It was chants, cheers, vulgar words and beer - gallons of it - as thousands of people from all walks of life let their hair down to celebrate the eagerly-anticipated feast of San Cajetan in Hamrun yesterday.

St Joseph High Road, in Hamrun got its annual pasting of red and blue as the band clubs of St Joseph (tal-Miskina) and St Cajetan (tat-Tamal) marched with thousands of supporters.

Many revellers stuck to tradition and waved flags and banners - red for St Cajetan's Band Club and blue for St Joseph's Band Club.

Holding a beer or five under the scorching sun, sweaty band club supporters, a number of whom in an inebriated state, danced and made merry to the joyful tunes of the band marches.

The celebrations reached a climax early in the afternoon when the two bands made their way back to their clubs - as the police held their breath.

As is customary, there was the occasional tiff among rival supporters, though the Hamrun police said these were few and far between - and nothing compared with the "battles" of the past.

One police officer admitted there was little one could do to stop supporters from provoking and teasing their adversaries.

For years, the police have been sent to keep an eye on the feast - especially since the 1970s the San Cajetan feast has become a political tour de force.

The piques started when it could not be decided which band club should finish playing last. While the Labour Party was in power, the St Cajetan band club took over and insisted it would always be the last.

Fighting reached an alarming peak in 1988, when, after the Nationalist Party was voted into power, the St Joseph band club decided it had had enough.

New regulations have since been put in place and the two bands clubs now start and finish together.