Quote of the day: John Maxwell-Worrell
“West Indians who went to the carnival actually felt empowered by their numbers because outside of those two days we felt like one blackcuurant in a large pink teacake.”
John Maxwell-Worrell, music promoter, Carnival: A Photographic and Testimonial History of the Notting Hill Carnival
This is the best book ever about Notting Hill Carnival; part photo document and part social history book. It tells the story of the origins of Carnival, correcting the myth of who started it (actually Rhaune Laslett, a white lady, in a bid to ease racial tensions by bringing different nationalities together). I re-read it every year but it’s almost out of print so it’s difficult to get hold of. Apparently there are a few copies left in Waterstones stores available by click and collect.
Also, if you like the mini photo zines published by Cafe Royal Books, you should check out ‘Notting Hill Carnival in the 1990s’ by Peter Marshall.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl/Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: Allan ‘Capitan’ Thornhill from Carnival: A Photographic and Testimonial History of the Notting Hill Carnival
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