Notting Hill Carnival: Classic or Dud?

I might though as I hear Iain Duncan Smith will be there.

Walthamstow Village Festival. Now that sucks.

Too busy, didn't like the music much, ovver-priced red stripe, someone tried to dip my pocket, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Friend with flat at Ground Zero (Portobello/Westbourne Pk Road) who does open house BOTH days - yippee!

Insatiable lust for PROPER jerk chicken, which magically becomes, like all N. Hill food, £1 for a sackful at about 6pm Monday, ie. when I am so MONGED from Class B's I become The Eating Machine.

I have never, ever once been ripped off by a member of the No Solids Crew, pickpocketed, mugged, or in any way hassled.

Colin from Press Gang (Paul Reynolds) has been in eight films including the not without merit Let Him Have It. Yet it is somehow comforting that he is only known as Colin from Press Gang. Other alumni have escaped this epithet. Dexter Fletcher is Dexter Fletcher (because of stupid name he is remembered). Julia Sawalha is Saffy from Ab Fab. Julie from Press Gang is now Lisa in Eastenders and Mmoloki Chrystie was Kevin in Grange Hill. Oddly the IMDB listing relegates third star Lee Ross to third from bottom of the also starring alphabetically list.

Why doesn't everyone just come to the pub in Brixton instead? YEAH BRIXTON!

Always been a big deal for me - sound system culture has a real sense of history in terms of the tunes they play - you will hear stuff like "Fight the Power", "Twilight" and "Release yourself" that you don't really hear anywhere else anymore

Systems like Mastermind KCC and Fun Bunch are truly skilled DJS - Mastermind were playing Mary Poppins over Funky Drummer back in the late 80s .

Carnival is interesting in that it hasn't really been highjacked by the young middle class graduate media types like most of black/ dance culture has been (except for Norman Jays Good Times which is a shadow of its former self)

Im surprised there isn't more interest in Carnival from a lot of music heads here - why is this?

i went once in '98 and hated it. but i hope to be there tomorrow, finally trying some curried goat and jerk chicken, guzzling beer with Count Ronan whilst bopping to Jon Carter.

more likely i will be shuffling along Portobello bitching about the heat and crowds on my own trying to nod my head and not spill drinks.

but Dave if you're around and can suggest somewhere to meet up sometime that would be superb.

tis this weekend and i'm thinking of popping along. what should i expect? (reads thread) um, maybe there are some good films on this weekend instead...

unless you're a vegetarian by the sound of it 8(

This Sunday and Monday.

"Hey, Tarquin, are you going to Carnival?" and so on.

I went once, or maybe twice, nearly ten years ago. I remember lots of people and lots of wandering around trying to find exciting stuff. My recollection is that there was not that much actually exciting stuff going on, but the buzz was great.

One of my friends was there once when people were throwing things at the peegs. Deadly buzz.

I'm going Sunday.

i've never been and don't intend to. i've seen it from the tube coming back from reading a bit spaced out and it looks HORRIBLE, too many people, moving too slow, not enough space, claustrophobic, ugh. (ha ha a bit like reading - well YES - but reading is only bearable if you have access to the guest area to escape the horrible claustrophobia.)

1) sitting on steps of house making out with girl. opening our eyes to a gang of 11 year olds screaming "geezer!" and "give it to her!"

2) watching Rastas dance on top of BMWs of Notting Hill residents who forgot to move their cars for the weekend

3) after-carnival house party of a friend which soon fills up with crashers sneaking in. we hear a fight break out upstairs, a woman cries as she is being slapped around by a man. everyone freezes, i drunkenly decide to rush up to defend her, but tumbling down the stairs comes the victim, a would be tough guy with a scream sounding just like a woman's.

MUCH LIKE ILX

when people used to get killed at it, you mean.

the only problem i have with it, like others, is the crowd intensity/social claustrophobia aspect.

We didn't go into the middle section as they are too small to get into crush crowds, but on our way to an exit tube station (which is another story), one stage was just starting up with "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics. Sad time.

As is traditional, they got picked out by a TV camera doing crowd shots. What TV prog it was for, I don't know. So if you saw two kids sitting behind barriers, eating crisps, that was them.

Yes, Musical Youth got an airing at carnival and the people lapped it up.

I usually like a little dub on my saltfish & cornbread.

I am often in London during the Carnival and I can never get anyone to go! I have been twice and it was great both times.

I always have a lot of fun. Avoid the main route, find yourself a nice back street system and immerse yourself in bass.

I didn't go last year, it was the first time I missed it in over ten years. Looking forward to it again this year. I second chap's plan, and avoid attending in big groups if you want to stay together that is.

bump. I got roped into going this afternoon. Arrived to late, a little bit out of sorts. Ended up dancing with the sun on my face with a few friends. I do love HHC.

HHC = NHC