Carnival

It's the time of year when the Carnival comes to town. If you have never seen it you really should, it's quite a spectacle, part of the world famous Bridgwater Carnival circuit. It was a cold but dry one and the two hour parade contained some amazing floats. At one point the Helloween cart was followed by one with the theme the Kingdom of Heaven (all wings and harps and Robbie Williams' Angels). That kind of thing seems to sum up Carnival, throw in some young farmers in drag dancing to the Wurzels and you get the idea.

I make it sound awful. Come and try it. It's said to be the biggest illuminated Carnival in the world and quite unlike anything I had seen before. And it comes down the end of my road so it's really easy to get to.

The pictures here are of the winners of the two main classes. The top one is a Robin Hood tableau - the class where the people on the cart have to freeze into position for the whole two hour procession and they are judged on their cart and their ability to stay stock still. The second, Joust, won the overall category and the thing that made them stand out was that the dragons on the front actaully breathed fire.

And it goes very well with a flask of mulled wine.