h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

i always try and buy a copy of the dvd of the event.

there is only so much you can see while you are stood there and you usually find something on the dvd that you missed.

when i get the leaflet, i will let you have the details. its usually about £15 to get a copy. i dont know if that is just the burnham carnival though.

i must sort out my bucket and spade ready for monday <laugh.

While Serenity's enjoying the Burnham Carnival, here are a couple of early Youtubes from this year's events:

Masqueraders at Bridgwater (Friday): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e37eTTjeRbI&NR=1

Two more from Bridgwater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZngPW9Za_sw

Various carts from North Petherton (Saturday): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYzB-HTisg

Icy

They were brilliant Icy, and I have to say they were *better* than the floats in the Disney light parade with all that movement and more diverse themes. I can't understand why I've never heard of this on the national news before .... we hear loads about the Notting Hill Carnival.

It would be a great theme for a movie or a short drama ..... the preparation and rivalry must be intense - I will certainly bring this to the attention of my film industry friend.

The carts are way way better than disney (having been), and it should be national news, but sadly because it's small towns & in the west country the media aren't interested.

the carnival was as usual, spectacular to say the least
i to thought the masqueraders float as the best, even better than the gremlns.

we stood towards the end of the parade, by somerfield. the weather was bitterly cold, yet i felt that here were more there this year, than any other that ive been to.

they intermixed the walking entrants with the floats, instead of having them first, which broke up the silence.
the tableaux floats were great.
the music was great.
the ambience and freindliness of everyone there was great.

there were no hiccups and it went like clockwork.

The 2007 Bridgwater movies are now up at http://www.somersetcarnivals.co.uk/movies.asp

If you don't want to trawl through all of them, then the results are at http://www.southwestcarnivals.com/results/bridgwater2007.html - check out the first few in each category, but all the 'feature' carts are certainly worth seeing.

Icy

Thanks Icy, I'll get a look at these later when I've caught up with myself.

Taking this thread back to the original title for a moment, I just thought it worth mentioning that to see the squibbing at Bridgwater Carnival you have to make your way to the front of the Town Hall at the end of the procession. Do so very quickly, better still, try to make this your viewing point. It's normally about half an hour before the start of squibbing, but can be earlier on occasion, so be warned.
The squibbers usually set up positions just after the Fire Engine gets there.

At the moment, the carnival takes place on the bizarre date of the Friday after the nearest Thursday to the 5th, however they are moving it in 2012 to first Saturday in November for a three year trial.

Confirmed Bridgwater Carnival Dates:
2011 - Friday 4th November
2012 - Saturday 3rd November
2013 - Saturday 2nd November
2014 - Saturday 1st November

Hi Geggs, and thanks for the update. I'll try to write something before it switches to the new schedule.

I guess North Petherton has to move from the first Saturday, then. Will Bridgwater still be the first? (I guess it has to be)

Ah, I just called you Geggs, didn't I? Sorry Radox

S'ok, I've been called worse. Yes, it will always be the first of that circuit because it's where they have the judging and awards (that's why there's a delay after the end of the procession and the start of the squibbing, they decide the winners in the Town Hall - closed to public access, unfortunately, then announce the winner and say let the squibbing commence).

I've thought about doing a specific Entry for the Bridgwater Carnival, actually. When I was researching for my Somerset project (which has stalled a bit a lot) I found out quite a bit about it and thought it should have something in the Guide about it, and about the town of Bridgwater, come to that. Perhaps, when the move is over, I'll give the project another go.

I think that would be a great addition.

I was going to call my entry 'The Bridgwater Carnival', because that's what everyone calls the circuit, even though it visits all those other towns ("Are you going to the Bridgwater Carnival at Weston?"). I gave it the more accurate name, though, as that was what the main website called it at the time.

I've only visited Bridgwater once - many years ago. All I remember is the stench of some plastic bag factory dominating the town. I hope that's gone now.

