Carnival Cleanup

I had to run out early yesterday morning to buy milk, because our milk annoyingly went sour over the two-day period we were gone -- even though it was not yet past its expiration date. Argh! Why does that happen?

Anyway, the errand gave me a chance to walk through the neighborhood as it cleaned up after the Notting Hill Carnival. Above is one of our favorite local pubs, Portobello Gold, with two guys dismantling what looks like an outdoor bar erected for the festival.

Many of the antique shops on Portobello Road were still boarded up tight. All in all, though, I think fewer stores put up plywood this year -- maybe because we didn't have the ugly memory of recent rioting, as we did last year.

The streets had been mostly swept -- and some were being power-washed. But there were still lots of stray cans and bottles lying around. Red Stripe predominated, not surprising for a Caribbean-themed carnival.

The Spice Shop apparently turned temporarily into a Rum Shack. (Surely that's not a pint of pure rum for £5?)

This normally swanky restaurant about a block from us also saw opportunity in the crowds, putting up an outdoor bar and dispensing rum punch and other drinks. (And charging £2 for toilet access, according to the sign.)

The remains of some enterprising individual's fast food stand on Ladbroke Grove. So much entrepreneurism at the Notting Hill Carnival!

Time to get out the ladders and take down the plywood! (And thank goodness for dark shadows...because in that last shot, the moon was out, if you know what I mean.)