St Patrick's Day parade

Saturday is St Patrick's Day and the Silverwoods are all about the three girls who are in the parade as part of their 'baton twirling' club entry. Even little R(4) is in their with a huge over-sized skirt hoisted up round her chest and fixed with safety pins and 'braces', and her tee-shirt pinned up with a 9 inch hem. they don't make the uniforms small enough, and R isn't even the smallest! She and the tiny tots will be marching at the front of the group just behind the club banner with Mums in close attendance. The oldest, Em-J, will be marching along with the teenage group twirling proper batons, and daughter No.2's group of pre-teens doing ribbon-dances in the rear guard.

It's Dad first one experienced first hand. The parade is the thing, and the whole town turns out. Every child in town belongs to some club or other so they are all in it, if not as baton twirlers, then as members of clubs doing kick-boxing, young farmers, play groups, schools, amateur dramatics etc. There are floats representing the Irish answer to Womens' Institute, "ICA" (Irish Countrywomens' Association), Farriers/Blacksmiths, Sports and athletics teams (especially Hurling and GA Football), Classic cars, rally cars, tractors and agricultural implements, marching bands, a bloke dressed as Saint Pat himself, a unicyclist juggling hurleys (the 'hockey sticks' used in hurling), a stilt walker, people dresed as The Simpsons for no apparnet reason, busses, lorries and so on. It was just pure fun - no pretensions, no airs and graces, no attempt to be 'cool' or sophisticated. Brilliant.

Mum and Dad adjourn to the nearest pub (The Druid) for a well earned pint of Guinness and a glass of red wine.

Deefs

Ra Ra

Rumour has it that it's Mrs Silverwood's Birthday and that she is selflessly spending it with daughters Em-J and J-M down in Co Mayo at the National Baton-Twirling Championships, where the girls are covering themselves in glory, medals and trophies. Well done all you Silverwood ladies, and Happy Birthday to Mrs S. Take some time for yourself, make sure you do!

I don't know if this might be one event that Mr Silverwood has swerved by volunteering to babysit toddler-M and even-more-toddler-ish-R, but I suspect it might. Hope it all went seamlessly for you too, Mr S. By the way, Mum and Dad will expect a demo of baton twirling skill on the tow-path at Sowerby Bridge. Not too near the edge, mind. We don't want J-M joining the exclusive Society of Canal Baptists.

Outside here all day has been a broken down black Vauxhall, sometimes blocking both our and Jim's drive, sometimes attended by assorted boyfriends while Lady owner hovered, chatting into mobile phone continuously. People came and people went. Jump leads were tried and assorted tinkerings under the bonnet. Finally at about 7pm, after it had been there for at least 9 hours somebody looked at the petrol guage and had a light-bulb moment. Half a gallon from a red plastic "can" and away she went, good as new. Made Dad feel not quite so silly about the diesel-in-2CV episode.

Happy Birthday Mrs Silverwood
Deefski