The title of this post is not alas a reference to the weather but a recollection of the glorious (if somewhat damp) weekend I have just spent in a field near Exeter. The bands were all great but special awards for aceness go to three daft monkeys for continuing greatness, Idlewild for being my favourite band ever (still can't believe I cried upon seeing them) and the Levellers for a great acoustic set on the Friday and coming up with the idea in the first place.
I set off for Auntie Sandys house on Thursday night after sharing the last supper with Mel (she was doing pie and needed some mash so we dug up the potatoes we'd planted and eurika there were potatoes :-) I was actually really scared that there was going to be a great big heap of nothingness but fortunately I was proved wrong. Off to Oxford on the quick bus and a whole evening of the mighty Boosh, red wine and musings on how easy it would actually be to knit a three person jumper a la old Greg, I think it would be pretty easy so when I've got some knitting time I may try (and then wrestle Fi into it so we can be the folk band in a jumper).
We set of for Beautiful Days early on the Friday Morning it was a fairly uneventful journey except for the fact that we passed Stonehenge, which is always nice to see. We met Fi & Nick at a Tescos and travelled in transit to the site. There was lots of putting up of tents and a bit of a rush to get down to the Levellers Acoustic but we made it and enjoyed the sunshine and the beer (its called Beautiful Daze and is made by the otter brewery especially for the festival) for the rest of the day (unfortunately the weather was not the sign of things to come). We walked up to the Bimble inn which this year had a clothes stall with it (from which I obtained the most amazing vintage velvet Jacket, a birthday pressie from Auntie Sandy, its lovely) and then back to the big top for Seth Lakeman. He was the last person of the night I saw having gone to bed quite early, still being quite tired from the week, but he was pretty good. Everyone else stayed up to watch Squeeze and I was later informed that Seth had frequented the Tiny Tea Tent earlier on in the day (we didn't manage to get there during the festival at all because of the mud). My sources however report that Seth was drinking tea with milk, they aren't sure about sugar and had no cake, clearly there is something quite wrong with this man...
Saturday bright and early I feel great having regained sleep and having no hangover, but alas its straight into the nearest van as its raining like its never rained ever before, we look out of the van wistfully at the fields, it keeps raining. We open the first beer of the day. Finally we decide enough is enough, its not going to stop raining we need to make a run for it. Layers on & out of the van only to catch Turin Breaks beige-ing it up like never before. Consolation comes however in the form of the Excellent Salsa Celtica (do they Samba round their houses one wonders?) and we return happy but drenched to the campsite.
Sunday, or, as I like to call it Idlewild day was upon us. I wake up in an incredible mood, just rally happy, the weather starts off dryish but by midday its raining again. All the rest of the gang are stragely not bothered by Idlewild's scotiish awesomeness so I trek through feet of Mud to reach the front on my own. Our friend Chris who is a prof photographer spots me at the front but as soon as Idlewild come on I start crying, human emotions are funny things. Idlewild are as usual brilliant and I vow to get one of their t-shirts I lent to the ex back. Then after Idlewild the long long wait till the Levellers, a wait comprised of hours and mud and more rain. When the Levs do play we get no fireworks cause of the rain and we are soaking. Back to the tent and then sleep and my feet were literally freezing and that's how I think I got this cold. One of these days I will go to a Beautiful Days that has nice weather. Still it was a great weekend and this weekend its Towersey, yey!
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