St Patty's Day

Yes, that's right, St Patty's Day. For that is what they call it here, in this bastion of Irish culture, Hermosa Beach.

Just wondering, though... don't they abbreviate to Paddy's Day in Ireland? I've never heard Patrick shortened to  Patty till I moved to Hermosa Beach.

Mind you, I've never seen St Patrick's Day celebrated with swirling Latin American folklorico skirts...

... nor Bolivian dancers with bells on their boots either.

These guys were so popular I had to tape bells to Lady P's wellies the next day to recapture the vibe.

I've also never seen so much orange on St Patrick's Day. Guess this youth music group didn't get the memo about how people marching in orange don't go down so well in much of Ireland.

I wasn't too clear on the connection between a cavalcade of DeLoreans and Ireland's patron saint, either.

Still, they were pretty cool.

Of all the many groups who made their way down Pier Avenue in the Hermosa Beach St Patrick's Day parade, the only ones who really seemed to know what it was all about were these guys, who I'm pretty sure heading straight to a bar:

Meanwhile, at Lady P's school, they are celebrating 'St Patty's Day' with a themed breakfast (I guess Guinness and black pudding are not part of the plan) and sugar free treats. Again, all news to me.

In all my years living in North London's Irish strongholds I've never seen St Patrick's Day ever celebrated in anyway other than drinking many many drinks.

If this sounds a bit negative, that's not quite how I feel. Confused, but delighted, would be more accurate. We all had an absolute blast at the parade. It might have nothing to do with St Patrick's Day but it was a whole lot of fun.