Luton carnival 2011

Second year we go to Luton carnival and it second year it rains on their parade. You can see the rain in some pics. Stupidly, I didn't take an umbrella out of the car, so we started moving pretty fast just as soon Acro Iris went past us, and didn't see the tail of the parade properly. It's a nice event though, rain or not.

Bridge The Gap

Arco Iris was drumming today at the finish of Bridge the Gap charity walk.

I must say that I didn't really read the walk website before we went, at least I didn't read it thoroughly. For some reason I assumed that we will be there for both start and finish, so I though - well, maybe, if the weather will be nice, I might join myself, etc. It turned out that we came to the right place (start and finish being at the same spot), but the wrong time, walk starting at 9.30 and us turning up at 11.

Anyway, if we are still here next year, I might join. It appears to be an excellent value for money, as it were (if such thing can be said about charity event) - the route goes through a few colleges, and it's great photographically, plus at least one of them is normally charging for admission. And the walk is good for you. And you have satisfaction of knowing that your money go to a good cause, of course.

And incomparable Arco Iris expects you at the finish. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that, surely.

Luton carnival

been there for the first time ever today. I must say I was really impressed. it maybe not as big and famous as Notting Hill carnival, but on the plus side - neither is it so crowded. In Notting Hill I could see exactly nothing at all, and my understanding is that this is a rule, rather then exception. Here you really can see the parade from not far

Interestingly, I only noticed the heavy-duty straps (on the first pic on lady's shouder(, for example) that are needed to hold the costumes when I started to look through the pictures.

Weather wasn't great, but well, you can't have everything

Arco Iris Samba band Haiti earthquake appeal

today Arco Iris samba band collected money for the Haiti earthquake victims. They did two standing sets around Cambridge Market square and a short procession around it.
There were three kids with collection buckets - two of them ours. People were quite astonishingly generous, and towards the end of the performance the buckets were full to overflowing. I don't yet know how much was raised, but it looked a lot.