bridgwater carnival 04 november 2013

DP-E01-S3

Bridgwater Carnival

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WESTERN DAILY PRESS MONDAY NOVEMBER 4 2013 BRIDGWATER CARNIVAL 3WDP-E01-S32 BRIDGWATER CARNIVAL MONDAY NOVEMBER 4 2013 WESTERN DAILY PRESS WDP-E01-S3

Colour, lightand drama –it’s carnival!BY TINA [email protected]

Wow, anarchy ruled at Bridg-water Guy Fawkes Carnival onSaturday night, with nine-times winners Gremlinsknocked off their pedestal, anda superb evocation of anarch-ists derailing an undergroundtrain capturing the spirit of thenight, if not the top points.

Thousands gathered towatch the astonishing two-mile, two-hour parade of cre-ativity, which lit the night withan 18 megawatt display in-volving 250,000 light bulbs.

The biggest illuminated car-nival in Europe may launch inBridgwater, but over the nexttwo weeks the parade willwind through the streets ofBurnham on Sea; Weston-super-Mare, North Petherton,Shepton Mallet, Wells andGlastonbury. MidsomerNorton is not in the officialcounty carnival circuit, but itwill also welcome some of thestalwar ts.

With Bridgwater’s ownGremlins Carnival Club set-

The hilarious F*rtbusters,saw Newmarket Carnival Clubof Bridgwater taking on a jobthat surely no-one else wouldwant in fine comic style. Theirdetermination won them theComic feature class. The spiritof the night was set early byM a rke t e e r s ’ terrific featureentry. The illuminated unionflag on the front of their cartparted to reveal the title, An-archy, and as the big vehicleswung past the crowd leather,chain and union flag-bedeckedanarchists raised fists to thesky as the carriages of an un-derground train,,. with wheelsspinning rocked dangerouslyout of control.

Masqueraders were, asalways, among the most in-ventive, endearing and scaryof the night’s offerings.

They included a giant slin-key dog, a skeletal tyranno-saur, a victim of the electricchair, mermaids, well-drilledmajorettes, veterans of hun-dreds of carnivals and toddlersmaking their debut.

The show moves on andMonday sees the Highbridgeand Burnham on Sea parademove off at 7.30pm. The entirecircuit ends in Glastonbury onNovember 16.

More pictures online –westerndailypress.co.uk

RESULTS

Tableau Open 1, La Barricade,Gemini CC; 2, Jeff Wayne’s Warof the Worlds, Huckyduck CC;3, Oz: The Emerald City,Pentathlon CC.Tableau Local 1, Priscilla, WillsCC; 2, House of Tudor,Centurion CC.Feature Open 1, Stampede,Masqueraders CC; 2, City ofRock, Harlequin CC; 3, HeadHunters, Globe CC.Feature Local 1, Swarm Force,Ramblers CC; 2, Xtinct,Gremlins CC; 3, Kabuki, BritishFlag CC.Comic feature 1, F*rtbusters,Newmarket CC; 2, Pirates of theCurried Beans, CaryComedians CC; 3 NuttersHealth Service, NunsfordNutters CC.Juvenile cart 1, Jitterbug Boogie,Marina Sydenham JCC; 2, Luckof the Irish, Hillview JCC;3, Caelum Infernum, SouthBrent JCC.Towing vehicle: 1, Xtinct,Gremlins CC; 2nd equal, SwarmForce, Ramblers CC and LaBarricade, Gemini CC.Best costume, mounted entriesJeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds,Huckyduck CC.Most original mounted entrySwarm Force, Ramblers CC.Best decorated generator Swar mForce, Ramblers CC. Towingvehicle and driver (local):Xtinct, Gremlins CC.Best lighting (local) Swar mForce, Ramblers CC.Most improved mounted entry

ting the standard as the topentry for the last nine years thestakes were incredibly high.But although Gremlins pro-duced a typically complex andthrilling feature cart in Xtinct,featuring skeletal tryanno-saurs and pterodactyls, theywere beaten into second placein the local feature section byRamblers Carnival Club’sSwarm Force. Ramblers pro-duced a sci-fi attack force ofgiant bees and their humand ro n e s.

The heroism and horror ofthe Paris Uprising as told inLes Miserables has wonGemini Carnival Club ofIlminster top place in theSouth Somerset carnival cir-cuit, and the downtrodden tri-umphed again with first placein the open tableau. Proof thatthe talent to create originaland spectacular themes isspread far and wide came withHuckyduck Carnival Club ofC o l e fo rd ’s realisation of JeffWay n e ’s War of the Worlds.Spider-legged silver aliens be-strode a ruined landscape, inwhich even Army cannonsgave no protection to terrifiedLondoners, and won themsecond place.

A stampede of highly real-istic bison won MasqueradersCarnival Club, of Meare, theopen feature award, whileB r i d g w at e r ’s Ramblers CCtook the local tableau withPriscilla.

Pictured above, top to bottom: End of the line by Westonzoyland CC;Avatar by Toppers CC; Stampede by Masqueraders CC PICTURES: CLARE GREEN

Voodika, Renegades CC.Championship cup, local mountedKabuki, British Flag CC.Runner-u: Swarm Force,Marketeers CC.Best local entry comic featureF*rtbusters, Newmarket CC.Best local juvenile cart J i t t e r bu gBoogie, Marina Sydenham JCC.Group of Masqueraders, adult,best local entry After a Quarterof a Century it’s becoming a Bitof a Habit, Wilfs CC.Single Masquerader, adult, bestlocal entry Fetch the Bone, Tex,Academy of Carnival.Groups of adult masqueraders1, Immortal, Motiv8 CC;2, Xtraterrestrial, Xtreme CC;3, After A Quarter of a Centuryit’s A Bit of a Habit, Wilfs CC.Groups of Masqueraders juvenile1, Somerset SapphireMajorettes; 2, Swing, ThatchersCC; 3, Oh What a Night 2,Crusaders CC.Group of masqueraders 3-51, Aurora Bore, Smandy’s CC;2, Guardians of the Pearl, Next

Generation CC; 3, Oh My Gods!,Just Peachy CC.Pairs 1, Woof, A&A CC; 2, CleanSweep, Dee Gee’s CC; 3, TheLadies of Terror Tower,Samvantra Juniors.Single masquerade, adult 1, TheArrival of Jardis, RogerMuspratt-Hamilton; 2, Fetch theBone, Rex, Academy ofCarnival; 3, Flaming Hot HotHot, Andy Tizzard.Single Masquerader, juvenile1, Winter Comes to Fairyland,Rio Welsh; 2, Astrological, AJCC; 3, King of the Fishers, IzzyW h e e l e r.Entries with Disabilities 1, TheDag Arrows, The DisabilityAction Group; 2, The Chair,Academy of Carnival.Towing vehicle 1, Xtinct,Gremlins CC; 2, Swarm Force,Ramblers CC; 3, La Barricade,Gemini CC.Vehicle driver 1, Priscilla, WillsCC; 2, Legend of the CrystalSkull, Sid Vale CC; 3, HeadHunters, Globe CC.

The number of light bulbs used inSaturday night’s carnival parade

250,000

Xtinct, by Gremlins Carnival Club of Bridgwater, main picture. Above:Legend of the Crystal Skull, by Sidvale Carnival Club. Right: Xtinct byGremlins, regular winners but second this year PICTURES: CLARE GREEN