Christmas Lights

It was the official Christmas Lights switch on tonight. As Kendal Town Council said they couldn’t afford to organise anything, the Kendal Mountain Festival organisers stepped in and said they would help out - which is why it took place on a Thursday, as today is the first day of the festival.
Whatever, it was a fine event. Santa and the Growing Singing choir kept the crowds entertained in Market Place, whilst a parade made its way there from Abbot Hall Park (where the festival is based) along Highgate.
A lively spectacle of flags, stilt walkers and drummers led the parade and once everyone had arrived in Market Place, we were treated to an incredible slack line performance from Lukas Irmler, right above the heads of the crowd. He did have a safety rope on, so no chance of him plummeting into said crowd, though he did “slip” off the line at one point and was rewarded with a suitable gasp from below before nonchalantly pulling himself back on.
Following his display, there was a mass countdown before the lights were switched on. Or should I say, the rest of the lights. I’d noticed that some of the lights up Highgate were on as the parade passed underneath and wondered if this was deliberate - a sort of rolling light show. But according to a Police Officer I spoke to, it was an accident as the bloke who had the remote switch in his pocket had pressed it by mistake and couldn’t undo the operation!
It was good to see such a large turnout of people for a weekday night and it bodes well for the success of the Festival. Apparently, there was a low level slack line set up on Finkle Street if you wanted to have a go at emulating Mr Irmler. I decided discretion was the better part of valour and headed home for tea instead…