Just wondered if anyone was venturing up to the NHC this bank holiday weekend. Great weather, all the better to enjoy the amazing atmosphere and culture shared there. Not to mention the music at a nice audible volume (from space)
Some advice about dealing with an acid attack, as there have been numerous warnings about the likelihood of attacks at the carnival:
Nice positive response there
If the advice helps a attack survivor, then it’s a positive post. In an ideal London, all cultures would coexist peaceful. In real London, they sometimes don’t.
The Notting Hill Carnival is well known for violence unfortunately. Now knife attacks are being replaced by acid attacks (more than one per day on average), it’s important to be prepared, as explained in the article.
I only went the once when I lived in the area but too busy for me these days. To be honest this is my favourite weekend to be in London - everyone else seems to be elsewhere so the streets are quiet. Went for a little bike ride as my wife bought an Electric Bike yesterday - picking sloes on the riverside walk, spot of gardening and out for a refreshing pint later.
Did you go?
In reality it’s a negative post about something you don’t like. Just putting some advice that has been around for months but is at the forefront of people’s minds is a great way to play something down. If someone did similar to a post you made you would be livid.
No knife crime advice,robbery advice, alcohol advice, drugs? All happens there, and all around London all day every day.
Yeah I have to admit @Foresthillnick I’m getting a little old and tired for the excitement and energy of the main part of the carnival. If I can walk a little better tomorrow I sure will be popping along to recharge.
Your plans sound better to me though I must confess. It is indeed a great time of year to make the most of however you choose. Have fun mate.
Watch out for bird poo too. Disgusting idea, birds indeed. Filthy creatures
On another note, surely this advice needs a thread of its own to help spread to the masses.
Seperate from being used to play something down, the advice is sound, and a big campaign was done based on it.
Living and working in London, this is something everyone is at risk of, and should know how to deal with.
Maybe it would be worth having a thread in Crime with all the latest threats, pieces of advice (run hide tell) etc. These are all things that happen in London and affect people daily. London Prepared has lots of campaigns to take from.
Given that no one has replied to your original question, I’m guessing advice on how to stay safe at the carnival is a moot point.
As for a wider advice thread, I’d rather not see that here, although others may disagree. Unless any one knows of a specific target in SE23, I’d rather like this forum to be a haven from such concerns.
Nick replied, sorry @Foresthillnick you are a no one now lol.
But catch 22 re the warnings. While it is nice to forget about these points that Chris raised, they are indeed valid. Hence suggesting they were to be put in Crime. The one forum that is open to discussing the less desirable topics, Inc staying safe.
To clarify - no one replied to say they were going to the carnival. I don’t think @Foresthillnick is at much risk on his meanderings today.
Do we need London-wide warnings on a SE23 forum? I can see the benefit of drawing people’s attention to the sources of information available. A closed notice board style topic would work. I can imagine an open thread on the topic needing a lot of modding, though. So, purely in my own self-interest, I’d say no!
Agreed - safety advice is important, but only in the context of SE23 (or wider, if people post about wider topics and safety advice is relevant).
Fair enough. Anyway as you say, gone a bit off topic here and no one is bothered about NHC, so feel free to close / move etc. 
Thanks Chris, always good to post information so people are prepared!
The Carnival is statistically as safe as Glastonbury so while it has a year off next year it’s probably worth reposting the advice in a couple of years for Glastonbury 2019…http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2017/08/fears-over-notting-hill-carnival-reveal-more-about-racism-reality
so we’re judging safety by the number of arrests now? 
I never attend NHC, not my manor & defo not my cup of tea
Interesting assertion.
By comparison, 40 arrests at Glasto:
Comment from police at Glasto:
Comment from police regarding the carnival:
I’ve always heard it’s an unsafe environment so have never attended NHC for that reason!
Maybe I’ve missed out, though not worried if I have - I’d rather be safe than sorry
" Statistically, the event is about as safe as Glastonbury - if not safer, judging by the number of arrests. In 2015, Glasto was praised for its low arrest rate (75 arrests for a crowd of 135,000), but in the same year carnival had ten times the capacity and fewer than ten times the offences."
I’ve been 3-4 times and it’s always felt fairly safe during the day - Sunday I think is family day normally.
The biggest issue tends to be the shear volume of people - I remember a few pinch points but most people seem to enjoy it. Other major issue always was lack of toilets!!! I’ve not been for years, if the kids wanted to go I’d take them and not worry about it bar the crowds.
I would not hang around at night though after the carnival myself.
These things always need to be taken in context - chances of anything happening to you there are slim and probably no worse than a night out in town, probably less.
I see your point. But I think the police appraisals speak volumes.
How many police officers tend to get stabbed or injured at Glasto?
I think it is one of those things you have to have been to to understand. Reading media reports, believing the stirrers out there, and the neigh sayers doesn’t post a clear picture at all.
