When will Midsomer Norton be able to join the big towns with a BIG carnival as part of the Somerset circuit - that was the question from councillors who heard an appeal from the carnival about supporting next year's event.

The carnival is not a member of the County Carnival Association due to decades past row with them, and now it is not allowed to rejoin councillors were told.

" Politics, personal issues, " admitted the carnival organiser who came to give an update to the Town Council, and appeal for funds for next year.

" We have to secure enough votes to get back in... we are in a good place, with lots of carts, but we can invite more." However he added that some clubs turned down invites,

fearful that their carts, some of which are 50 years old, could be damaged on their way to Midsomer Norton, and thereby risk not being able to go to the bigger carnivals such as Shepton Mallet or Wells.

" We tend to attract smaller clubs, " he admitted, " But if another town folds, and money is tight all over, we would be in with a chance of getting Midsomer Norton back in."

The carnival reported that this year's event collected a total of £6,486.79 of which forty per cent is given back to good causes, while the biggest single expenditure of the committee was to pay B&NES £3,5000 for the road closures, and the traffic light removals in order to let the parade get into the High Street.

Although the final costs were yet to be fully accounted for, the Midsomer Norton carnival committee was expecting to make a final loss of around £2,000, from the event on November 13.

But if that took some of the dazzle off the report, a clearly thrilled carnival boss told the meeting on December 4, they were in the 'best place' in recent history. " We have great volunteers, full of enthusiasm, of all ages, our youngest member is just 25."