By Lisa Mitchell BBC News Online, Drumcree

The bunting is out in Portadown in anticipation of the Orange parade

The people of Drumcree have been told for the last few days that this year's Orange Order march is likely to go off without the trouble of past years.

The police officer in charge of marshalling the parade said he is confident those on both sides urging calm have been listened to.

But in the town centre of nearby Portadown where the march starts, people are less sure.

On the eve of the march, the town's bustling shopping streets were quieter than usual.

Many people are away on holiday. Saturday marked the start of the traditional 12th fortnight.

But it was not just that.

There was also tension in the air. It might be less than usual, but it was there.

One woman carrying shopping bags said cafes were empty and mentioned the local holiday.

It's just like the 4th of July is for the Americans - except a few people don't like it Portadown resident

"The Catholics will have gone away," she said.

She said, in a whisper under her breath, it was because of the "troubles".

She added she thought people were tense. "They say it's quiet now but anything could happen."

She did not want to be named because, she said, someone would come round and "put in my windows".

For the Protestant townsfolk, the parade season is there to be enjoyed. The violence and division which sometimes accompany it is shrugged off.

Why optimism this year?

"I live near the Garvaghy Road and I'll go out to watch the parade like every year," said one woman in her 70s, working behind the counter of the Oxfam charity shop.

"I don't know what the fuss is about. It's been the same for 30 to 40 years - we all (Catholics and Protestants) get on with each other."

"You get fighting at lots of big events," said a 64-year-old woman, whose husband and son were both Orangemen.

"It's a minority of troublemakers, not the men in the parade themselves.

Vibrant

"It just like the 4th of July is for the Americans - except a few people don't like it."

For the two weeks running up the 12 July, Portadown and the loyalist areas of Drumcree are festooned with red, white and blue bunting and flags.

A bridge wall is marked with loyalists' red, white and blue

Around Drumcree parish church there are green fields and nearby, new houses with neat gardens.

Armoured vehicles and lorries carting concrete blocks for the barrier at the end of the road spoiled the view on Saturday.

It would have been clear the day before, when a couple chose the church - which has become a focal point for the loyalists' clashes with police - for their wedding.

Portadown itself is a vibrant, if slightly rundown town.

There are the usual high street shops - Thornton's, Top Shop and Boots - plus an unusually high number of cobblers, key cutters and jewellers.

The parade starts at the Orange Hall and makes its way to Drumcree

Surrounded by fields, a smell of slurry pervades the air at this time of year.

The sweetest smelling place in fact, are the town's public toilets which are astoundingly upmarket and clean.

With Britain's Best Loo certificates pinned proudly to the entrance, there is a 10p charge to spend a penny.

On Saturday, the caretaker was having a slow day.

"It's that time of the year. Everybody is holding their breath and waiting to see what happens.

"All you can do is hope it's quiet."