I worked at the NHC for 6 years and neither myself or any of the people working for me were ever the victim of ANY crime.
Statistically, given the sheer volumes in one place its not dangerous. If that were the case South East London would be a killing field in comparison. But how many of us are scared to walk the streets?
I get it, this is a great time to shout down something people don’t like or don’t understand. And for a thread which has seemingly gone way off track, it seems it only remains for the sake of bashing the NHC a bit more.
As Rachael said, no one responded to the question, and as Chris said, it’s not relevant as it’s not SE23… anyhow enjoy.
Haha probably the two most off putting points for most people I know who have been. Valid reasons too.
How many have been today?
Two were last night outside that rough part of town Buckingham Palace
Fair point!
How many acid attacks have their been at Notting Hill Carnival though?
I certainly don’t think it’s acceptable that there are violent incidents at the Carnival but it’s easy to over egg it.
So last year there were 2 million people attending the NHC making it the second largest Carnival in the world after Rio.
43 police were injured, 8 hospitalised which is totally unacceptable.
Glastonbury had 0 police injuries/hospitalisation but only 135000 attendees. Quite possibly if it had 15 times the attendees then a few more bad eggs would have turned up and unfortunately caused trouble. But in a event of 2 million people, the crime rates for NHC are very very low.
Thanks @oakr for this recommendation, I might just give it a go with my kids tomorrow if they ask, though hoping they won’t as It’s my only day off
I take your points. Regarding this one:
The reason the Notting Hill Carnival organisers are nervous this year is because acid attacks have risen exponentially in London over the last few years and are now averaging more than one per day. And there have been numerous warnings on social media around planned acid attacks at the carnival this year.
Definitely not going after looking at this, maybe another year!
Very easy to gloss over the numbers and just pluck out the negative aspects with this sort of events. Another thing to note is that injuries are anything requiring a plaster upwards. Like the officers last night at Buck Pal. Injured but didn’t require hospital treatment. Openly offered statistics from the police, twisted for a good headline and scary stories.
Glad someone sees this.
And as you say, those numbers are totally unacceptable.
43 arrests so far today. 29 for drugs. Others mostly public order, drink related.
Sounds like a good reason to give it a miss. It’s not for everyone. Totally understand people not being interested, but always sad when people would want to go but are put off by the “danger”
They have been the same about knife crime for years too. But strangely even though we see more on the streets every day, this isn’t the headline grabber. The acid attacks also seem to be associated with mopeds too, would love to see someone managing a drive by on anything at NHC.
I just feel it’s all a bit OTT. Firstly Social media is a bit unreliable, if we believed everything that was said on there we’d probably never leave the house.
It’s fairly likely given that there’s more than one a day that it may happen at NHC. But given there will be at least 2 million people there then statistical that’s the reason why. The chances of an individual being involved are negligible, and even less so a member of this forum.
Again statistically you’re much more likely to be a victim to traffic accident yet we don’t post warnings about that on this forum…
If you do go another year, go early (like with anything busy) it’s nice to get there before it’s very busy and have some sugar cane - wrong for all sorts of reasons but very good!
FYI I lived in Shepherds Bush all.my.life before moving to SE London (which was viewed as more dangerous than any carnival ) and had lots of friends going every year who never had any issues. I saw one large fight once (let’s just say all participants seemed willing) and other than that the odd person on a car and people.urinating where they should not be.
I really would not avoid because of fear of crime, I just stopped going as it just was not really my thing (which you might decide also) - but go early on a Sunday or Monday and you (or your kids) will have a good time - it’s interesting to do once at least and better during good weather!
Well I might just head there tomorrow if I can talk the kids around!
Though my 14yr old has told me it would be embarrassing to hang out with his Mum there, but my 19yr old said it would be cool if we went together.
Kids eh!
Video of police attending a situation and having to break…
Taking the numbers into account, and using the number of crimes reported and dealt with in London each day. Using the figures from the custody suites which indicate some days Lewisham has 15-20 guests… With a quarter of Londons population visiting over 2 days, I would say the crime numbers are pretty low.
But garbled but hope I make sense.
Same for me really.
I thought you said it wasn’t your cuppa? Make ya mind up lol
You should go, just approach it from say Edgware Rd towards Harrow Road, you will hear and feel it long before you see it. Can see and experience a lot from Harrow Rd and surro streets, without getting into the crowds.
Did you go?
If so, I hope @Pauline and her children weren’t caught up in this: 
the Daily Star though? Love how big they have to make the text. 
A ‘mildly acidic substance’ that caused minor skin irritation according to the reports I could find (all on tabloid newspaper sites). Hopefully it proves to be no more serious than a poor attempt at a copycat crime.
Three people were treated at the scene for skin irritation, police said, but did not need hospital treatment.
