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A- THE BEGINING History of the Notting Hill Carnival This great festival began initially from the energies of black immigrants from the Caribbean, in particular, Trinidad, where the Carnival tradition is very strong, and from people living locally, who dreamed of creating a festival to bring together the people of Notting Hill, most of whom were facing racism, lack of working opportunities and poor housing conditions resulting in a general suppression of good self-esteem.. There had been racial tensions in the late 50s and black people were subjected to constant pressures. Dances were organised in halls in North London, where black people could come together freely. At the same time steel band music was being played each Sunday at the Colherene Pub in Earls Court by Trinidadians who had immigrated to this country. From this evolved the idea of inviting the steel band to take part in a street festival in Notting Hill, to encourage people, mainly children, both black and white, to come onto the streets and express themselves socially as well as artistically. This first took place in 1964 and was a huge success. Once the black people of Notting Hill heard the first tunes of the steel band, they immediately came out onto the streets expressing themselves in appreciation of the music and togetherness and reminiscing about the Carnivals back home. The opportunity to dance and perform in the streets of London free of all pressures was not to be missed. From Trinidad to London In Trinidad, during the days of slavery, black people (slaves) were forbidden to play musical instruments and wear costumes, apart from when the traditional imported European Carnival took place, six weeks before Easter. On those occasions their participation was limited to providing entertainment for their masters. It was also known that slaves wore forbidden to be in the streets after dark unless they were accompanying their masters. When the Laws were repealed and freedom from slavery was announced in 1833, the slaves took to the streets in song and dance, indulging in their culture and using their artistic skills to mimic their masters and pour scorn on the system that had had them enslaved for so long. Consequently, slaves would dress like their masters, powder their faces to look pale like their masters or make masks to resemble their masters, distorting images and features if they regarded their masters as particularly evil or ridiculous. These celebrations of freedom provided the only opportunity for black people to express their feelings about their slave masters and they quickly developed the art of costume making, creating fantastic ensembles which satirised their situation as Africans, transported to the Caribbean top become slaves. In Trinidad the tradition continued, going from strength to strength, as people from all over the island began to take part and associate themselves with Carnival, The skills of costume making, steel drumming and calypso became what is today, a huge festival of arts and culture, of which Trinidadians everywhere are justifiably proud, drawing on all aspects of their cultural heritage from Africa and Europe.