Carnival

you get shit, cos you go to the shit soundsystems...... If you want Bright Times, Easy Livin' and tip top Soul, reggea and ska...... Gaz's Rockin' Blues on Talbot Road is where its at.... still the only soundsystem to have live music every year..... no fuss, no police, no rude bwoys.... just pure unadulterated Bright Times.

Gaz is the the man with the plan..... fuck Norman Jay.

drat i forgot about that,,, just outside the globe. much better atmosphere.

YouTube- Gaz at Notting Hill Carnival 2009

Had to take the kids to Paddington yesterday and was engulfed by a combination of tossers coming back covered in mud from Reading (all tents, sleeping bags and a bin bag of washing for mum) and teenage girls with whistles and vuvuzelas heading for carnival. Neither option seemed to have much going for it.

Was at Paddington yesterday too about 3.30pm, mayhem

did it even make the news? I didn't see the obligatory embarrassed white copper 'dancing' with a large lady dressed as a pineapple, or the "reports of some violence marred the event" or the "actions of a few ruining it for the largely law-abiding majority"

carnival update: rampage (which although it has the biggest soundsystem (according to their pr) was really quiet, too many bodies absorbing the noise?) had a spot of bother. a friend told me someone was slinging bottles at the stage and the bottles came back from the stage.
there were a LOAD of police around here (powis gardens/colville terrace), standing around looking intimidating but not doing much.

bumping into coppi that was a definite bright times. sorry we got separated, but the consensus in our group was that we'd not get in and that a walk around to confirm this wasn't on the agenda.

we went to showtime ent to round off the day.

gaz's rocking blues = full of indie kids dancing to gentle ska cover versions of "rehab" and "the passenger".

otherwise known as 'people having a good time, and not fighting'

true.

it wasn't my cup of tea though. i also do not like senor coconut.

Having lived in the area for a couple of years now, i finally checked out carnival for the first time this year, and found it wholly depressing.

As a local its kinda difficult to watch a million people turn up and trash your neighbourhood then fuck off without a blink of an eyelid. The mountains of litter, rivers of piss running through the gutters and all local business' that arent selling their toilets barricaded up as if a hurricane is on the way, kinda overshadowed the (very few) decent soundsystems I came across. You'd have thought that after all these years they would have developed the infrastructure to deal with the people, but it simply isnt there.

Bleak.

I haven't been since about '96, never again

same as that

Last time I went my mate got bottled FROM BEHIND with a wine bottle just cos he wouldn't give some cunts and more weed*! They legged it too, pussyclarts!

*he'd just given them enough percy for 3-4 spliffs - ungrateful cunts

agreed it does look like a hurricane is on its way and the streets are an open sewer for two days but it started long before it was fashionable to live there and it would be such a shame for it to be moved to somewhere like hyde park. if you walk down portobello road now i doubt you will find traces of there having been a street festival over the weekend.

agreed it does look like a hurricane is on its way and the streets are an open sewer for two days but it started long before it was fashionable to live there and it would be such a shame for it to be moved to somewhere like hyde park.

Agreed, but Notting Hill/Portobello wasn't made to receive 1 million plus people for a 2 day alcohol/drugs bender, my view of it is that it should be a community event for the community and run by the community, Hyde Park would have great potential to host a festival sort of event with parade and all. Organisers should be allowed to sell food/alcohol at their prices and use profit to run the event.

if you walk down portobello road now i doubt you will find traces of there having been a street festival over the weekend.

In an ideal world yes,in reality sadly it isn't. I traversed most of the carnival route this morning and the amount of glass that's still left on the streets is a piss take, from 7 years experience I can tell you that it'll be there for at least another month.

I really enjoyed myself until it got dark, the atmosphere totally changed. Some lad with a bumfluff mustache and his 2 mates wanted to fight me because I asked them for a cigarette! WTF!

pineapple tribe stage was my favourite. next year I'm gonna do what I did last year, arrive early and leave early, more fun and less throbbers

I know alot of people in events management and I myself have worked for outdoor events and festivals, and if you tried to throw a party of that size in a field with the lack of infrastructure that Notting Hill has you'd be shut down by environmental health in the blink of an eye, but in a highly populated urban environment its fine?! It makes no sense!

my view of it is that it should be a community event for the community and run by the community.

True, but the local council have been cutting funding for years, hoping that it will quietly fail and go away and they can enjoy their gentrified ex-squats, and now £1m+ houses in peace.

So who actually pays for it? 'Cos if it's the taxpayer then I wholly object. It's a waste - think of the lost revenue for businesses in the area, as well as older residents......

Surely we can all think of better ways of spending £6 Million? It might get you a nice house round there!

i saw lots of old residents out having it large on their doorsteps yesterday.

Big box, little box: cardboard fish?!

True, but the local council have been cutting funding for years, hoping that it will quietly fail and go away and they can enjoy their gentrified ex-squats, and now £1m+ houses in peace.

To me it seems it's grown too big for it's own good, I might be well wrong, as I only look on from the outside and have a peek around Harrow Road and Kensal Rise with some neighbours, not really in to going around the sound systems as it's too much hassle (Sunday is ok though). Perhaps it's time to do a Sambadrome™ style event.

Pastafarians shifting dope and pickpocketing can f*ck right off as well.

more like shuffle, clap, shuffle, sip, point, laugh, smile.

as for lost revenue in the area? really? so tesco, starbucks, et al maybe. the smaller shops were rinsing out cans at ~£ 2 a go as were other small business owners and residents.

Too big for it's own good?

yeah as in, 1 million people over two day. Health & Safety, policing costs blah blah blah.

don't forget about the guys selling tepid beer from a trolley.

So who actually pays for it? 'Cos if it's the taxpayer then I wholly object. It's a waste - think of the lost revenue for businesses in the area, as well as older residents......

Surely we can all think of better ways of spending £6 Million? It might get you a nice house round there!

There's many things in the tax budget that I object to, fortunately I don't get to select in and out of them.

lost revenue - most shops would have been closed anyway as it was a bank holiday, no? the shops that did open were probably treating it like a pay day anyway. well at least they used to. i didnt have to buy beer this year so i didnt pay attention to the prices.
@veevee spaghettihoops im still holding in there.

i had to google it as i had no idea what you were talking about. might play it on thursday.

YouTube- Bob The Builder - Big Fish, Little Fish...Upload your dance video for a chance to be on Bob's DVD!