Me & Bars & Fashion Parades

Last week, there was a fashion parade to promote my favourite charity thrift shop, 'Beatniks & Bohemians'. It was a nighttime event at a local bar organised by a well-meaning customer anxious to get into philanthropy. I decided to go alone so I could concentrate on taking photos.
Going to bars alone makes me feel anxious. What do you do? Sit there nursing a gin & tonic looking expectant, self-absorbed, content, happy, nonchalant? I always try to look all these things but it never works. For me, it's just another one of those 'Back to the Playground' experiences, where I'm again sitting alone sadly eating my soggy apple sandwiches while everyone around me happily plays together. I'm sure this happened to me, as it's happened to most of us, but I've managed to turn it into one of the Defining Moments of My Life.
Anyway, back to The Parade. After what seemed like an age sitting alone, it finally began. A number of Colourful Local Identities were enlisted to model an outfit that they'd bought from the shop. It was an eclectic group - A Drag Queen, Expectant Mother, Elderly Lady, A Man with his Dog in a Carrybag, an Edgy Architect amongst others. Here's some photos of a few, including my favourite - Elizabeth wearing a yellow sixties number. She actually wore something that I might buy. Just about everyone else looked like they were in Fancy Dress, which is not what thrift shopping is all about, although I'm sure many people quietly think that I often look like I'm off to a Eighties Night or maybe a Halloween Party.