This year UK TJJ crew planning to hit all the European carnivals!! First stop for the year is Luton – Britain’s largest one day carnival. And we have no idea what to expect from this sexy little one day extravaganza just North of our little comfort zone in London!!

The weather forecast say heavy heavy rain!!!! Well boy... it’s alright.. we like a challenge. Last year the UK crew managed the the TJJ Notting Hill 2008 Fete-lympics®, and this year we doing it Euro stylie.. we not waiting.. it’s the beginning.. the one and only... the "TJJ Year Round Euro Challenge"!!

Notting Hill has been our only experience of a UK carnival, so if that is anything to go by... we know we jamming the "Heavy T" bumper all the way through Luton’s town centre! Now we jump in the car, no idea where we heading, no idea where the carnival is ... we have no bands, only a number to call when we reach!! Arriving in Luton we realise this event is particularly well organised with road diversions throughout the town and plenty of Police officers for us to jam on later... oops..... ah mean, ask for directions!

Photos By Amiel Barrimond
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Once on foot we head through the town centre, we pass packed pubs, huge sound systems and some salsa performers! Alright! We know this a multi-cultural event ... we start to run!!! It’s 1pm by the time we reach Wardown Park, where all the bands are due to meet and pull off by 1.30pm. We pass the Samaritans, and a section from Sainsbury’s supermarket selling pies and a Hare Krishna crew before we even see a Trini flag!! Multi-cultural is right!!! This carnival looks set to showcase a worldwide display of culture and music - Bollywood to Africa via the Caribbean!

We bounce up the UKCCA (UK Centre For Carnival Arts) crew and we off. The carnival itself is structured very much like a parade with more spectators than masqueraders. It’s like one huge band with many small sections each representing a different part of the community. Starting at the back, we move swiftly through Rampage’s Mas Invasion ‘Japan Land of d’ Rising Sun’ and pass through a worldwide tour of Luton: landing first in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with Luton and District St. Vincent and the Grenadines association showing off their Vincy Mas - We off to Ireland with the Luton Irish forum, then back to the Caribbean with the Soca Carnival Club, dropped back in UK with a bump through BBC Three Counties Radio before being whisked off to the Pride of Africa .... some funky house and we back in the UK and the ladies getting down low with their heads shoulders knees and toes (bubbling bubbling) and some comments heard through the crowds went something like this , "Well they seem to cover up a little more than they do in Brazil." Until we came face to face with Brazil and the ever sexy Paraiso School of Samba! Aye Aye Aye.

Some Trini faces popped up Masquerade 2000... the only part of the parade that really get on bad!! We pass a multitude of spectacles along the way, including the bendiest man we have ever seen, a smallie with some gold rollerblades, red devils, charity collectors, even a section from the local Nursery!! The carnival itself had a handful of safety officers that didn’t seem to be needed as everything remained very calm and perhaps a bit too British, with kids and adults jamming and masquerading together. A group of bikers in matching outfits even joined in the back as we headed back towards the park. Each section had their own DJ and different music ranging from Soca to Bhangra and Heart FM blasting some serious club classics.

No food or drink on the road, so it’s straight back to Wardown Park, to the UKCCA marquee and some food!!! The park was full of a variety of food and drink stands, and our first stop was ‘Fresh Caribbean’. Our advice if yuh coming next year is eat before yuh come or walk with yuh own food in the trunk because the lines are long and after the afternoon jamming with no break, TJJ not ready to wait!!

Our first experience of a one day UK carnival was short and sweet and we would like to extend a HUGE thanks to the UKCCA crew for their help, hospitality and hard work in pulling this together. We off now to the exclusive After Party for a little R&R before the drive home. And with the weather coming up trumps for us, as the Hare Krishna crew say, "Chant and be Happy!!"

Luton, we look forward to a bigger and (maybe a little longer ) Carnival next year!

Beth for the TJJ fam
The Only Thing Constant Is Change

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Related Galleries
Luton Carnival Parade 2009 Part 2