Ive only ever been to the Burnham carnival. Ive been told that Bridgewater is too crowded.

I shall be in Burnham as usual on the 7th November

They don't compare, frankly. Everyone should go to Bridgwater Carnival at least once, some of the floats only appear at Bridgwater and don't do the circuit at all. Don't worry about the crowds, that's all part of the fun, just get there early or you'll have a long walk. You won't regret it. These days Bridgwater is the only one I tend to go to, even though pretty much all of the others are closer(Shepton Mallet and Wells being the closest).

Hi Icy

This was great and it got me thinking, Bridgwater is quite local to me and I should read more about its history

Where I particulary bounced off on this one was off the idea that Carnival came about as a stanchly Protestant Town whooping it up about the failure of the Gunpowder plot

I'm not saying that it not true but the way I heard it was

The Observance of 5th November Act 1605 made this something that was seen to be desirable to publicly celebrate

Whatever the offical defination of what was being celebrated, whether that was taken to heart is slightly different matter

Who is going to turn the opportunity of an community event, would be churlish

So Bridgwater townspeople on the whole were not celebrating the failure of the Gunpower Plot but niether were they advocating a desire for its success

Now in my head, I had put this down a few things

Bridgwater's radicalist tendancies. So while people may not have agreed with the aims of the plotters or the method in which they went about it they understood extremism, the wider causes of the actions that made the plotters do what they did. Does that make sense, is extremism the right word I'm not sure

While it was strongly Protestant, it was quite diverse, on a local level quite tolerant and this tolerance went for Catholics too
Again I am not asserting this as fact, I have googled but I think what I need is books and I know who is going to be my first port of call

Politics sometimes trumps religion. Would some Bridgwater locals have preferred a tolerant Catholic King or an intolerant Protestant King, is a question I am asking myself?

There would have been those that would have thought that Kings were always good for an overthrowing Protestant or Catholic and if it took a keg up the backside, well, that's what it took.

There would have been a fair few people, perhaps a majority of people who did not care what they were celebrating, just enjoyed the celebrating and made it their own

So far, I think I have got to that Carnival was a local community event,it is probably too simplistic to say that the reason behind this local tradition stems solely from a strongly Protestant Town enthusiatically celebrating the failure of a Catholic Plot

Wiki highlights that Bridgwater is somewhat conflicted

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Country_Carnival

Says that Carnival was originally keenly celebrated because of the town Protestantism.

Please also note the tendacy to 'revel'

Click on Bridgwater in the same article and you get to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgwater

in which Guy Fawkes is a

http://www.somersetphotos.co.uk/somerset_pictures/392,places,41,Guy-Fawkes-Statute,3.html

Statute of Guy Fawkes in the town

phew



Peanut

Can I say again that I am not asserting any of that as fact, that is where you made me think of why I thought Bridgwater celebrated carnival and I started to look in those ideas

Like I said I not sure where I collected them all from

Fascinating analysis, Peanut - thanks for that

To be honest, I wasn't aware at all of Guy Fawkes being seen as a hero as such, but I can understand how the fact that you're using his explosive modus operandi to celebrate his downfall may have led to confusion somewhere down the line. It is a long time since 1605 after all.

The wording on that statue says "Spirit of Carnival", and I think that's probably what's being celebrated.

Are you going to carnival this year? I don't think I can make it this time.

*braces herself for a right *

Even when I have lived in Bridgwater I have to fess up to it is not really my thing. I have been but that is because there has been a party to go to or kids or tourists to take

That's not dissing it, it is a fabulous spectacle, when I have gone I have enjoyed myself but I can take it or leave it

If I lived there, I'd do the whole club thing. I think it's just amazing, but there's no reason why it should float everyone's boat

I found out about the Guy Fawkes thing when I was researching for my Somerset project. That and the Monmouth rebellion were the reasons why the Royal Family snubbed the town for years. They didn't get a Royal visit from the Monarch until 1987.