This year we celebrate our 56 years in Carnival. The origins date back to 1968 when the Unigate Carnival Club was formed under the guidance of Glad Parsons, Bill Baker and various other Unigate employees. Our first entry was Valhalla, Hall of Dead Heroes. It was a small affair, certainly by today's standards, with it's 4 Kva generator and all completed with a budget of £36. To the delight of the ten members it picked up third place in the local class at Wells carnival. As the years passed, so the number of Unigate employees in the club diminished. Against this background it was deemed unreasonable for so many non-employees to be on the Unigate site and the club agreed to move. Cyril and Eve Hunt, licensees of the Globe Inn, offered a home and in 1975 the club became "The Globe Inn Carnival Club". In 1980 the club moved from the Globe Inn, setting up its headquarters at the "Little Theatre" and changed its name to "The Globe Carnival Club".

 

In 1980 "Guardians of Shangri-La" caught the eye of the organisers of London's "Easter Parade". During April 1981 The Globe Carnival Club travelled to the capital, complete with a police escort, to take part in the famous parade. It was a trip not without incident as motorists reported a Giant Panda flying over the M4 motorway. One of the eleven fibre-glass models had disconnected and landed on the eastbound carriageway. Imagine the surprise of the fellow motorists, but their luck was in and no damage was done and the panda survived. It was the only float selected from the Mendip area and so it was with some pride that the members took part. Two coach loads of them and their supporters had gone up for the big day. This was not the last trip to the capital they were invited and attended subsequent "Easter Parades" in 1984, 1985 and 1991.

 

1984 was something of a landmark year with "Stand and Deliver" achieving top place results around most of the county. Indeed the club were runners up for the County Cup. The idea was based on the life of highwaymen and included an outstanding reproduction stage coach. Much credit was due to members Steve Davey, Mike Rahn and Ian Hemmings who painstakingly built it to meticulous detail.

 

A new millennium and In 2001, it just got better. "Automaton" was to take two firsts and two seconds. In our home carnival of Wells, it was almost a clean sweep of the trophies and a proud day for club captain Mark Andrews: best artwork; best dance routine; best costume; best local feature and the year didn't end there. With a royal visit to Wells, celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, the club was chosen to represent carnival. The Club success continues, in 2006 "Race Night" and in 2007 "Circus on Parade" as well as picking up a host of trophies they also challenged for the prestigious County Cup and received a placing.

 

Carnival is not just about the period leading up to the November carnivals the club are already planning for their 2024 entry. Fund raising is all year round, The Globe Carnival Club has a fully trained team of event stewards who assist at many of the west countries major annual events including The Glastonbury Festival, Bath & West Show, and the Mid-Somerset Show to name just  a few. We were also employed for four weeks on location in and around Wells helping behind the scenes during the filming of "Hot Fuzz". They even got a mention on the list of credits at the end of the film! High praise indeed. The clubs carts are built in Wells and we are now based at the Wells City Football Club in Wells.