Carnival sighting
Posted: 02 Mar 2025, 15:54
Today, I visited my aunt and uncle, who live in a part of Germany where carnival is celebrated quite a lot each year.
A lot of (carnival) clubs have carnival floats and will decorate them differently every year.
Together, they form a parade that goes through the streets, some with their floats, some on foot.
Although a lot of liquid, mostly beer or sparkling wine, is consumed, I‘ve never had an interesting sighting so far.
Until today.
In this parade, there are several music groups but it‘s not like a band or something; they have different instruments like drums, trumpets and transverse flutes, there are no singers and they wear uniforms.
These music groups are called Tambourcorps or Spielmannszug but I couldn‘t find an English translation apart from „marching band“. I don‘t know if that makes sense or even exists, though.
When they came near us, one of them broke out of the formation and came almost running towards us, a frantic look on his face.
He was a friend of my uncle.
I thought he was just going to say hello or something and didn’t really pay close attention until he hurriedly blurted out: „Can I use your toilet? We‘ve been waiting for the parade to start for over forty minutes and were drinking too much beer. I‘m bursting!“
My aunt answered: „Of course, I‘ll show you the way.“
He took off the massive drum he carried and thrust it into my surprised uncle‘s hands and then sprinted off towards the house, my aunt following.
In hindsight I wish I had been faster to react, I could have been the one who showed him to the toilet and maybe I could have stayed in the corridor (I would have had to show him back outside later, of course) and listened to how urgent his piss was.
Sadly, I was so surprised that I didn’t react at all.
It led me to imagine: What if he didn't know my uncle or anyone else he passed and would have had to hold it?
Would he have made it or would he have wet his white, snug uniform trousers?
A lot of (carnival) clubs have carnival floats and will decorate them differently every year.
Together, they form a parade that goes through the streets, some with their floats, some on foot.
Although a lot of liquid, mostly beer or sparkling wine, is consumed, I‘ve never had an interesting sighting so far.
Until today.
In this parade, there are several music groups but it‘s not like a band or something; they have different instruments like drums, trumpets and transverse flutes, there are no singers and they wear uniforms.
These music groups are called Tambourcorps or Spielmannszug but I couldn‘t find an English translation apart from „marching band“. I don‘t know if that makes sense or even exists, though.
When they came near us, one of them broke out of the formation and came almost running towards us, a frantic look on his face.
He was a friend of my uncle.
I thought he was just going to say hello or something and didn’t really pay close attention until he hurriedly blurted out: „Can I use your toilet? We‘ve been waiting for the parade to start for over forty minutes and were drinking too much beer. I‘m bursting!“
My aunt answered: „Of course, I‘ll show you the way.“
He took off the massive drum he carried and thrust it into my surprised uncle‘s hands and then sprinted off towards the house, my aunt following.
In hindsight I wish I had been faster to react, I could have been the one who showed him to the toilet and maybe I could have stayed in the corridor (I would have had to show him back outside later, of course) and listened to how urgent his piss was.
Sadly, I was so surprised that I didn’t react at all.
It led me to imagine: What if he didn't know my uncle or anyone else he passed and would have had to hold it?
Would he have made it or would he have wet his white, snug uniform trousers?
