Night Carnival 2011

I didn't go to the Notting Hill Carnival this year, for a variety of reasons - apart from anything else (the possibility of riots didn't exactly encourage me to attend) -  my ears are recovering from both last and the previous year's Carnival. Maybe I'm getting old. But Carnival is definitely LOUD, and I wonder if the hearing of any of the performers is adversely affected.

Anyway, I did make it to the Night Carnival, which is part of the Thames Festival, held a couple of weeks later, in September. Its an annual event also, and I've before and noticed that some of the performers from Notting Hill turn up at Night Carnival but with a lot less decibels. It kicks off around 7ish in the evening , as its getting dark, and the participants/performers carry lanterns and torches it can be spectacular.

This year the rain at the beginning didn't help, and the route had been reversed from previous years - now starting behind the Royal Festival Hall , crossing the Thames byway of Blackfriars Bridge, and then turning upstream to Embankment.

Some performers taking the steps down from Waterloo Bridge prior to taking  part.