The Times (London)

By Frankie Edozien.

Masquerade troupes and steel bands paraded through the streets of Notting Hill in a profusion of colour and soca rhythms yesterday, despite heavy showers.

Officers had arrested only nine people for drunkenness and theft as the first day of the annual Notting Hill Carnival danced its way towards a peaceful close. Inspector Michelle Collins of the Metropolitan Police said: “It’s going great so far.” The Metropolitan Police had feared a repeat of the violence seen at last year’s carnival, when two people were murdered and 19 people were stabbed.

The operation to police Europe’s largest street festival was in evidence as 250,000 people participated in the children’s parade, which is traditionally held the Sunday before the carnival proper. Officers were seen dancing behind some carnival floats, while colleagues on horseback and in squad cars were posted on street corners along the parade route. This year’s police operation, involving 10,000 policemen and women, is costing Pounds 4 million.

Detectives hoped to have thwarted violence when in the days preceding the carnival they arrested almost 20 people thought likely to cause trouble at the event.

Neither the heavy police presence nor the grey skies and rain showers could dampen spirits on the streets yesterday. “It’s fantastic -I love it,” said Lisa Sajbdas, a first-timer. “I’m from Glasgow so I’m used to the rain but this is great,” she said as she danced without an umbrella.

David Armstrong, from Cambridge, who was swaying to the soca beats with his baby grandson Darnell, said: “I’ve been coming for three years to kids’ day and it’s better every time. I think the costumes are better than last year.”Weather forecasters said that carnivalgoers could expect a let-up in the rain today.

The Times (London)

By Frankie Edozien

THE Internet has spawned a host of new celebrities, but few more esoteric than Bertie the sugar beet, which receives dozens of e-mails a day.

Bertie, which now spans 20 inches, is being grown at a Suffolk farm where a webcam has been trained on it since it was planted in April. The website has an international following. Fans of Bertie, an acronym for Beet Report to Interested Enthusiasts, have followed its life from seedling through an adolescent phase -it stopped growing -to its current battle with sapsucking aphids.

Bertie was originally designed as part of a weekly Internet information bulletin from the Broom’s Barn Experimental Station at Higham, near Bury St Edmunds, but it became so popular after being featured on the farm’s website that a separate site was set up. Dr Alan Dewar keeps a diary of its progress. He said that Bertie’s fans were worldwide.

“It is as if Bertie knows that he has superstar status because he is coming on in leaps and bounds. He is all green and healthy, but neighbouring plants have been attacked by a virus that turns the leaves yellow. Bertie is a real star,” Dr Dewar added.

Fans have worried over the aphids that carry the growth-stunting yellow virus lurking in his foliage and noticed spiders, larvae, and flies. Bertie’s stardom will, however, be short lived. It will be harvested in October by hand and that too will be on camera.

“I am sorry to say that it won’t be a terribly pleasant end for Bertie. He will be sliced up and then boiled to extract the sugar inside him which will eventually end up on supermarket shelves,” Dr Dewar said. Fans can click on www.bertiethebeet.co.uk