Notting Hill Carnival 2005
Well well well... We had a long weekend over here full of glorious sunshine and perfect blue skies. So we trucked on over to the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday and Monday. The Notting Hill Carnival is held every year over the August Bank long weekend and has been apparently going strong for about 40 years. The guidebooks say that if you're living in the area you either have to pack up and leave for the weekend or join in the party. The area is freaking huge and spans Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park, and some other towns. They close up all the roads around it and also a few of the tube stations close by and divert buses around it so you pretty much have to walk there (its in West London, so we just walked there from home). Some of the residents who have packed up and gone on holidays have boarded up there gates and extended their fences. This could've been to deter revellers from trespassing or people setting up stalls in their front yard.
Sunday was Kids' day and the news said about 200,000 people rocked up. Monday was the big one and they were expecting up to a million people. For that many people, the stuff on show and to do was a bit below par. Sure there was lots of dancing and reggae and dance music and a parade with costumes and all that sort of stuff. But where were the rides? the sideshows? What kind of carnival is this?
To me, a carnival ain't a carnival if it ain't got no rides. Seriously, we mostly spent out time walking around, pushing through people, getting pushed through by other people, looking at the caribbean food and other people, trying to get into the party atmosphere, but didn't really take. Same thing on the Monday. It's like clowns you see. Everybody likes clowns. Except people like me who are terrified of them. Clowns are 'sposed to be funny and make people laugh and stuff. That Ronald McDonald guy. He's a terrible clown. He ain't funny at all. All he knows is hamburgers, and he isn't too good with them either.
Anyway, back to the carnival. We ate jerk chicken and rice and peas and shared a saltfish pattie. Didn't see anyone remotely famous. Tam and I each bought a souvenir shirt for 2 pounds each. Bargain.
Verdict: Typical London, lacking in *pow* and excitement. Could've been better. Food was good, but needed rides. Missing the "you had me at hello" factor.
Check out the following website for more info and for photos of the 2005 Notting Hill Carnival: http://www.mynottinghill.co.uk/nottinghilltv/carnival1.htm
Sunday was Kids' day and the news said about 200,000 people rocked up. Monday was the big one and they were expecting up to a million people. For that many people, the stuff on show and to do was a bit below par. Sure there was lots of dancing and reggae and dance music and a parade with costumes and all that sort of stuff. But where were the rides? the sideshows? What kind of carnival is this?
To me, a carnival ain't a carnival if it ain't got no rides. Seriously, we mostly spent out time walking around, pushing through people, getting pushed through by other people, looking at the caribbean food and other people, trying to get into the party atmosphere, but didn't really take. Same thing on the Monday. It's like clowns you see. Everybody likes clowns. Except people like me who are terrified of them. Clowns are 'sposed to be funny and make people laugh and stuff. That Ronald McDonald guy. He's a terrible clown. He ain't funny at all. All he knows is hamburgers, and he isn't too good with them either.
Anyway, back to the carnival. We ate jerk chicken and rice and peas and shared a saltfish pattie. Didn't see anyone remotely famous. Tam and I each bought a souvenir shirt for 2 pounds each. Bargain.
Verdict: Typical London, lacking in *pow* and excitement. Could've been better. Food was good, but needed rides. Missing the "you had me at hello" factor.
Check out the following website for more info and for photos of the 2005 Notting Hill Carnival: http://www.mynottinghill.co.uk/nottinghilltv/carnival1.htm
posted by DnT Blog Guest at
7:03 PM
1 Comments:
Bill and Ted's huh? That's one of my all-time fave movies. However, it wasn't my intention to emulate that. And the connection is a bit vague. Still trying to work that one out.
Good on Scott. Hope you guys enjoy Canberra. No doubt you'll have a blast, it being the nation's capital and full of excitement and all that.
S'fucking hot here today. Went to this fashion outlet store called TKMaxx and bought this £450 Pierre Cardin suit for £99. Sweet!
By
DnT Blog Guest, at 3:39 PM
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