Saturday 2 July 2011

Carnival Time

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

Bristol sometimes has a bad press in the media and all sorts of things seem to crop up from time to time, leaving people thinking its not a safe place to live in.
I personally think it is a great place and it is always good to show off our city, which is what I do whenever possible.

One of the things that Bristol is good at, is the yearly Carnival at St. Paul's.
This year I decided to go and see the parade of dancers, drummers and displays. I went on my own..... just one person out of many thousands, because this occasion draws people in from all over the place.
When I arrived in this vibrant area, where many diverse ethnic people live and every year come onto the streets to celebrate, I found a low wall to sit on and waited for things to happen.
There were barbecues all along the streets and some of the dishes I could smell were jerk flavoured goat and rice, which I resisted, being a vegetarian. However it did smell good.

The Carnival would go on all weekend and there would be bands going on all night. However, not for this grannie.
I pushed myself forward to take photos .

Sometimes it seemed as though the skull guided itself.......


.......and I had to search for the person inside the display.



Fortunately, it was not too hot or too cold, which was just as well because the dancers had to carry on for 3 hours.
The parade took one and a half hours to pass me by.

There were so many children in the parade and many of the local schools were represented.
I think everyone enjoyed it. I definitely did. If you happened to be there and saw a little grannie sitting on a wall.... then it was me!






18 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

This is fantastic! 'We' are glad you went and shared with us.

Ayak said...

Great pics Maggie and I can imagine you had a really good time. Thanks for sharing xx

CiCi said...

Nice pictures to share with us here. Looks like a fun carnival. Great weather and people enjoying the day together. Sounds like a pretty nice town to me.

Irene said...

Great photos, Maggie, and it sounds like you had a good time. Good for you for going on your own and enjoying it.

XOX

Gail Is This Mutton? said...

I had no idea Bristol had a carnival like that. Great photos Maggie.

Akelamalu said...

Gosh it looks like Mardi Gras! Great shots Maggie.

Joey said...

Thank you for sharing this with us! I love things like this... our town really doesn't do stuff such as this; they have "get togethers", but not nearly as great as the one you described and photographed.

I do love your photos! They take me to another world that I may not ever see.

Hugs to you!
Joey

Sueann said...

Oh what a festive occasion!! I love festivals and such.
Great pics too!
Hugs
SueAnn

Hilary said...

Looks like great fun. And you got some great photos. Love that skull!

Rose said...

Looks like a fun way to spend the afternoon, Maggie; I'm glad you got to enjoy it. Great photos!

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

So glad you enoyed the St Paul's Carnival Maggie. From looking at your photos it was definitely a fun time. Love all the masks. A x

Clare Dunn said...

OOOOOH! Great photos! Looks like a real good time.

Our Bristol held it's 200 and something'th parade yesterday...unfortunately, I was unable to attend this year, but I heard it was a dandy! (Jerry and I met at the Bristol 4th of July Parade, 41 years ago, so it's special for us!)

Love!
xoxoxo, cd

Anonymous said...

Whatever name Bristol has, it sure looks like people have a good time. It's good to promote our home cities and towns.

CJ xx

Suldog said...

Looks like great fun! Thanks for taking the photos and sharing the good times with us.

Sally Wessely said...

This was great. I like that you called yourself a "grannie sitting on a wall." You captured some great shots.

Brian Miller said...

that is so cool..thanks for taking us along withyou...love all the sights...

Alyson | New England Living said...

What an awesome town festival! You also got some awesome shots! Looks like a lovely outing.

Suburbia said...

I wasn't there Maggie, not brave enough. There's been a lot of stabbings and shootings down there recently, about 3 last week, it put me off. You were too brave for that!

It looks fab, I love your photos.