Sadly we have seen the last Carnival to take place in Canterbury this year, and it does not look good for Whitstable for the coming years.
Now this is not down to a lack of commitment from the organisers, nor a lack of support from local organisations and businesses, but rather down to red-tape and legislation governing public events.
Most of the floats that had young children or princesses on-board now for safety reasons; have to enclose the float in wire or plastic mesh to help protect the occupants from flying missiles! How the hell can we encourage people to act as targets for the mindless few? Gone are the days when the local riding stables dresses up in cowboy and indian outfits and paraded alongside floats from most of the local businesses and pubs.
We had the people riding the impossible bicycle, most of the local clubs had some sort of presence, even if it was only dressing up and walking along with the parade.
People still turn up in their thousands to watch, but from most peoples lips you hear complaints that each year it gets worse. But for those that make the effort; and don’t become a target for the morons with loose change to fling, it is still a great event.
Maybe we should ban the throwing of money, revert back to a majority of hand drawn floats and individual entries!
Whatever the organisers decide, they will have to act soon or face the fact that Carnivals are disappearing, and ours will follow soon, and that will be very sad for the town and local charities and groups that benefit financially each year.
The good old days have not gone. We let them disappear.
