Letters to my sons.

Dear Son,

Nottinghill Carnival is upon us yet again. Before I met your mother I had never been as I didn’t see the attraction. Watching people in costumes dance past whilst being crushed by the crowds seemed like a bad idea. I still think the same thing but since 2001 I have taken part and been one of the people behind a float, dancing past.

We play Chocolate Mas with Pure Lime and for the last couple of years have been on the committee that organises the whole event. Not that either myself or your mother would take credit, that belongs to the people who have worked hard over the years. Pure Lime is now the biggest group in Nottinghill Carnival and we get a lot of jealous people because of our success. We also have certain people trying to copy us as well.

Pure Lime’s Chocolate Mas is based on Jouvert celebrations in Trinidad. The differences are small: for Jouvert the start time is the early hours of the morning. My favourite Jouvert Band, Mudders International, start around 3am. For Nottinghill we start around 11am. You covered in mud, paint and grease at Jouvert in Trinidad, Pure Lime use chocolate instead. Chocolate was chosen because finding mud that could be added to hot water and smeared on a body was impossible to find. Also you can have more fun with chocolate than you can with mud.

You are still far too young to take part in carnival although you followed a float around the streets of Trinidad while still in the womb, I have the pictures of your mother to prove it – at the Mas Camp and then on Tragrete Road.

I suppose the moral of the story is this: taking part is usually more fun than watching.