Belinda Bennett provides a round-up of South West illuminated carnivals
"DON'T speak to me like that!" The response I got when I told a group of around 12 street peddlers to move to the side of the road at Honiton and District Carnival. The peddlers were directly in front of Honiton's two fire engines, encouraging children into the middle of the road as the carnival procession approached. What if a fire engine had to race off to an emergency? I counted a total of almost 20 of these peddlers in Honiton last Saturday night. How many were genuine holders of a peddler's license, I don't know. What I do know is that they are the parasites of carnival and need to be regulated. They make no contribution towards the event, unlike burger vans, and, judging by the response I got from them, have no desire to carnival safe either. I don't think it's something individual carnival committees can tackle alone. It needs to be discussed at circuit level.
"DON'T speak to me like that!" The response I got when I told a group of around 12 street peddlers to move to the side of the road at Honiton and District Carnival.
The peddlers were directly in front of Honiton's two fire engines, encouraging children into the middle of the road as the carnival procession approached.
What if a fire engine had to race off to an emergency?
I counted a total of almost 20 of these peddlers in Honiton last Saturday night.
How many were genuine holders of a peddler's license, I don't know.
What I do know is that they are the parasites of carnival and need to be regulated.
They make no contribution towards the event, unlike burger vans, and, judging by the response I got from them, have no desire to carnival safe either.
I don't think it's something individual carnival committees can tackle alone. It needs to be discussed at circuit level.