When I first heard of notting hill carnival I thought why not? that sounds like fun, another little adventure to tick off my list and seeing as I wasn't going away for the long weekend bank holiday I thought it would make for a nice little highlight for the weekend. Boy was I wrong.... It wasn't just a highlight of my weekend, it was the highlight of the week, the month even.....
How do I even begin to describe it? Its like you have suddenly been dropped into the world of the carribean and all things ethnic.. passion just seems to come natural to these people and being black is just one small part of it.. they have this vibrant attitude that really brings the carnival to life.. at the end of the day ( a five hour parade!) I looked at my pale australian skin (no longer tanned from back home- who am i kidding, i was pale even back home) and I silently wished that I had the beautiful ebony skin of these people who know how to laugh, sing and dance...
Even as Kate and I were walking through the notting hill and westbourne park districts we could smell the outdoor barbecues heating up, the erk chicken being placed on the flaming hot coals, the waft of charcoal snuck into my senses and invaded... it was like being surrounded by a thousand webbers coming to life in one small area... and despite not being a fan of smoked food, this festival changed all that..
Kate and I got there early, went to a pastisserie and I had a cup of tean to warm me up for the festivities.. in a burst of imagination I had put on the skirt I bought for pamplona and a little singlet thinking it would be the perfect outfit to get in the groove for carribean dancing and jiving..afterall August is summer.. but the weather that other ideas.. the steel overcast sky and biting crisp wind had the promise of winter about it and lucky for me I took a cardigan and jumper with me.. my new motto over here is be like a boyscout.. always come prepared.. especially in a town like london which has the weather of all seasons in one day....
so rugged up in a skirt and jumper and kate in her sensible jeans and woolen jumper we made our way to where everyone was meandering.. like ants to a cake in the middle of a picnic people were pouring into the area and claiming their spot for a prime position to be close to all the action of the carnival.. police bobbies were at work putting up blockades.. festival goers were getting their grove on early with horns and whistles.. I still feel like I have a whistle blowing in my head today there were so many.. young and old congregated happily.. all caught up in the happiness of the day.. I had heard rumours of stabbings and fights and shootings of previous years.. but nothing about this day at all seemed to convey that to me.. it was alive, bright and happy and everyone was getting into the spirit.. people in wigs, crazy outfits, australians with wallaby jerseys and kegs of beer.. yes there was one crazy fellow who joined the parade with his keg... made us laugh so much... typical australian lol..
It turns out we were very early. the festival didn't officially kick off until 1pm.. so we kicked back and relaxed and me being me.. I drank it all in.. I couldnt get over the sheer beauty of some of the women and men there.. the african/carribean community has some of the most gorgeous people I have ever met, with their megawatt smiles, bodacious butts that just wiggle when they walk and take on a life of their own when the music erupts..and their infectious laughter and bubbly personalities.. they are entrancing and just so fascinating to watch. You stand there feeling very un exotic and not the least bit indvidualistic when you stand next to them... seeing amazonians goddesses strut their way down the street in front of a bevy of admirers was aweinspiring, they comanded attention and respect and were so in charge of who they were are a people... it was right then and there I decided I want to come back as a carribean woman...with curves in all the right places..
before long I could feel the beat.. thats how you long the parade is coming.. we had nabbed our position along the wetbourne grove.. which luckily for us had no barracades.. the police didnt have enough time to erect them.. so could litterally be in the middle of the festival as the parade went past...the drums reached me first and I could hear the pounding on the pavement.. of thousands of feet dancing to their own rhythm and song in their heart....when the first burst of colour turned onto the street my face split into a massive grin.. the costumes were outrageous, women practically nude others completely covered.. animals, goddesses, creatures both mythical and real took the streets by storm.. armes of drum beaters stormed pass and I couldn't stop my feet.. I wrangled my way to the front with my camera in hand and went nuts..
because there were no barriers you could go up to the performers as they passed and get photos with them, or stand in front of them and get the perfect shot.. i was in heaven.. in some cases I think i had a more enviable position than some of the media pass journos who kept getting coralled by the police.. my favourite part was when a whole troupe of dancers came past and one just grabbed me, pulled me in and started dancing with me randomly..it also helped that he was black and heavenly of course.. but I had so much fun.. i was literally a part of the parade... members of the parade were handing out little postcards asking if next year people would be keen to participate and I grabbed one.. how much fun would that be? to next year be one of the ones all dressed up and shaking their booty? my idea of heaven by the sounds of things..
later on a group of bootylicious women grabbed me and were shaking their asses with me, giving my moves a real run for their money it was hilarious..they were part of the parade and i just made the most of it hehe but I simply couldnt keep up, I thought i had nimble hips, they were nothing compared to the hips of these women..
The most interesting thing was seeing how many white people were in the parade.. quite a lot of women in their 50's, 60's were all dressed up and shaking their thing on the parade and it was great to see..
The beat of the drums and carriabean flavour of all these countries coming together pouring their hearts and souls into this big melting pot of culture was a sight to savour I can tell you, flags representating africa, kenya, west indies,carribean islands, jamaca, and so much more were there..
and before we knew it it was nearly 4 o'clock we had been there over 6 hours and hadn't event realised.. it was unbelievable.. the notting hill carnival is the the biggest street parade in europe and is second biggest in the world.. second only to rio de janeiro.. and i have tos ay.. it made me really want to go to that, i think that would be unbelieavle.. after tasting what it was like here.. I think its yet another thing to go on my wish list..
before i go here are a few friendly facts about the carnival.. the day I went there were 250,000 people there.. and overall the whole weekend at 750,000 people come along to shake their groove thing and watch the festivities..
During the whole weekend the following is eaten _
Five tons of jerk chicken ( no not some really rude or mean form of chicken, its a bbqed smoked chicken.. delish!)
One ton of rice & peas
One ton of Jamaican patties
30,000 corn cobs
15,000 fried plantains
12,000 mangoes
16,000 coconuts
Five million hot and cold drinks
10,000 litres of Jamaican stout
25,000 bottles of rum
70,000 litres of carrot juice
thats a whole lot of food!..
But for anyone thinking of going or who has heard bad things about it, - violence or etc.. ignore it.. this festival is by far one of the most amazing and inspiring ones I have ever been to.. its like stepping into a whole new world.. a world of bob marley, waccy tobaccy, colourful beats, where rhythm sneaks into your mind, heart and blood and gets your body dancing to its tune.. your cant stop the beat and you cant help but love notting hill carnival..
