We Took So Many Photographs,

that I had to split todays post into two parts,

first thing, glad rags on and we were out,

into the park and on our way to the station,

it was a nice bright sunny day with a hint of misty cloud,

we were meeting up with Steve and Kai, for a Thai festival in Ealing,

and here we are at Ealing Broadway station,

when lost Google is your friend,

or not as the case may be,

after a brisk walk we found it,

the area was quite large, the stalls forming a square around the outside of it,

tickets purchased at £5.00 each,

and we were in,

stalls to the right,

and left, 

I had a look at a few of the stalls before we had a coffee, this one the stall of the monks in attendance,

this one with home decorations,

naturally from Thailand,

time for a coffee, whilst queueing we had a chat with one of the stallholders who said it would be a good idea to buy food now, in another hour or so the queues would be huge, evidently he has been to 10 of these weekends over the year,

whilst waiting for our coffees, I had a look at the stir fry ice cream stall,

plus a few others,

then time to buy our food,

Diana at the pad Thai stall,

whilst Steve and Kai stopped at this one,

and this one with food on sticks,

looking to the left stalls as far as the eye can see,

Steve and Kai were still waiting to pay for theirs, 

at the end of one side a children's play area,

next to the stage,

where two announcers, one in English and one in Thai gave a description of the events that were planned for the afternoon,

eyes down and tuck in, what was a nice touch was the fact that the organizers had laid out mats to sit on,

as we started eating the first act came on stage,

a trio of Thai dancers,

performing a traditional Thai dance,

after which,

well you know me!

it was time for a beer,

I left Diana with Steve and Kai,

to have a look around, I find sitting on the ground not really comfortable as I can not cross my legs,

I must buy a few raffle tickets, first prize a return ticket to Thailand, courtesy of EVA Airlines,

I popped back to find the girls still enjoying themselves,

I decided to take a panorama but for some reason the camera went into black and white mode, I do not have a clue as to why!

I looked at this stall,

belonging to Nina Fantastic,

so I stopped to have a chat, Nina and daughter, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook,

and can book them for your event here, what a great way to entertain the kids,

the chap we spoke to earlier about the food queue was correct, in no time they had become long,

the good news was that benches and tables were provided for dinners,

a tuk-tuk, no visit to Thailand would be complete without a ride in one of these,

I had a walk around looking at some the stalls

these reminded me so much of our visits to the weekend flower market when we lived in Thailand,

these in the UK,

this photograph from one of our many trips to the weekend plant market when we lived in Thailand, if you want to see more visits to the market put Bangkok Pattaya hospital in the search box at the top of the page and they will appear, at the bottom of each one hit the Older Posts button and you will see the next time we visited the market,

back to the stalls,

not quite me,

but as you might imagine,

lots of clothes stalls,

and of course Thai massage, but unlike a normal massage a proper Thai massage is a deep work out of your muscles,

whilst looking at the stalls,

I met up with Steve,

so a queue at the beer tent it was then,

a balanced drink, a half in each hand!

by now it was getting crowded,

thankfully the weather remained nice,

I normally wear bright shirts, but these two outdid me by quite a pace,

the girls are there, somewhere!

back to the stalls,

I am guessing that these are dream catchers,

in any event very colorful,

as were the next few acts on the stage,

first this glimmering dress,

worn by one of the troupe singing to popular music,

a change of dancer,

which reminded me so much of an act we used to visit the Malibu, and watched Tina Turner,

a trip down to the audience,

the next act was soon to follow,

as a roadie positioned a speaker,

the show goes on,

at this time it was a bit a of audience participation,

as one of the crowd was asked a few questions,

"are you married?"

"do you have a girlfriend?"

and "do you have a mortgage?"

the next performer took to the stage,

and enthralled the crowd,

I looked across to Diana, Steve and Kai,

Diana spotted me,

the last performer,

mingled in the crowd,

much to the delight of everyone,

before retuning,

to the stage,

to complete the set,

one more number,

and the air was filled with smoke,

as this performer danced in the crowd,

which the kids really enjoyed,

well the mums and dads did as well I am sure,

back onto the stage,

for one last number,

before the announcement of what was to follow,

Diana, Steve and Kai still on the mat,

we were treated to another traditional Thai dance,

the girls were thirsty,

so a slushy it was then,

one for Diana,

and one for Kai,

Ta-Dah!

one more pose,

the troupe started another dance,

with three performers,

under,

through,

and back again,

coffee time for Steve,

as another act took to the stage,

the ladies with the colorful outfits joining in,

as the act finished an announcement was made for volunteers to join in a episode of "I'm British, get me out of here!" all the contestants had to do was enter and win an eating challenge, the winner receives a trophy, bragging rights and £50,

and her the four contestants are, I am stopping the post here, as if there too many photographs it slows posting the blog up, so if you would like to see the rest of the afternoon, please click on the 'Older Posts' button on the bottom right of the page.