The joy of Notting Hill Carnival

 I spent the day yesterday at Carnival. It was amazing fun and the huge crowds were in great spirits. My sister in law lives in Notting Hill and had a Carnival party. Her next door neighbour is Tre Lowe from the Apprentice, who set up a rum bar in his front garden and was doing a brisk trade! A proper entreprenuer!

The amazing range of food, music and sound systems gives me a great pride in our city. The work put into the floats and the parade always amazes me. Unlike Glasto, it is free. Youc an nip down, chill out and have a great day. The only downside, is it's a long walk to Paddington when you want to go home. 

Sadly, for people who never go out and read the Daily Mail for their views of the world, Carnival is only news when there is trouble. When you have over 2 million poeple in an area, some drinking more than they should, there will be incidents, just as there are at football matches. The police where we were were brilliant, as were the ambulance service. We saw them attending to a few people who'd overdone the rum and someone who'd tripped over. 

The people who criticise carnival never go and are mostly racists. They are armchair critics, who hate people enjoying themselves and believe that unless something is boring, it should be banned. My sister in law has Carnival on her doorstep. If you don't like it, don't move to Notting Hill. As an ageing punk, I love the anarchic nature of Carnival. It has changed over the years, I was chatting to a lady at the 'All about the bass" exhibition at The British library on Thursday, who told me it is got a bit corporate, but it still keeps it's soul. I've been going since I was a teenager. These days, the music is different, far less dreadlocked dudes blasting out lovers rock (more's the pity). I used to go down and jam at a mates flat, who had an after party for many years. We were in there, in a haze of smoke in one of the years when there was most trouble. We were oblivious to it until we came home. Unless you go, it is impossible to realise what a huge area the carnival takes place over. For various reasons, it is the first time I've been back since the Pandemic. It is great to see it is still the same wonderful celebration of life.

Well done to all. 

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The Notting Hill Carnival - If you want to know the way don't ask a Policeman

Just got back from the Notting Hill Carnival. Although it takes less than an hour from Mill Hill to get there on the train (Mill Hill to St Pancras on Thameslink, then St P to Westbourne Park on the tube) - getting back is slight more difficult. The problem? The Police. Sadly they really didn't seem to be, shall we say, too switched on. We returned to Westbourne Park, only to be told that it was Exit only until 18:00 - to regulate the crowds. This is a rather odd policy, given that 18:00 is the designated time for the sound systems to switch off. Surely all they achieved was to delay many people's departure until then, causing even more crushes and crowds. A "helpful" Met officer advised us to walk a mile to Royal Oak station which was open. This we did. There a helpful British Transport Policeman informed us that it was "exit only until 18:00 to avoid crushes" As we were the only people around, this seemed rather bizarre. I informed him "that his mate at Westbourne Park had told us that it was open". His response "That was the Met, they are not our mates". He then advised that we walk to Paddington. The route he gave took us under the Westway, through a flooded area, which involved myself and my kids having to climb near a very fast and busy highway to avoid. 

Why is it that the Police in this country seem to think that the best way to "manage crowds" is to make things impossible for people, especially those with children. The carnival is a fantastic event, well worth a visit, but the stupidity of the public transport travel arrangements beggars belief. Is it acceptable that Policemen on duty at closed stations are not told what other stations are open and what is the best option. What is even worse is the way they smirk when they realise you've walked a mile out of your way, with your kids to another closed station. 

I love the carnival. It is a real festival, run by the people, for the people. The daytime Sunday  childrens parades are spectacular and safe. The only time I saw the slightest anger was when we realised that the police thought it was funny to send people on long wild goose chases. How hard would it be for them to be properly briefed, given that every one had an earpiece (which I started to suspect is used soley for racing tips and to inform them of when it's tea break).