Making an early start fuelled by tons of coffee and croissants we walked into town through the party debris of last night (it’s good to start early-sometimes we might find the odd £20 note dropped by a drunken reveller, unfortunately it wasn’t one of those mornings). We first encountered the gathering participants at the Hyde Park Corner end of Piccadilly and started to snap.
London’s New Year Parade is a strange affair, it’s a cross between an official capitol parade and a village fete – somethings are thoroughly professional and others add that magical touch of your gran’s knitted jumper. Which makes for a great experience as there’s something for everyone!
The American Marching Bands displaying the true face of American youth (so different from what we are used to in film & TV) managed to wake some hungover revellers who appeared half naked at their hotel window to complain mixing comfortably with miniature traction engines, ageing Mods & Hells Angels. As all the participants were getting ready in the side roads off Piccadilly we didn’t get chance to see everything (didn’t see any of the usual huge inflatable Garfield type characters which look great lurking around the corners of London’s old buildings). But luckily we encountered the Star Wars/Planet of the Apes group which provided us with the best entertainment.
The parade started just after 12.00 and as usual the BBC were right and the London weather turned from comfortable to torrential rain.
Here’s a selection of our best photos as we look forward to next year.
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When I lived in East London, I used to attend the parade each with a cigar and a hip flask followed by a pint of Guinness in a pub afterwards. I love the giant inflatables.