Should the Carnival go ahead?

[one eyed jack]

Ice Cube was on The Chris Moyles Show on TV last week and they played this song as one of the questions.

Is that progress of what?

[max_tranmere]

If you go to the Carnival and leave when the floats stop, at about 6.00pm, then you will generally see little trouble. I've been going for many years. It is late at night that it all happens. It is rarely against random people though, it is usually gangs settling scores. The trouble normally happens around Ladbroke Grove tube station and in the area north of the Westway. Most of the rest of the region is usually peaceful, even late at night on Carnvial day.

Ladbroke Grove, mid-afternoon:



Ladbroke Grove, midnight:

[one eyed jack]

Aint been for years for always having something to do

[max_tranmere]

Didn't see any agro, apart from a couple of very drunk/possibly drugged-up people lying spaced out on the ground being tended to by St Johns Ambulance staff. One thing I would say this year is that crowd management was very poorly done in a few places. Normally, even at the busiest spots, the crowd moves quite fluidly. Today there were bad bottlenecks where the crowd would feed from one road and be met head-on by another huge crowd feeding from another road - and both were trying to squeeze into a small area. As the density worsened, panic would almost set in. People (including me) concerned we might get crushed. A couple of idiot stewards stood nearby not knowing what the hell they were doing. In previous years it has been organised better.