Sombreros

Moscow is celebrating its 864th birthday this week. As part of the festivities, we went to an international military parade in Red Square, with soldiers and military bands from around the world. We felt nostalgic when the Scots came on, with their bagpipes, and were impressed by the slick coordination of the Norwegians and the Jordanians. The French, too, were immaculate.

Some groups seemed to have a fairly loose interpretation of the term 'military parade'. All the better. First, the Russians brought on some bearded, tattooed bikers - friends of Putin, I guess. The Greeks were the first to drop their instruments and start dancing. The Ukrainians switched conductors part way through, and started playing jazz and swing. The Swiss brought a 'secret drumming corps', and set their drumsticks on fire. The Chinese came in on stilts, and in luminous horse costumes. And the Mexicans went all out, carnival-style, with a huge troop of musicians and dancers in brightly coloured dresses and ponchos, and a man with a microphone singing love songs.

After the show, most of the participants quickly dispersed. However, the Norwegians came out briefly for photos. The Italians and the Pakistanis carried on dancing through the streets. And the Mexicans wandered through the crowds, selling sombreros.