The greatest attribute about this year’s Bridgwater Carnival was the weather. After a sunny late autumnal day, the evening was fairly mild and dry with a slightly larger than a half moon shining down on the proceedings. Indeed the Bridgwater Carnival is the largest illuminated carnival in Europe and it is claimed that the Carnival procession can be seen from space. I hope therefore if there are little humanoids on the Moon that too enjoyed the spectacle too.
The BISC Team (Hannah, May and John) assembled the majority of international students on Woodland Road outside the entrance to BISC, and the coach duly arrived; the driver was Lee. We picked up students from Zetland Road Junction and UWE, and proceeded on to a crowded motorway. Beyond Weston-super-Mare the M5 motor way was very much clear and we arrived at Bridgwater at approximately 6.00pm. One problem was encountered with the coach was that it did not have a microphone. Therefore this meant some of the on board coach activities had to be abandoned or modified. Don’t forget to post your quiz competition answer in by email!
Once we had arrived in Bridgwater there was a mad rush to McDonald’s either for fries or the toilet or even both. The demand for the toilets, particularly the ladies toilets was particularly high and the queue was longer for these facilities than for the food! McDonald’s should have charged a £1.00 for these facilities!!!
The BISC team carried two identifying badges. These were bamboo branches with leaves that when raised could be seen over the vast crowds, which numbered over 100,000 according to the local news broadcasts on Saturday. Using the bamboo as umbrellas, the BISC team positioned themselves on the Bath Road and for three hours watched the glittering procession pass by. The carnival cart that won the prize was organised by the ‘Gremlins’. The system of bamboo appeared to work as at the end of the procession and arrival back at the coach park all but one of our party arrived back safely, there was a late comer who just made it!!!
The journey back was made on an almost clear motorway and John and Iwona had a great discussion on the history of the event and the place of the monarchy in British culture and politics. Bridgwater is only a small market town yet attracts much history that has shaped the British culture. The Carnival although begun in the late 19th century to commemorate the Gunpowder Plot some two hundred years earlier, commenced during a major agricultural depression which affected the economy of Somerset. So in order to boost up the local economy and the welfare of the local population the commencement of the Bridgwater Carnival revived local fortunes at the time. There is a lesson here for the economic difficulties faced today perhaps. After all without history there is no today and no future!
To conclude a good time was had by all, the weather was kind (given the weather some 24 hours later on Saturday evening), and we got back to Bristol as Friday disappeared into Saturday. For the BISC team this was our first organised trip for this academic year and Hannah, May and John deemed it to have been a resounding success. We hope that you think the same too.
