Notting Hill Carnival At It’s Finest

Posted: 1st Sep 2010

The sun shone upon Europe’s largest street party, Notting Hill Carnival.

As more than one million people descended onto the streets of West London for the biggest annual event, It was pretty clear that this years 46^th Carnival went by with very little trouble and the masses of people that came into west London were in good spirits.

Getting into Carnival could not to be faulted, with the easy flow of people from the tube station onto the streets; we were able to casually stroll through the streets. Horns, whistles and music could be heard from every direction and as we came closer to the parade route the rolling bass lines of the Soca tempo could be felt.

Pop up street vendors to restaurants converted into stalls could be found along the way selling an array of foods and beverages; the smell of freshly cooked food was in the air and most importantly the sign of smoke was filling the air, this could only mean one thing; Jerk Chicken, being cooked out on drums and there were plenty of cuisine from other West Indian islands to be found.

Levi Roots a Regular fixture at Carnival had also set up his food stall, which he has been doing so annual at Notting Hill Carnival since 1991 and he was more than happy to come out and meet and greet everyone.

For most of the day we stayed on Trini corner, on Westbourne Park Road soaking up the atmosphere as all the floats passed by.  We were able to see the procession clearly; with each float that passed there were beautifully coloured displays of costumes, floats and live bands consisting of traditional T&T steel pans and South American drummers. 

The majority of revelers danced the day away, and it was nice to see everyone from all ages groups to different ethnic backgrounds come together united and enjoying each others company. 

I was however surprise to see along Westbourne Park Road and part of Chepstow Road there were no barriers between the floats and the spectators, therefore allowing the free flow of trucks and also letting people to move without restraint. This did not hinder the procession nor did the police interfere without reason. This was reminiscent of the times of how Carnival used to be.

Shopkeepers were booming in trade with prices hiked up but negotiating a price was one of the highlights of the day.

But the most positive aspect of Carnival this year is that reports state that for the fourth year running there were no serious incidents and crime has fallen by more than 31 per cent.

Written By: Nadia Auckburally