Girls in costume resting at the side of the street during the Notting Hill Carnival children's parade, Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by Cristiano Betta

Today is the August Bank Holiday in the United Kingdom, which means sunny weather, fun outdoors — and Notting Hill Carnival, the largest Caribbean-style carnival in Europe and one of the largest summer festivals anywhere. (In 2006, up to a million people may have participated, either as masqueraders or as spectators.)

Since 1965, the west London neighbourhood of Notting Hill has been home to this event, which is based on the traditions of various Caribbean carnivals (especially Trinidad's), but has also been influenced by festivals and music from the many parts of the world to which today's Londoners trace their heritage. Costumed masqueraders dance along a three-mile parade route to the throb of music from sound systems and live bands, while hundreds of thousands look on, enjoying the spectacle and the food prepared by streetside vendors (looks like you can even get an ice-cold coconut). The carnival now extends over two days, with children's bands parading on the Sunday before the Bank Holiday and adults on the holiday itself.

Meanwhile, hundreds of photographers, pros and amateurs, capture the colour and energy of the revelry, and some of them even post their images online where we can all enjoy them. Here is a selection of photos from this year's Notting Hill Carnival posted on Flickr.

As in J'Ouvert, the pre-dawn event that opens many Caribbean carnivals, these masqueraders have covered themselves in mud; Notting Hill Carnival, Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by Robert P. Byrne. (See more of his Notting Hill photos here.)

Children in costume — the girl at left has her whistle to keep time with the music; Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by virgorama. (See her full Notting Hill photoset here.)

Looking down the parade route on Ladbroke Grove; Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by london emigre. (See his Notting Hill photoset here.)

Basking in the sun — or in the glow of her own costume? Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by sallylondon. (See her Notting Hill photoset here.)

The Trinidadian influence may be strongest in Notting Hill Carnival, but the festival has always been celebrated by Londoners with roots in many other Caribbean territories. This woman dances with the national flag of St. Kitts and Nevis; Sunday 26 August, 2007. Photo by virgorama. Masqueraders with the flags of other Caribbean countries: Guyanese, photographed by Tim Fearn; a Trinidadian woman, photographed by Cristiano Betta; a Grenadian, photographed by P*E*T*A.

The Dame Lorraine is a traditional burlesque character in Trinidad Carnival. This Notting Hill version looks comfortable in decorated Crocs. Monday 27 August, 2007. Photo by Cristiano Betta. (See more of his Notting Hill photos here.)

A treat for the eyes and the ears: a costumed drum band livelies things up; Monday 27 August, 2007. Photo by margaritanitz. (See more of her Notting Hill photos here.)

Notting Hill Carnival was long known as a Caribbean festival, but today Londoners from many cultural backgrounds participate. These dancers are costumed in Chinese dresses, complete with fans; Monday 27 August, 2007. Photo by Cristiano Betta.

Those masks, those powdered wigs, those feathers? Venetian, Caribbean, Aztec? No, it's just Notting Hill; Monday 27 August, 2007. Photo by Cristiano Betta.

For more photos by these and other photographers, see Flickr's Notting Hill Carnival 2007 pool.

The West Indies were once the cricketing giants of the world. In the '70s and '80s they were easily the most dynamic and certainly the most feared team of its day. Fast bowlers like Michael Holding (aka Whispering Death) made opponents shudder in the crease; a barrage of batting stars (Lloyd, Kanhai, Greenidge, Richards, Haynes and Richardson) routinely piled on the runs with seemingly effortless strokes of the bat.

But from the early '90s, West Indian dominance of the game began to decline. There were fewer victories to celebrate, fewer exceptional demonstrations of the brilliance to which West Indian fans had become so accustomed - and when there were bright spots, they were usually courtesy of Brian Charles Lara. Cricinfo.com summed it up in an article by Rahul Bhattacharya, entitled The Last King of Trinidad: “Lara batted with sensual beauty and gluttonous appetite. To watch him move into position was to already understand the possibilities of this game. To study his figures was to marvel the scope of his conception. He made the most runs in an over, an innings, a career. Anything anyone did he did bigger. Can you imagine someone making five hundred runs at one shot?”

For just about a decade, sports journalists have suggested possible reasons for the Windies' fall from grace, which has culminated in the team's poor showing (under Lara's captaincy) at the 2007 International Cricket Council World Cup being held on home turf - the Caribbean. The tournament has seen some low points, not the least of which has been Lara's announcement of his retirement from the sport - and bloggers Caribbean-wide are talking about it.

Caribbean Free Radio put Lara's retirement in perspective by quoting from a piece she had written “at the end of 2004, a few months before Brian Lara wrested his world record back from Matthew Hayden”:

“It’s difficult. . . to recall a time when Brian Lara was not the man of the moment. Since April 1994, when he scored 375 runs in the fourth Test against England in Antigua, breaking Sir Garry Sobers’s 36-year-old record for the greatest number of runs scored in a single innings in Test cricket, he’s carried the future of West Indies cricket on his shoulders. (Less than two months later he scored 501 for Warwickshire, his English county team, the highest score in a single innings in the history of first-class cricket.)

The burden has only become heavier with time. Having entered the senior team just as West Indies cricket was beginning its long descent from the heights of greatness, he spent his early days witnessing the departure of the old guard. By the time Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose (the last remaining members of the West Indies’ legendary pace bowling attack) departed, Lara found himself the sole repository of the people’s hopes of victory.”

Young Jamaican blogger Leon Robinson asked the question:

“I wonder what's going to happen to the West Indies team. Lara was the superstar of the team, drawing crowds and cheers. But now that he's announced his retirement, and given the massive failure of the Windies, will anyone watch them play now?”

In looking back on Lara's outstanding career, The Life and Times of Michmac worried about succession…

“He has achieved; there can be no question about that…This upcoming England tour has certainly been dealt a blow. You could say all that you want about him, but there are still thousands of people in this world who would pay any money to see him bat…Such was his hold over the game, the fans, the people. He has relinquished his dominance and the mantle must be passed…. but to whom?”

…while West Indies Cricket Blog

“felt a pang of sadness when the inevitable happened. We all knew this day was coming soon but there’s this uncomfortable feeling that this is a forced retirement, driven by the ugly things that continue to drive West Indies cricket deeper into the ground. He, like all the others before him, didn’t deserve the ridicule and abuse. And he most certainly didn’t deserve to go out like this.”

The Manicou Report has never known cricket without Lara:

“It's because of Lara that the numbers 277, 375, 400 and 501 bring me immense pride. News of his retirement hit me like an unexpected death. Now that he has retired, I feel abandoned. It's almost like I was led into a great, big forest and left for dead. Of course through Lara I have gained a great respect for the game and an admiration for other players, but I was brought to this place by Lara and it's kind of hard trying to imagine staying here without the man.”

Blogger Dre, at Allyuh.com, posted a concise “Retirement Roundup” by linking to various media articles about Lara's decision, adding a personal touch by saying:

“Brian Charles Lara has ended his international career and thus brings to an end my personal viewing of West Indies cricket for a while…I now have to look for another passionate or brilliant West Indies cricketer to follow.”

And Jonathan Ali, in response to Lara's “Did I entertain?” question, simply answered:

“Yes, Brian, you did. Thank you.”