The Fratton Together Lantern Parade brought the usual chaos, creativity and carnival vibes this year!

After attaching lights and sticks to the lanterns, we prepared ourselves for the tidal wave of local residents arriving to claim their makes for the parade. As usual, the best laid plans for lantern distribution went awry, but we were able to reunite most lanterns with their makers ahead of the parade.

We enjoyed the samba beats of batala as we paraded through Fratton. Dave found a creative way to get around his lantern not having a stick - check out the photos! Whilst carrying some larger lanterns, we were able to marshal the parade safely from start to finish. After enjoying our complimentary cups of tea, we did an extra bit of GoodGyming, carrying lanterns that were too big for cars and vans back to the Pantry.

The weather gods were kind to us and paused the rain just long enough for us to fill a big, black bag of rubbish and have a good catch up.