It could only happen here! 2

Start of the Christmas shopping season here, as everywhere. The Christmas lights were switched on with due ceremony yesterday; eventually. All began very well; a new sleigh for Santa, on the back of a flat-bed trailer; in fact a new Santa, replacing the previous highly popular version; and a couple of 12 year old Santa helper elf-types. All set at the bottom of the town, and at the appointed time, the strong winds and lashing rain abated; but nothing happened. All of us at the top of the town waited. And waited. Eventually, when the wind had picked up and the rain had begun to fall heavily again, the town band appeared, trumpeting and drumming furiously through the deluge. By this time they were half an hour late. All the lights, actually conncted to timeclocks in individual premises, were already on. A couple of solitary fireworks went off pop, the rest soaked by the downpour. Santa's driver had parked his car and got it blocked in (this is at least the second if not the third time that had happened; another year Santa's jeep didn't quite make it to the top of town, a burnt out clutch bringing proceedings to a halt, and Santa walking the last few yards). Another vehicle had to be found, the only one with a towbar driven by someone who had never actually towed anything before. He fetched it the long way round to avoid the crowds and set off half an hour late. The fireworkers had meanwhile uncovered all the fireworks at the appointed time. By the time they went off, they were soaking wet. We all went to the pub and told stories of previous festive disasters.