This was my first visit to St Pauls Carnival since the COVID-19 epidemic. I got regularly to this Afro-Caribbean street festival, mainly for the authentic jerk chicken, but also it’s a great chance to hear some good music, some proper Bristol sounds and it’s also a cheap day out and lots and lots of fun. The whole carnival costs about a £100000 to put on each year and outside of Notting Hill Carnival in London, St Pauls Carnival in Bristol is probably the biggest and most established U.K. carnival. St Paul’s is an inner city area of Bristol which is deprived and has a high ethnically diverse community. Bristol was a leading slave trade port city of the British Empire and in times past St Paul’s has been a trouble spot with riots in the 1980s. Carnival is a great opportunity to remove racial barriers, promote diversity, empower the community and in general it demonstrates St Pauls community in a very positive light, in an area where normally you can can’t wander in and wander out. So I loaded up on Red Stripe eat the Off License and hopped on the train at Severn Tunnel Junction and made the quick half hour trip to Bristol Temple Meads, in the illustrious quest for the best authentic jerk chicken on offer. Of course, nowadays it’s just silly clicky all day long where ever I go on the phone camera so here’s the day out. (Unfortunately Apple cannot reproduce the taste of a Caribbean barbecued jerk chicken yet so you’ll just have to imagine that part which I assure you was the best part of the day). I’d messaged my musician mate, Jethro Sheeran, Alonestar, I’d seen on the lineup to be on a stage at 3pm, but unfortunately Jethro’s daughter had been ill and he had had to cancel his carnival performance for this year so I shall have to wait to check out his latest stuff.
This was the start of the carnival procession itself just at where I entered St Pauls in Portland Square by Cabots Circus, the main Bristol City Centre Shopping center.
I couldn’t help but start videoing the French voodoo cries of this lot with a real haunting drum beat.
This was areal treat of a sound system. Proper housing it up and jungle. There was a subliminal records banner up. I stayed here for a bit, having a dance and it was good crowds, down a bit of a side street. I bet it went off here all through the night. One of the best locations and systems I think of the whole St Paul’s Carnival. Lovely little elevated DJ booth.
This was a nice Rasta preacher i met from Adamsdown in Cardiff. I swear I’ve met the same guy somewhere before in my travel, possibly even at St Pauls Carnival…. He was all right – we had a nice chat about Wales and what’s going down in Cardiff.
It’s 75 years since the first Windrush generation arrivals to the United Kingdom in 1948.
Malcom X Centre always attracts a decent crowd, often a young crowd and they usually have a load of the sort of Raggatek etc that the young ‘uns enjoy.
God Knows what these nutters in a van were doing but they seemed to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame on the Wez G Iphone camera, dancing around like the obvious lunatics that they are. Day release, eh?
This was some back street shortcut or whatever and it really was a cracking little sound system going off. Didn’t fancy hanging around for too long though. Back to the main strip and still looking for the jerk chicken to end all jerk chickens.
This guy was proper going for it and I wish I could have stayed a bit around here. I just randomly ended up right in front of him on stage. Bit of swearing like but a unique style of music and it was good audience. I think this was the Mandela arena where Alonestar (Jethro Sheeran) was supposed to be playing.
Say no more, after a long search I found the spot. And it was the right choice. You don’t get a jerk chicken for less than a tenner these days at St Pauls Carnival with many stalls offering it at £15 plus. This place ticked all the right boxes. Down a bit of a back street, Beautiful smelling food. A load of busy chefs in action, not much of a queue and somewhere to plonk yourself down, relax for five and enjoy your meal. Jerk Chicken, rica and peas, salad and slaw – a tenner well spent and yeah, yummy in my tummy. That was me done. Red Stripe, polished off, I started preparing for the trek back to Bristol Temple Meads and back through the tunnel to Wales. A good day out. St Pauls Carnival, delivering as ever.
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