I absolutely LOVE carnivals!! Just the whole atmosphere and randomness of the situation is amazing, the towns coming together to enjoy the pomp and ceremony of it all- brilliant stuff! Last night was the Crowborough carnival (the town next to mine) and I haven't been in a while as holidays and university conspired against it so it was really lovely to follow the familiar procession again with friends.
It is a vastly different experience to the Uckfield carnival and I think it is fantastic to get the two sides; being in the carnival and being a spectator of the carnival. We bumped into a slightly tipsy random stranger who started talking to us- he was a Londoner down for the weekend to visit his parents and he couldn't believe what he'd just walked into. He thought it was incredible and so do I.
Toward the end of the route, the procession marches towards the town green, with huge flaming banners of short quotes which change every year. That's a crow at the front there, followed by the 'Crowborough Bonfire & Carnival Society' banner with the words, 'We Burn For Good' underneath it.
Then this year's celebrations include 75 years on from the Battle of Britain, the WI's 100 year centenary, and the Queen's great reigning triumph of 63 years and 220 days (and counting). These great big banners are used to start a gigantic bonfire on the green which everyone waits and waits for with great suspense.
After waiting around in the cold for an hour or so, suddenly having a great flaming bonfire is usually most welcome, as long as you don't stand down wind and get covered in the ash and little glowing pieces of leaf that fly up (a health and safety nightmare probably).
It's definitely a tradition worth waiting for!!
A tradition that holds many memories for me too. There used to be an anchor butter cart drawn by a horse each year! And of course, there was the fun fair in the field next to the green. A huge community spirit. There used to be a Buxted Carnival as well. I might well have been to the last one held there, which was on the night of a mighty thunderstorm - rather scary!!! Love The Mother x
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