"Ok.. how well would a black face morris side be received at Notting Hill Carnival ???"

Just because a black person sees something as racist, that doesn't mean to say that that thing is racist. I would say that those keen to be offended would object strongly. Those whose knees weren't in jerk mode would perhaps speak to the dancers or do a bit of research before making their decision. I dare say some people - and I assume you are referring to black people here, punkfolkrocker - would perhaps find it mildly racist and others not so much. Context is everything. And black people don't think collectively. No minority (or majority, for that matter) does.

My opinion on this matter is that if I were in one of the groups I would probably suggest a move to purple paint. That said I still support people whose acts and intentions aren't racist to carry on as they were doing. There is a lot of racism in this country (and in the world) these days. The bile spread by Britain First, the lack of black members in senior management groups, the rise in racial hate crimes in the aftermath of incidences such as Lee Rigby's murder, etc… etc… I'll fight until my last breath against real, nasty, deliberate racism. A group of middle-aged men putting black on their faces, and doing it as far as they are concerned in the continuation of a centuries-old tradition? I understand the unease over it, but sometimes people just have to feel uneasy about things.

For what it's worth, if my visits to the Notting Hill Carnival these days are anything to go by, I don't think a morris dancing side of any type would be particularly well received. Not least by the public school kids that increasingly populate it these days, trying to prove how edgy they are by smoking a spliff and drinking a can of Red Stripe.