Christmas Pageant

Merv and Mel waiting patiently for the pageant to begin

There were two reasons why we went into Perth for the Christmas Pageant.  Firstly to share in the joy of the Christmas season, secondly because we could.  Since we've been privileged to secure the wheelchair I have found all sorts of wild, wacky and fun ways to access the community and keep Merv entertained.  The pageant was this week's outing.
The biggest problem is parking in Perth.  Many people catch the train, but crowded public transport and wheelchairs don't always work well together.  We left home two hours before the pageant was due to begin.  We drove around in circles for awhile before finding a small carpark with empty bays.  The catch was we had to pay!  I had $30 in notes and $4 in coins.  The parking meter took only coins!  Between Mel and I we scrounged together $7.90 for an all night fee or it was $2.70 per hour.  We took the deal.  We were parked on the river side of Plain Street.  It took over fifteen minutes to push the chair down to the pageant viewing area.  There were thousands of people with their little darlings who ran without caution on the road, weaved themselves in and out of the passing preliminary entertainment and bumped into us whenever they darted pass us!  We came prepared with jackets and long trousers.  Once the sun goes down it can be decidedly chilly in the west.  Mel was glad I had reminded her.  

Santa in his sleigh

We enjoyed our back to basics picnic. with the pageant beginning not long afterwards. We were entertained with the delights of;  the pipe bands, acrobats, dancers, clowns, floats of all types including the one everyone was waiting for, Santa!  There were lots of new floats and groups over the last few years.  After the pageant finished we took the opportunity to visit the CBD and delight in the Christmas decorations including the majestic Christmas tree in Forrest Place.
It was joy to see the kids enjoy their pageant and Merv being out having fun.