Clowns - All cares forgotten as clowns bring life and laughter to town

Forget the icy rain. Forget the near freezing temperature. Forget the strong wind blowing at up 29mph straight off the English Channel.

Emma thought it was her best day ever. All she needed to put a smile on her face was the sight of Zazz, Rainbow Jack and their stilt walking, juggling, laughing, brightly coloured friends.

Emma was joined by her dad, mum and one-year-old sister Katherine on Sunday afternoon on Bognor seafront.

The rain poured down as the clowns approached but Emma was adamant she was staying put.

"I came out to see the clowns," she said," and I heard the clown music."

Her soaked father, David Howson, 43, from the Glenwood estate, said: "Emma still wanted to watch the clowns in spite of the rain. I did ask her several times if she wanted to go back but she kept saying she wanted to stay."

The family have been ever-present at the procession since the clowns returned to Bognor in 2006.

The weather this year was probably the worst since the revival began.

Small clumps of hardy spectators, probably numbering a couple of hundred, took shelter where they could along the seafront as the downpour began about ten minutes before the parade left Butlins.

The poor conditions obviously reduced the scope for the clowns to indulge in delighting the onlookers, young and old, with their tricks, co-ordination and stupidity.

But the enjoyment was still there for those brave and committed enough to make the most of the occasion.

In the precinct, the rain had eased by the time the clowns arrived and the wind was more muted to make for easier walking and watching.

Probably several thousand people lined London Road and the High Street to greet the return of the clowns for another year.

They were as colourful, chaotic and amusing as ever. About 90 of them took part and revelled in the chance to mix with the public.

The procession was led by the Mardi Gras Joymakers Jazz Band with some Dixeyland-style music to get everyone's feet tapping.

Following them were the likes of local boy Zazz, back on his unicycle with detached handlebars for another year, Mattie, a clowning Elvis who swapped his blue suede shoes for clown shoes and was accompanied by three female followers, Noddy in his car, Rainbow Jack, the Rev Roly Bain, the Del Boy Trotter-style Tip Top Trading Co, a clown on a penny farthing and as many colourful costumes as anyone could want to see.

A special guest in the parade was Kerby Drill, alias Middleton man Hal Brooks, who has been deeply involved with the clowns in Bognor since the first convention in 1984.

He understandably took it easy this year by riding as a passenger in the taxi of Furry Foot the Clown.

Two clowns in a motorcycle sidecar were among the others to use motorised transport while a small menagerie of glove puppets, a pierrot, and a special investment vehicle looking flatter than an RBS bank balance, added to the atmosphere of fun amid a shopping centre in need of a lift.

The town centre might well be on the edge of a trading precipice but on Sunday afternoon it was a case of Crisis? What crisis?

Woolworths has shut and Mothercare's on the way as the empty shops multiply around the town centre.

But for ten, all too brief minutes, on Sunday afternoon the world was all about smiles and laughter.

Just ask Emma Howson..