Carnival

The thing about carnival is it begins long before it begins. And I’m talking for us, the receivers, the partiers and dance-abouters not the givers, the great families of carnival, the community leaders and organisers whose floats and costumes and pans and rehearsals have been at it for months in advance. But for me, who only sees the result, it started with council signs going up that parking is suspended. Then the boards go up on shops and across stucco fronts; the tourists and influencers who come for the bookshop and blue door and ice cream coloured houses melt away before plywood spray-painted and tagged. Cafés close and our usual Friday market coffee is moved to Golbourne where we talk about our plans, will we be going in, which walkways are closed and when to get a wrist band for the Tabernacle. There is excitement in the air. And rain. On Friday night there’s a Pans rehearsal on All Saints, mesmerising and rich; they’re so fast, how do they know, who are they watching to conduct them. Sixty or more and bodies jumping and music singing out, a handsome man, his arm around a pole, central to their throng, sticks in his hand has all their eyes upon him. I bump into A and L and others, it’s amazing and yet not at all that when you let go and move with the river, you find friends. The crowd packed tight and happy, jerk chicken barbecues throw smoke, backs flatten against walls to let others pass and we move sideways, smiling. A downpour stops the music and we wait and they wait and when pans are dried, up it starts again, this music central to Caribbean festival. This is a gathering of celebration begun to bring people together in the face of racial murder and division. It is second in size only to Rio. It is magnificent. And that was Friday. It hasn’t even begun yet it’s begun. “If there weren’t race riots in Notting Hill I don’t believe that we would have had the Notting Hill Carnival. If it wasn’t for the murder of Kelso Cochrane, Carnival wouldn’t have happened.”The late Political Activist and Broadcaster, Darcus HoweIt’s Sunday and I woke as usual to work but the flat is filled with the sleeping bodies of J and his friends who all gathered here last night, and I am moved to a wobbly table in my bedroom with the window open and outside, moving with anticipation, groups of young people, bonnets and black leotards, head on up to where they will dress and climb and be the show for the children’s parade today. The street is free of cars, only Ladbroke Grove swishes with tyres. A police van is parked outside my door, also in anticipation, and the casual racism and unconscious racism and everyday conscious racism which walks these British streets is on show, too, in passing comments about being careful, in the assumption that trouble will come because this is a Black celebration, a Caribbean party; outside of West London white people nervousness is just as much on show. “We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many others nationalities all live in a very congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate, then this can only have good results.” Rhaune LaslettI’ve just been out - a walkabout as it builds and Ladbroke Grove is a wild sea of paint and whistles and last night’s party running into today. Bodies prepared in plastic are rainbow spattered with the shower of colours from bottles sprayed into the air. There are girls doubled up in laughter and wide lines of friends in horned helmets, a post apocalyptic head gear of goggles and wide strides. There are bikinis and g-strings and heavy boots and horns blowing. Boys caped in flags, arms linked owning the street and sky. And from my window:It is glorious, and this is only the beginning. Sunday and not yet 10am. I’m going out again soon to get a wristband for The Tabernacle so I can come and go as I like, dive in and out as is my preferred way of being, moving alone so there’s no one to lose and nothing to chase or wait for. More later… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eleanoranstruther.substack.com/subscribe