St Saviour on Parade

It was with great pride, and a good deal of hopping up and down and waving, that Elaine and I saw the two St Saviour's floats lead the Christmas Parade along the Esplanade with Roger Quenault making a particularly magnificent bearded gnome on his equally magnificent tractor...but whether our float was chosen because of the magnificence of Roger or his tractor, we'll never know! We were amazed by the transformation of the Battle of Flowers' Junior float Punch and Judy beach scene into Santa's Grotto, with Santa himself throwing sweets to the children and a host of attendant elves, including Ann Quenault.
It was then that, with some awe, we watched the Parish float, Curtain Call, worthy winner of the Prix d'Excellence, reach new heights in its presentation after many hours of hard work by the St Saviour's Battle of Flowers committee and members. We were so proud of our parish and the community spirit that went into this really amazing spectacle. The lights and the dark skies suited the theme and it really did seem to "float" as it passed by as if carried on a pool of green light. Our dancers and lady attendants gave a wonderful performance while handing out sweeties to the youngsters...and a few oldsters like us as well.


Miss St Saviour looked stunning in her place of honour on the float.

A night to remember

Here they come...leading the parade!

No one could have been more proud than the St Saviour team, cheering and applauding in the exhibitors' stand as the mighty St Saviour float, "Curtain Call", led the parade of floats on to the arena for the Moonlight Parade.

It was a great thrill and one that we felt privileged to be part of. The evening parade is a time for everyone to enjoy and celebrate their achievements as part of this tremendous community event...and we certainly did!

Photos: Peter Hanning

Congratulations, St Saviour!

First view of our prizewinners:
It was so exciting trying to read the prize cards as the floats came into view...

Parish of St Saviour, "Curtain Call": Prix d'Excellence! Best Costumes! First in Class! Parish of St Saviour Juniors: Prix Decor! First in Class!

What a day! From the early hours of the morning when the final flowers were glued in place, to the tension of manoeuvring the float out of the Depot and on to the road and then the sheer excitement that built up as we awaited the arrival of "Curtain Call" on the arena, the Battle of Flowers was a nail-biting event. It was as we applauded Trinity's fine entry and their award that we realised that they were pointing over their shoulders towards where our float was waiting back along the road...'You've done well,' they seemed to be saying. And we had. But to be the best in our class, to receive the award for the Best Costumes and the Prix d'Excellence, and for our juniors to be awarded First in Class and the Prix Decor is not done without hard work, particularly from designers Jean Roche and Samantha Dean, Terry Gorvel and the St Saviour's Battle of Flowers Committee and also from the many parishioners who joined in and took part. The Battle of Flowers is our biggest community event in the parish and all ages gave countless hours to achieve such a fantastic result.

Photos: Peter Hanning