THE weather gods certainly smiled on Cornwall's favourite saint last Friday.

On the best day of the year so far, Penzance enjoyed wall to wall sunshine for the annual St Piran's Day procession, with more than 600 schoolchildren and 150 adults, led by the county's Grand Bard, Mick Paynter, parading through the town.

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As well as teachers, the adults included civic dignitaries, such as the town mayor, Cllr Roy Mann, local bards, members of Penwith's Old Cornwall Societies and musicians from the Golowan Band.

Howard Curnow, who organised the event, said it had been a "wonderful display".

"It's been a fantastic morning and really set a tremendous standard for the parade next year but none of this would have happened without the support and help of the schools.

"They were willing to not just take part but learn the dances and the music (Pensans Furry dance) which made it such a terrific event; more and more of the schools now have their own bands so the music just resounded along the entire length of the procession."

The glorious weather certainly helped draw a big crowd of parents and shoppers into the centre of Penzance to watch the procession travel down Causewayhead and then along Parade Street into Morrab Gardens.

For more, buy Thursday's Cornishman.