On the first Saturday in December, a Christmas parade and the Middleburg Hunt and Hounds Review bring out red-coated riders, floats and, of course, Santa.

Presently a murmur arose as the first red-coated horsemen appeared on the opposite shore.

Occasionally, a red-coated Chelsea pensioner potters by, or a US Republican presidential candidate makes a pilgrimage to the place where her ashes are scattered.