We had a really lovely time on Monday evening at the South Normanton Community Lantern Parade and Concert. It was warmer than it has been the last few year…perfect for our parade through the village.

We left St Michael's Church at 6.00pm to walk through the back streets to the Postmill Centre, supported by the local community police force and volunteers including Barry Thacker who is our Vice Chair of Governors at nursery. There were over twenty nursery children this year, who came with their families and carried the lanterns that we had been working hard to make in nursery over the last few weeks. We all wrapped up very warmly and carried the lanterns through the village, watched by lots of members of the local community. It was also great to see lots of older familiar faces too...many children and families that we knew from nursery in previous years. The lanterns looked really beautiful, lit up in the dark.

At The Postmill Centre it was very busy. When we'd settled in and looked at all the lanterns that all the children had brought, we began a very special concert. The nursery children were asked to sing first, so we safely got onto the stage supported by the staff from the nursery. They all sang brilliantly up on the stage, in front of all the other children and their families. We sang and signed Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star and Jingle Bells to finish with...they sang beautifully and we were really proud of them. Our children were followed by Christmas singing from The Brigg, The Green and The Glebe Schools. Very well done to all who took part.

Events such as these are fantastic for building links with our local community. It parade and concert also reminded us all of how lucky we are to be able to celebrate with others from South Normanton and a great community spirit was felt throughout the event.

For our children it is a wonderful opportunity for them to perform, which not only builds their confidence but also gives them a real sense of pride at such a fantastic achievement.

Many thanks to all our children and their parents/ carers who supported with this lovely community event...it really was a fitting start to the Christmas season.

Thanks also to the local police and to Barry and the volunteers who made this event run so smoothly.

If you would like to listen to the children's performance again, just follow the links below.