Independence Parade a hit with crowd

IT WAS A sea of blue, yellow and black outside the Bridgetown Port today as a large crowd turned out for the annual Independence Day Parade.

Well before the arrival of Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave to signal the start of the event, droves of Barbadians were jostling for the best positions to witness the spectacle.

The Royal Barbados Police Force Band was the highlight of the morning, marching in perfect time to the strains of some of the more popular soca tracks.

The women in the Barbados Defence Force, who were together in a separate detachment, got some of the loudest applause and vocal encouragement when they marched past in slow and quick time.

The other detachments making up the more than 900 armed and unarmed troops were pictures of precision and got encouraging applause from the officials and invited guests under the tents, and the hundreds who gathered to witness the event. (YB)