Cape Town Minstrel Carnival...

Also known to Capetonians as The Coon Carnival or Kaapse Klopse, but there's a bit of a debate around whether or not these names are politically correct. It's an event that takes place from 1 January, with a march through the streets of the city on 2 January. This year, however, the 2nd was a Friday and since most of the minstrels are Muslim, it meant that mosque too preference and they marched instead on the 3rd. True to form, they ran extremely late - they were supposed to start marching at 10:30, then it moved to 11:30 and eventually the first two groups came through at 12:15. There was a long interruption (a Muslim funeral procession) that delayed things by another couple of hours and the main march began at 1:30ish. Needless to say, by that stage we were sick of standing in the burning heat and were all desperate to get home to our pool. I haven't been to see the minstrels in quite a few years and was surprised to see that the streets are now closed off and railings are put in place. The minstrels no longer ask for money with their hats and umbrellas and they have it all arranged that the various groups don't overlap with one another (ie - there are breaks between each group). In essence, it was still the same as years ago with lots of bright colours, friendly (often drunken) faces and loud music that can only be described as Capetonian...

This is the trophy up for grabs. All the groups traditionally head down to a local stadium and compete for this before various judges. I have no idea who won it this year...

The men take advantage of the situation and many enjoy cross-dressing. I kid you not: this is a man!

They start marching as soon as they can walk. I was surprised to see how many people were carrying tiny babies in team colours. And I can't imagine how hot these kids were by the time they reached us...

Here's one of the babies. This guy was in a wheel chair too. Nothing stops them from taking part! And for some, the heat just got too much... Jake was really good, considering the weather. He loved the music and costumes. What a sport... A new bunch to join in the parade, was an African group. Not typical, but it was fun to see none-the-less. I felt really sorry for them, especially the kids - many of them were marching through the hot streets barefoot... I was very surprised to see that the various groups had choreographed dances to perform along the way, it was really good... And always, always, they have whistles and umbrellas, which bob up and down in time to the music... Nobody has rhythm like these kids have... This little boy was too tired to walk another step and his 'big' sister had to step in and help... These were men too... And this guy just wouldn't stop playing. He was one of the drunk ones... We left before the show had come to an end (they were expected to march on until nearly midnight), crossing over Wale Street on the way down to our car. I snapped this as I was being rushed across the street by a police man...