SUPERLATIVES cannot do justice to the sight and sounds of the annual Pewsey Carnival procession that last night saw one of the biggest and best parades for some years and huge crowds lining to village streets to watch.

 

Until nightfall some of the floats may have looked ordinary and lacklustre but as the daylight faded and the lights came on the procession again lived up to its brag of being the best in Wiltshire.

Even the walking entries with their push-pull-along carts outdid themselves with a veritable discotheque of lights flashing and twinkling as the procession wound its way along the mile and a half route.

 

The mood was set in the centre of the village with fairy lights twinkling above the River Avon, illuminations over the head of King Alfred statue in the market place and an illuminated Muppet scenario in the river at the entrance to Whatley’s Yard.

The parade of more than 50 floats, tableaux and walking entries was led by Pewsey’s very own inimitable Kings Korner Band and what its players lacked in musicianship they more than made up for with their verve and sheer enthusiasm.

Behind them came a trailer carrying the carnival’s royal family, Carnival Queen Sophie Bryant and her attendants Jade Nelson and Katherine Lofthouse; Princess Courtney Clark, Prince Alfie Thorne and Flower Girl Sophie Farr. On the back of their tableau was an illuminated sign proudly saying: “114 Years of Carnival”.

A rocket was sent up into the night sky bringing a hush of expectancy from the crowd as the floats wended their way along Milton Road into the village.

The procession was a fitting conclusion to one of the busiest and best carnival fortnights of modern years and when the procession ended there were some sad faces at the prospect of having to wait another 365 days for the 2013 Pewsey Carnival parade.