The Notting Hill Carnival is the biggest street party in Europe and the second biggest in the world.
It takes to the streets of West London every August Bank Holiday. Notting Hill is a fascinating area. It's gone from slum to showbiz in a relatively short period of time.
It now has the more tragic
fame of the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower, the high-rise block of flats in North Kensington. It was the worst civilian fire in London since the Second World War. The burnt-out building is a horrible sight to behold. And the neighbourhood of North Kensington is also fairly unique. A poorer part of one of the richest areas of the UK, one of the best Pantomimes I ever saw was in Notting Hill. The handwritten programmes, groups of school children and community groups performing were off-set by cameo performances by some very famous actors and musicians who live in, or near the area. It was brilliant and democratic and everything a community should be.
There was some talk of cancelling the Carnival this year, but Carnival will continue, with a pause and silence as a mark of respect for those lost.
Tragedy aside, the first Carnival was arranged in the 1960s by those newly arrived in London from the West Indies, to celebrate their culture and help diffuse racial tensions. It worked wonderfully on all levels although it was some years before the establishment recognised it as an ‘official’ London event. Carnival runs over Bank Holiday Sunday, with a family day; then a more festive, full-on carnival parade on the Bank Holiday Monday.
The only problem with Carnival today is that it attracts crowds of over a million! So you need to work out travel and transport in advance. Forget the Tube Map - many of the stations are closed, so see the TfL journey planner in the link below.
Notting Hill also became internationally famous with the film of the same name, written by Richard Curtis. Richard still lives in the area. I first saw the film ‘Withnail and I’ in his barn conversion home cinema near Southwold a few years ago. So I love him!
If you’d like to know more about Notting Hill and it’s history, I interviewed writer Fiona Rule about her book ‘Streets of Sin - a dark biography of Notting Hill’ for my radio show on Resonance FM and our podcast. You can buy the book HERE and listen to Fiona at Podcast Number LLPC - 045
And of course, George Orwell lived here too. See below and party on!
BONUS PUB. By Nick. Again....
Notting Hill has some great boozers, especially around the Portobello Road. The Prince Albert is very central and five minutes from Notting Hill Tube station and has the fab Gate Theatre above, but walk a little bit further down toward Portobello and at number 7, is The Sun in Splendour. You can’t miss its bright yellow frontage.
It dates back to 1852 and there was a fairly spectacular Sun and Rays model on the roof, but that was lost to a storm a few years ago. There's a garden too, although like many pub gardens, it's been a bit taken over by smokers. But it's a good writing boozer especially in the week. Saturday, it's full of Portobello Market folk. Generally the staff are friendly and ‘get it’, although if you're a tourist just looking for the loos, you might be in trouble!
It dates back to 1852 and there was a fairly spectacular Sun and Rays model on the roof, but that was lost to a storm a few years ago. There's a garden too, although like many pub gardens, it's been a bit taken over by smokers. But it's a good writing boozer especially in the week. Saturday, it's full of Portobello Market folk. Generally the staff are friendly and ‘get it’, although if you're a tourist just looking for the loos, you might be in trouble!
And if you come out of the pub, turn left and head down the road, keep you eyes peeled for the blue plaque on the white house on the right. Yep, George Orwell lived there for a while. So get back to the pub and start writing!
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