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I love St Pauls Carnival. It’s hours of fun.Ìý

In truth, despite appearances, I’m not particularly a party animal. I’m last on the dance floor at family events and I’m quite happy to watch others have fun. But something about July, St Pauls, music, drumming, the Â鶹ԼÅÄ and sunshine… feels so right. I see it as the Â鶹ԼÅÄ at its best. Fun, exciting, inclusive ... with a place for everyone.

It wasn’t always like this. When I arrived in Bristol there was an air of suspicion around our coverage of the carnival. This was surprising to me, because I was pretty familiar with the Birmingham and Leeds carnivals, which were colourful, fun, whole community affairs.

As with all these things it comes down to contacts and relationships. And I have to say that the first move was made by the carnival committee who came to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ and asked me as the new editor for a break and ‘fair coverage’ of the event. I said that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ could be relied upon for balanced and fair reporting and that I actually thought carnival could and should be brilliant. If there were tough stories to be done, we’d do them, but we weren’t setting out to paint the carnival as some crime-ridden free for all in a no go area of Bristol. So we struck a deal and have a partnership that looks at ways we can work jointly all year round. And it has worked... spectacularly.

The St Pauls Carnival has grown from being a small African and Caribbean fiesta of 39,000 people in 2006; to a major Bristol event of over 100,000 people annually! Due in no small part to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ, with local radio, regional television and Â鶹ԼÅÄ Outreach all playing significant roles.

I smile when I hear us speaking internally of ‘hard to reach’ groups. And then I think of the St Pauls Carnival and the Â鶹ԼÅÄ quite easily touching thousands of its licence fee payers in a fun imaginative way. We ‘tri-cast ‘ the event with the community radio stations BCFM and Ujima Radio who have an amazing ‘one love’ attitude, the strap for their joint breakfast show.

Part of my ritual at the event is to treat myself to some coconut water freshly cut from a young plant; and to follow that up with a Jamaican pattie (even though my folks are from St Kitts!); and then to finish it all off with some raw sugar cane… which feels wonderfully decadent.

I also try to walk the parade route every year and love seeing the range of people enjoying themselves and probably coming into contact with others that they wouldn’t ordinarily think about or meet. I confess to feeling a warm glow inside that I play a small part in making all of this happen.

And then I feel myself swaying and dancing with the samba beats and the reggae music. And the opportunity presents itself to have my picture taken with some gloriously costumed women… and men. And for a moment, I forget, that I am actually working.

Tim Pemberton is Managing Editor, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio Bristol

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