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.