24/06/2026
The words from our director Liam, this weekends antics with the Long Eaton Carnival
I say it every year… I’m not doing it again! 🤣 But deep down, I absolutely love it.
Seeing the community come out to support every float, the thousands of people waving, the smiles and the cheers, from children right through to the elderly – everyone getting involved. The effort that goes into it is incredible, and I honestly think this year has been one of the best yet.
For the first time, I was up front helping to run the parade from start to finish and I want to say a huge thank you to Jean, she’s literally a wingwoman, 🤙🏻
It was super hot, little bit red, nearly 35,000 steps later, and after a very long day… it was all worth it! ☀️🥵🚶♂️
Lots of people were shouting me, waving and saying hello throughout the day. If I missed you, I wasn’t being rude! I was trying to concentrate, listening to the radios, keeping it smooth
Another huge thank you to my staff, who gave up their time to help yesterday, hours of prep, and to every group who put so much effort into their floats – they all looked amazing.
🏆 Children’s Float Results
🥇 1st Place – Insight Community
🥈 2nd Place – Dovedale School
🏆 Another year of winning for the Maple fleet! 🍁
I’d also like to say a massive thank you to Ben at J Swinglers for the last-minute help. On Friday at 3pm we were let down, and after ringing around worrying, one call at 6pm and we had four lorries sorted. Absolute lifesaver!
Special thanks also go to:
👏 Rich Barratt – for the trailers
👏 Mitch at M&S Farms – for a dolly
👏 Gary at Mr Logs – for the second dolly
👏 Carl at Total Plant Hire – for the generators
👏 Donald at Wards recycling– for supplying the bins
👏 Mick at Derwent Waste for the supply of a tractor unit
And one huge thank you to my Dad. He’s helped prep, clean, repair, and when we were short on help, he simply threw a hi-vis on and jumped in with the Tm teams
Most importantly, thank you to everyone involved. We are all volunteers, and there are countless hours of planning, organising and fundraising behind the scenes to make this happen.
Another successful year done and dusted.
