St Wilfrid's Procession

Following the brass band and St Wilfrid (see yesterday), Ripon City Morris Dancers and their musicians played and danced their way through the streets. 

I'm not quite sure of the significance to Ripon of 'Tempus Fugit' /'Time Flies' - though of course it does. Anyhow, there was a bunch of ladies dressed as clocks. 

Then a colourful 'yarn-bombed' car:

Next came half a dozen huge and very shiny trucks, pulling decorated floats. They could barely negotiate the sharp bend where I was standing. Each truck represented a different organisation and carried some very excited people, all dressed up and waving. Great fun. 

Among the floats, there was a beach cocktail party:

Some Disney characters celebrating Disney's centenary:

A homage to the superheroes of our various emergency services and NHS staff:

A veterinary group having an 80s themed party:  

 

followed by two roller skaters, who were skating and being towed the whole way round, despite the many bumpy cobblestones! 

There was an incredible American-style truck (quite different from our UK articulated lorries), all shiny chrome and wonderful murals:

Bringing up the rear were some of our emergency services vehicles: a fire engine and this rather wonderful police tractor, appropriately called 'Bobby', used by the police to engage with rural communities in North Yorkshire.  

It was a terrific atmosphere, all the more special for me because I had no idea that it was scheduled and I just happened to arrive in Ripon by chance at the right time, right place. As I said a couple of days ago, it proved to be A Very Good Plan to change the starting point of my walk in order to arrive in Ripon at lunchtime. Serendipity.