirt sleeves when temperatures are very high.
DeleteLooks great ! Nice pictures too
ReplyDeletehttp://shilpachandrasekheran.blogspot.ae/?m=1
Thank you.
DeleteI, too, enjoy bands and it certainly lifts one's spirits if they play the appropriate music and play it well. It's a long time since I was at a proper funfair. It may have been as long ago as the family's Berlin holidays.
ReplyDeleteUntil I was in my early teens, going to the funfair was something I really loved: the sweets, the rides (some of them), the other people there - it was a fascinating small world on its own.
DeleteNowadays, most of the rides seem to be a waste of money, the sweets are overpriced and not all that special anymore, and I've never won one of the big dolls in a huge ruffled tulle dress that I coveted so much as a kid!