Nothing made me happier than to walk in the middle of the road, knowing that in a few moments time I would be covered in mud, chippin’ down the road behind a truck to my favourite soca songs with thousands of people enjoying the massive outdoor party.
The Notting Hill Carnival seemed to come and go faster than usual this year. By 7pm on Monday 29th August, I was becoming nostalgic, perusing over photos I had taken over the two days, shedding a tear of sadness as I reminisced over countless images of police officers being violated by thirsty winers! After the riots across London in early August, there was some talk about how only the brave or foolish would set foot on Ladbroke Grove; some even predicting mayhem with petrol bombs. There was me thinking, this is Notting Hill, not the perimeter of Gaddafi’s compound! The Notting Hill Carnival generates tens of millions of pounds for London and so I was skeptical about specualtion on its cancellation. Nevertheless, I waited with baited breath for confirmation and was pleased to hear that, despite a heavier police presence and earlier start and finish time, carnival had the go ahead. Embrace the mud! And so, on Sunday morning, I found myself striding down an eerily quiet Ladbroke Grove in a white boiler suit, surveying multi-coloured paint-splashed remnants of earlier j’ouvert action. Nothing made me happier than to walk in the middle of the road, knowing that in a few moments time I would be covered in mud, chippin’ down the road behind a truck to my favourite soca songs with thousands of people enjoying the massive outdoor party. A perfectly normal sight at the carnival! If you have never mudded before, you need to consider mudding at some point in your life! Once on the move, the van doors open and a big tub of mud gets towed along the route. Every now and then, one of the mud keepers, as I call them, dishes out a cold dollop of mud to the back or neck. Willing bystanders were also mudded! Not only is it good for your skin, but if you want to power-walk your way out of carnival on your way home, crowds will part like the Red Sea once they see how ‘dirty’ you are. On Monday, the fun continued in customised t-shirts with another mas band. In-keeping with Monday being ‘adult’s day’, the tone was evidently less child-friendly than the Sunday, with the DJ issuing imperatives for females to get in position for Skinny Fabulous’s 6.30 song after receiving its third rewind! Furthermore, alcohol flowed freely on the Monday, with some masqueraders carrying potent supplies of West Indian rum that could surely kill smaller mammals. All-in-all, the two days were a lot of fun. I was a bit disappointed I didn't hear this song once over the two days, but I saw some impressive costumes, masses of people enjoying themselves and none of the anticipated trouble that many people had been talking about. The flag earrings I had made the previous week looked great on the road and I distributed a few YouLike IMake business cards along the way. Flag earrings are great for carnivals, independence days and for those days when you're just feeling patriotic. They will also look great if you're planning on supporting your nation during the 2012 Olympics. As I wish the Notting Hill Carnival farewell for another year, I leave you with some more of the photos I took over the Bank Holiday weekend!
4 Comments
Sheira C
9/9/2011 04:55:04 am
Excellent blog, love the pictures, however did you manage to keep your camera mud free?
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YouLike IMake
9/9/2011 07:37:37 am
Thank you! It was difficult keeping the mud off the camera and it definitely wasn't mud free by the end of the day, but thankfully it's still working.
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YouLike IMake
24/6/2012 03:02:41 am
This post is from September 2011 after the 2011 Notting Hill Carnival.
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