I've lived in London for over 25 years and never been to the Carnival before. The size of the crowds has always been a little off-putting. When I heard that Carnival of Souls were playing a few numbers in Talbolt road and the weather was fine I thought it was about time I visited the festival.

It was enormously busy, as you can see in the picture of Ladbroke Grove above; mostly I managed to keep away from the really packed areas. At this sort of event it was no surprise that CoS played around an hour later than they expected, but it was all good fun and the crowds generally friendly.

My lasting impression is of the sheer scale of the event the streets are packed for, literally, miles; and the queues for the toilets are, rather less literally, miles.

A sticky evening in Kensal Green. The upstairs room is packed with excited fans and manic dancing. Carnival of Souls play early (too early for some). Their exuberent set is ideally suited to the venue and the reaction of the crowd is rather different to the trendy venues in hoxton or the west end. Here the whole crowd seems to be the bands' friends which brings an added warmth to the gig (although it was pretty hot already on this April night in London).