AnElephantCant get excited about Christmas
He is now so far from his beautiful boy
But in Medville it is fun
To see Santa run
And the kiddies all react with great joy

AnElephant makes another unseasonable assault on this great weekly challenge hosted by his friend Al, who is still achieving wondrous things with this site.
Please take a moment to check out this page to see some superb interpretations of the Japanese Haibun, a literary form which explores the relationship between the human experience and nature.
This week AnElephant chooses as his inspiration an event from a few days ago.

Santa on the run by anelephantcant

Santa on the Med

On the Saturday after Christmas each year, Medville hosts a series of runs.
There is a young children’s fun run, an intermediate gallop, and a somewhat more serious open race.
This is the 8th year of the run, which was the brain child of the now mayor, who stars in the photograph above.
See if you can guess which is him!
The weather is unusually inclement, and yet the runners, the spectators and the support staff turn out in large numbers to ensure a successful event.
It is a feature of life in small town France to include children in as many pastimes as possible.
There are also special seasonal entertainments for the young, with a portside carnival, including Dodgems, or Bumper Cars, and the usual sideshows.
There is an outdoor disco on the promenade, with dancers of all ages – oh non, grandpere! – and a children’s play area with bouncy castle and little make-believe pedal-powered sulkies.

Christmas Parade by AnElephantCant

And then there is Santa’s Parade, with Christmas Bunnies and Dancing Snow Fairies.
Santa stops his sleigh at the mid-point and invites the children to be photographed with him singly or in pairs.
And there are dozens of them!
Added to this is the usual cacophony of dire Xmas hit songs blaring from the loudspeakers.
Even for a Bah Humbug Elephant, Christmas in Medville is fun.

the world is a better place
for each one of us
when children laugh

Santa on the Med by AnElephantCant