Dickinson College Humanities Program in Norwich

What a difference four days makes! After walking the same streets around Notting Hill Station with relative ease during the first day of our program, I found myself attempting to move among hoards of people making their way to the Notting Hill Carnival. Above this text, you should see a side-by-side of the same street on the two different days, and hopefully you can see the incredible difference in the atmosphere. Not only were the streets much more crowded, but they were populated quite differently. While I found almost exclusively older, upper-class Caucasians on my first trip to the area, today I found a young crowd of great racial and economic diversity. Those that currently live here (and, apparently, have only moved here recently in what has become a gentrification of the area) seemed to not exactly gel with the carnival. One of the first things I noticed walking to the carnival was how many buildings were boarded up, just for the weekend. All of these boards, and I mean all of them, were already covered with graffiti (and they could not have been up for more than 3 days). I wonder if this graffiti was a sign of animosity between the carnival-goers and the new, wealthier, inhabitants of Notting Hill.

The Carnival itself was influenced by Afro-Caribbean culture. From the jerk-chicken stands to the booming reggae music, one could easily see this influence. Having visited a market in a Caribbean neighborhood earlier in the week, I found the differences in the atmosphere between the two quite interesting. The slow, charming pace of the market was completely different from the sensory overload on display at the Carnival. People were yelling, pushing, blowing vuvuzuelas, and partying to their hearts content. There was no discernable pattern to what was going on; it was just 3 square miles of chaos. Trash lined the streets (has anyone else noticed the overall lack of trash bins in London?) while signs of drugs were everywhere. While the music, food, and floats were certainly a sign of Afro-Caribbean culture, I felt, from my vantage point, that many in attendance were simply there to mindlessly, and dangerously, party.  

According to the website for the carnival (http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/history.html) , the festivities originated as a celebration of Caribbean culture, and was rooted in Trinidadian celebrations over the abolition of slavery. While this was originally intended as a moment of unity for Caribbean immigrants, what I saw today felt more like a big London block party that happened to feature Caribbean entertainment and food. Many of those involved in the parade likely knew the history and gravity of the Carnival, but those in attendance did not seem to be there for either a cultural experience or for the original unity that the Carnival intended to be about. I am not suggesting one way of looking at the Notting Hill Carnival is necessarily better. One can be there to revel in the history and culture, or one can be there to party (within reason, in my opinion). It is just interesting to me that there appears to be a shift in perspective of the event over the forty years since it began.

Upon leaving the Arran House Hotel, we decided to walk to the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station.  This is likely the most efficient way to Notting Hill Gate, as we were able to take the Central Line directly to that station in less than fifteen minutes. The walk down Tottenham Court Road felt much like a normal, bustling, city street. Other than the presence of the Dominion Theatre right next to the Underground stop, nothing about the walk was distinctively “London.” However, once we entered the station we began to see much more of the cultural hodgepodge London society. A highlight was the sight of a couple making out on the train across from two women in burkas. The fact that such alarmingly different cultures could exist in the same car of the same train rang true with much of our summer reading about London.

Once we arrived at Notting Hill Gate, we found an abundance of ethnic restaurants lining the street. While we thought such different eateries would imply a diverse population, we found the exact opposite to be true. The area was filled with almost entirely white, apparently upper-class, by-passers. With a few dramatic exceptions, we found the area to be quite upscale, with immaculately designed townhomes and expensive restaurants and shops.

The station is named Notting Hill Gate because it is located on Notting Hill, which historically was the home to several toll gates.  The station is here because of both commercial and residential appeal of Notting Hill Gate.  People would travel to Notting Hill Gate because the area is almost a perfect living example of the hodgepodge of London’s cultural identity.  The streets have a variety of ethnic restaurants – there’s a tapas bar next to a dim sum restaurant, which is across the street from a kabob restaurant – as well as a selection of oddities and clothing shops.  There is no rhyme or reason to this area; Notting Hill Gate is a collection of interests from a variety of different cultures.  There is also a residential aspect, which ranges from growing upper middle class town houses to large flat buildings for people living paycheck to pay check.  It is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

At our site we found a giant elephant statue.  It was a large metal elephant that was more air than substance – it was made of thin wires that intersected each other in a flowy pattern with a fan where an eye would be.  It was located outside of the Newcombe House on Notting Hill Gate.  The elephant is one in a series all over London to raise awareness about the upcoming Elephant Parade Event, which raises money for elephants world-wide.  The upcoming parade is not new but this is the first year it will be held in London.  As far as we saw no one took notice of the statue.

In an attempt to find out where the Notting Hill Carnival, an upcoming event, would be taking place, we decided to follow some signs that directed us to the point of the future festivities. Unfortunately, the signs quickly disappeared, and were (apparently) replaced with blue arrow signs attached to several poles up and down the street. As we began the trek down the roads where the signs were, we came across even more signs of affluence. There were gourmet shops, fishmarkets, and even a tailor shop packed with sewing machines. This was all quite fascinating, but at this point we had walked about 25 minutes and had not found the site of the carnival (so we thought). So we decided to make our way to the nearest Underground station. After some help from a woman on the street (Who introduced herself via weather-speak), and some more aimless wandering, we finally located the Ladbroke Grove Underground Station. At this point, we were exhausted. Luckily we were able to catch the Hammersmith & City line all the way back to the Euston Square Station, which was only a few blocks from the hotel. This trip took about half an hour, which combined with our forty minute hike through the streets of Notting Hill, was not quite as quick as our other route. Also, the train became packed at the Baker Street exit with mostly businessman making their way home. By the way, the carnival takes place on several of the streets of the Notting Hill area, so we did find it… a couple of times.

More information about the Notting Hill Carnival at: http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/