What a wonderful day

Parade day in Whitehaven May 6th and my alarm ie Mrs R went off at 6am which felt like the night before to me but hey ho there were lots of things to do if the day was going to be successful. I opened the shop at 06:30 which was a record even for us and by 06:35 I was attaching bunting to anything that stayed still for more than 5 minutes much to the annoyance of the Harbour Geese who took it on themselves to act as a protest group this mornng. Its the first time Ive ever looked at them and imagined an orange stuck up their jacksie while they finish off on Gas mark 2. I spent a lovely 30 minutes moving goose poo 10 foot to the right away from the parade area much to the chagrin of my lovely shoes.

Next came dressing the dias for which Im eternally grateful to Focus Scaffold for making. I purchased two Navy Blue sheets from Wilkos the day before to cover the stage but dint realise until Mrs R and Mike Briggs from Babcocks were fitting it that Id bought fitted sheets with elasticated ends. Great on your bed but dreadful when the aim is to make the Lord Lieutenant look like Lieutenanty. Still, its amazing what can be achieved with tie wraps and gaffer tape although I can assure you the public got a far better view of it that the VIP's!

Just about the time we were finishing the Dias, I got a call from the Red Devils wanting to know where their safety boats were (having a cuppa in the marina office as it turned out as they werent on duty for another half hour) while the navy were informing me that the Colour party (the chaps with rifles) were just arriving and could I say hello. While on my way to say hello I was asked to give a second interview with BBC Cumbria then a quickie (sadly not sexual) with CN group meaning that by the time I got to the Bulwark Quay to say hello the Lads had somehow passed me on their way to the Sugar tongue to catch me instead. Still, it made me look really attentive as I was there just as the Royal Marine Band arrived rapidly followed by the RAF so I pretended it was all pre arranged that I would welcome them and smiled as they all said how wonderful the personal touch was. By this time I was starting to feel confident that all would go well and headed off for a meeting with our volunteer marshalls and security staff at event HQ (remember the corridor on the way to the toilet in Richardons). 20 minutes later we were heading off to the South Harbour with security and Marshalls to explain the changes to parade orders that I had only heard about a few hours earlier but feeling confident that nothing could go wrong only to find the place swarming with public so desperate to watch the parade that they were taking up residence in the actual parade ground. It was about the same time that I realsised that the people who had parked their cars on Quay Street really did intend to leave them there through the parade rather than pay for parking and allow for decent photos by Joe Public. The selfishness of some will never surprise me these days!

Before I knew it, time was flying and it was 30 minutes to the parade step off. I was due to be at the Exhibition to escort Johnson Beharry VC and the Lord Lieutenant onto Lowther Street but got to the foot of the street and found that they had used common sense and taken care of it themselves. The walk down King Street with a true national Hero and watching the amazing reaction from the schools was something I will never forget. Ive paid for celebrities less popular than this guy! Anyhow, by the time we got back to the Waterfront which we were using as a base for the VIP's, the crowd had completely cleared the parade area ad we could hear the lovely tones of the Royal Marines Band getting louder by the minute, followed by a rumbling clapping noise that really warmed the heart. Anyway, the next few minutes flew by and before I knew it, parade inspections were done and the speeches started and I inched my way through the crowd to the sound van to ask them to up the volume considerably. On the way back to my previous location which for some reason I felt compelled to head to the Petty Officer in charge of the Royal naval Colour Party came over with a really serious look on his face and I thought Ohh shit, whats happened. Mr Richardson he whispered into my ear, the commodore said you would probably be good for a few cans of beer for the lads on the coach back! Music to my ears, by this time problems I could do without, several cases of beer, no sweat. That same team were doing some state function in London the following day so heaven knows what state they would be in if they got through all the beer we put on board that coach.

In a flash we're into the air shows and all I could hear across the harbour was Ooh, Ahh (I almost expected the crowd to add Cantona to it) as the planes did unbelievable things but the highlight for me was watching the red devils team come down with one guy sitting on top of the chute below him. How in gods name do you do that? Before I knew it I was recording a final interview with ITV and walking back to the shop to remove the bling and head home for a cuppa which rapidly turned into a bottle of wine. And that is where todays events end. A day of minor issues and major highs not least of all was sharing the town with Johnson Beharry VC a real super hero. That reminds me to say thank you to our wonderful sponsors NMP without whose unwavering support none of this would happen.

Anyway, Im writing this half cut so if you dont mind, Ill say toodle pip and complete the job.