Carnival - by Lu Hersey

 

Carnival is a strange thing. The streets fill with crowds eager to watch the passing floats (or carts as they're known locally) and the night is filled with colour, light, booming sound and displays it's taken people all year to create. It's a great excuse for everyone to hit the street and enjoy a fantastic spectacle at a dull time of year, while helping to raise money for various charities. But how did it start?

The West Country carnival tradition began in the Somerset town of Bridgwater. The town population was staunchly protestant back in 1605, when a group of catholic conspirators plotted (unsuccessfully) to blow up the houses of parliament - 5 November has been celebrated as Guy Fawkes night in the UK ever since. But although Guy Fawkes is the best known conspirator, the actual instigator of the gunpowder plot was Robert Parsons, a Jesuit priest from Nether Stowey - a village very close to Bridgwater.

Following the uncovering of the gunpowder plot, the town folk of Bridgwater celebrated Robert Parsons' demise on 5 November each year by lighting a huge bonfire, built from a wooden boat filled with 100 tar barrels and anything else people found that would burn. Local groups (known as gangs) added effigies (or guys) to the fire, and processions started up as the gangs paraded their guys along the route. Much drinking was involved.

The processions became more elaborate over the years, adding music and costumes, until eventually the carnival procession became the main focus of the event, and the reason behind it was mostly forgotten. (The local people who dress up and take part in the even are known as Masqueraders or Features.)

The Carnival Circuits now feature a parade of up to 50 illuminated carts, mostly pulled by tractors, and often needing massive generators to power the fantastic light displays. Carts can cost over £40,000 to build, and local clubs spend thousands of man hours creating them over the course of the year. 

The carts are all themed - and there's no restriction on the themes from the organising committee. Mostly they're taken from popular culture, including music, films and....CHILDREN'S BOOKS! (admittedly mostly classics like Matilda, Alice in Wonderland, and Pinocchio, but even so)

With all the lights and razzamataz, I couldn't help thinking how easy it would be (for your fictional character, obviously) to escape a police chase by standing motionless on a tableau cart, or maybe pick a pocket or two in the crowd while everyone is transfixed by the spectacle in front of them...

And how wonderful would it be to see something you'd written immortalised (well, for one year at least) on a cart? After a night of being blinded by lights and deafened by sound, I'm inspired to give my next story all the in-your-face impact of Carnival, and hope to inspire a future cart display. Preferably this side of death, but I'm not fussy...

Lu Hersey

 Writing the Magic