It promises to be a fantastic weekend of community events, from tomorrow's Proms in the Park to Sunday's grand parade through the town and fun day at Diss Town Football Club.

As a member of the organising committee, it has been a real eye opener for me. The number of hoops we've had to jump through and sheer volume of red tape to negotiate to meet all the various insurance and health and safety requirements has been phenomenal.

Permits have had to be applied for to allow the parade to process through the town centre and along Park Road, emergency services have had to be consulted and rigorous safety checks have had to be done to ensure the football ground meets all the various criteria.

Insurance details have had to be checked for everyone entering a float in the procession or having a stall at the football ground and stewarding arranged to ensure all eventualities are catered for.

But through it all, the people involved in planning the event have remained cheerful and fully optimistic that no matter how many obstacles appeared in their path, the Carnival would go ahead.

The original aim of the Carnival was for it to be a major event to pull together all strands of the community and help promote Diss and give a taste of what this wonderful town has to offer.

That has certainly been the case with the organising committee consisting of members from all areas of the town, young and old, business and private individuals, as well as the town council, working together in a conscientious but friendly manner.

The only thing we now need is some luck with the weather to ensure the Carnival is allowed to make as much money as possible to give to the East Anglian Air Ambulance and Diss Christmas Lights appeal and, of course, to make sure everyone involved has a thoroughly enjoyable time.