Spalding Tulip Parade

Saturday was our local Tulip Parade Day. It was the 55th and sadly the last one. The very early ones were much bigger and were decorated purely with tulip heads - now they have to use coloured paper and other flowers because of the lack of tulip heads. At least after rain for most of the morning the sun was shining.

Here are a few of the floats.

 

Great pictures GA.
Love the elephant especially.

 

Why is it the last one G A ?

I went to Spalding once back in the 70s, arrived on a Sunday afternoon,..... it was closed.

 

Today visited the local Springfields gardens - the tulips were amazing.

Here are a few -

 

Hi Pete - there really is a lack of tulip heads for decorating, also it is very expensive for the companies that produce the floats. In 1958 when they held the first one it was an amazing sight but had its problems. They built them so big they had trouble getting them round the corners and in those days the weather was always fantastic - the last few years it has rained at some time during the parade. Also the amount of people that visit has gradually become less each year. Nevertheless it is still sad when it has been a tradition for so long.

 

I've never seen it but have heard very good things about it, so it's a shame this is the last year, it was a tradition that I guess has outlived its time, sad.

My joke about Spalding being closed is a family one, I have distant relatives who live there, and on that Sunday afternoon in Spalding back in '77 it was like the place was deserted.
Mind you, I like those kind of places.

 

I was born and bred in Spalding and still here although I did escape for 5 years in the 60s to live in Bristol. Sadly these days it is not the lovely quite Market Town that it was when I was growing up in the - dare I say it in the 40s. But then I suppose that goes for a lot of places today.