Sounds serious…
I’m sure having acid thrown at you in London by a stranger, whatever the dilution, is no laughing matter. You want to downplay the violence that occurs every year at NHC (as per all of your posts on this topic), but perhaps show a little more respect and empathy to the victims?
And also those injured in the stampede that (understandably) occurred after the noxious liquid was sprayed into the crowd.
Excuse me, but at what point have I laughed at anyone or made fun of anyone. Please stop turning my posts into negatives.
Not sure what your problem is here, I simply quoted what I read and responded. I think the accusations that I am somehow mocking the victims deserves an apology.
From the moment I started this thread it feels like every attempt has been made to put the event down by Chris, with no actual interest in the event, but instead to shout it down and put people off it.
I would be grateful if @moderators could consider closing this thread to put an end to this.
I didn’t go in the end, the kids didn’t want too
Sadly it seems Chris was right to give us his advice
Indeed.
Shame the most needed advice every year falls on deaf ears… Don’t drink too much.
As the carnival is now over, it may be time to move on from this thread.
or dive too fast, or eat too much, smoke, take drugs etc etc. Life is sooooo boring.
Sadly the single indulgence takes a lot of medic, costs a lot of money (all day every day) and causes lots disruption in many ways.
Also makes the numbers of people treated by medics seem far worse, especially when those treatments are construed as assaults or injury.
Anyhow, as @RachaelDunlop says, it’s over with now. I think some of us have learned our lessons.
Please stop arguing everyone, thanks & xx
So the final numbers are in… Make of it what you will I guess.
Just thought I would end the thread with the actual numbers. Far from perfect I have to say.
As of 22:00hrs on Monday 28 August, there have been a total of 313 arrests at Notting Hill Carnival across both days (122 on Sunday and 191 thus far on Monday).
The breakdown of arrests on Monday are as follows:
12 x assault on police
1 x drink drive
5 x criminal damage
22 x public order offences
50 x offensive weapon or pointed or bladed article
5 x theft
58 x drugs offences
6 x sexual offences
5 x GBH
6 x ABH and Common assault
2 x psychoactive drugs offences
19 x other offences
0.016% were arrested of the estimated 2,000,000 in attendance (1.6 persons per 10,000)
Worth noting that reported violent crime across the capital 16-17 was 2.357% or 188,520 of the 8,000,000 residents.And drugs 0.359% 28,714
Some odd calculations and numbers being bandied around there. The BBC estimates “About a million people usually attend the carnival,” not two million - perhaps attendance has declined from years ago where it was estimated at 2M.
You cannot compare full-year crime stats with two day’s worth of crime stats. Apples and Oranges. Also can’t represent number of arrests as a proportion of people, as a person can be arrested multiple times.
lol I know you can’t compare, no one day or one event is the same, but when just using statistics, it can paint a skewed picture. Or can cast some light on the actualities of the event. When calculating the risk etc. Like I say, just posting figures and stats.
Numbers always vary widely.
Right will leave it there.
Given the massive police presence I am amazed there are any arrests. I did lol at the drink drive arrest, how stupid do you have to be to drink and drive with most of the Met right there.
Takes all sorts lol
Perhaps its the sheer size of the event, but Notting Hill Carnival seems to get an awful lot of attention when it comes to drugs and crime. Reports on number and types of arrests are easily available post event. Is there some bias against the event and the community it represents?
The bank holiday weekend also hosts South West Four, the electronica festival in Clapham yet somehow this drug-infested event gets a pass from media attention.
Then there is this…
Tweets like this imply some connection to a drug bust nowhere near the Festival. Could you imagine if this happened at the start of July?
In the run up to #LondonPrideFestival, officers have this morning seized what is believed to be a 100 kilos of uncut cocaine in #NowhereNearLondonPrideFestival
London Pride is probably the only real comparator event to Notting Hill attracting about one million participants. Where is the concern expressed concern about drugs and crime there? Where are the headline statistics?
"Nuff from me on this cause if I were reading this myself I’d be suggesting a move into the new “place with no name.”
I like this game:
In the run up to #LondonMarathon, officers have this morning seized what is believed to be a 100 kilos of uncut steroids in #Bristol
In the run up to #Wimbledon, officers have this morning seized what is believed to be a 100 kilos of uncut strawberries in #Waitrose
In the runup to #Movember police uncover 100 unused razor blades.
… in a beauty salon.
In the run up to #Easter, officers have this morning seized what is believed to be a 100 dozen of unpainted Easter eggs in battery farm in #thecountryside
In the run up to #Christmas, officers have this morning seized what is believed to be a 100 million toys illegally imported from #Lapland on a large sleigh.
I was just pondering Xmas lol
In the run up to #ChelseaFlowerShow, officers have seized 1,000 uncut tulips !
Oi! Can you all clear off to Politicos or the Lounge or somewhere else? This thread has gone waaaaaay off topic.
New flash: SE23.life moderator found at the end of her tether…
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