Greetings, you wonderful Blog readers! On Friday 6 November 2009 Bridgewater Carnival arrived again and we were off down the motorway on a wet afternoon. To avoid traffic we needed to take a few detours and arrived slightly later than expected, but still in time to enjoy the beginning of the carnival. On arrival there was a mad rush for MacDonald’s healthy menu including the old favourite of burger and chips and off course to visit the ‘little ladies (or men’s) room’.
The floats, or carts as they are called in Bridgewater, were spectacular. The various carnival clubs spend nearly a year mapping out a scheme for their respective floats and setting it up. Thousands of flashing lights, loud music and costumes! Although some of the characters on the floats were only attired in scant clothing on a wet chilly November night, the carts with all those light bulbs actually generated a lot of heat. You may have felt the blast of hot air of each float as it passed by. This helped us to forget the cold and the somewhat wet weather during the later part of the evening.
The spectators gave wonderfully to the various charity collectors – all the money goes to various charities, for example, Cancer Research, Children in Need, the local Red Cross. In Britain a charity is a voluntary sector organisation that raises funds for a particular issue that is not totally funded by the state.
Now, shall we look at the origins of this spectacular tradition? The origin lies in celebrating the unsuccessful attempt to blow up the English parliament with King James I and all of his cronies. Guy Fawkes, a mercenary soldier who was half Italian and half Yorkshire (English), had been paid to prime the bomb and then leave very quickly. But treachery surrounded the plot and Guy Fawkes was betrayed. He was arrested, taken to the Tower of London and tortured to confessing his role in what is now called the Gunpowder plot. His sentence was execution by burning and he was stuck on top of a bonfire. The Bridgewater Carnival originally celebrated the failure of the Plot in 1605.
The current Bridgewater Carnival began just over 100 years ago. At the time England was caught in an agricultural and economic depression. This affected Somerset rather badly. Some townsfolk resurrected the Carnival to boost the morale of the local people and it has grown to the celebration we enjoy today. It is said that the light reflected by the Carnival can be seen from the Moon! Personally, I have not been to the Moon to check this out, but we will give the enthusiasts the benefit of the doubt.
We all arrived back in Bristol after being well taken care of by Tony, our enthusiastic coach driver for many a trip. Remember him? Tony was at ‘A Taste of the UK’ singing his heart out and treating us to traditional English folk songs.
Well that’s all for now folks, keep rocking and rolling until next time
Yours as ever
The Blogmaster
alias Dr Chill!
