The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Remembering Live 8

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It’s 19 years since what turned out (to me) to be a very disappointing and incredibly long day. Although it was to be Pink Floyd’s last gig I came away exhausted and a bit cross that it was all such a major faff. The food & drink were super expensive and the music on the day was meh, at best! The only thing I can’t moan about though was that the tickets were free as I won them in the national raffle – the only way to get them at the time (unless you were friends with any of the bands) which I’m not. I can’t think of a single band who were worth watching and it was a varied and popular mix of old and new artists. No alcohol was allowed in so the only drink was over-priced soft drinks and I hardly smelt any dope wafting around, it was like an over cultured Glastonbury minus the fun. A huge cordon around the main stage kept the hoi-polloi at bay – but I noticed THEY had booze in their special circle, bastards! Did anyone here go? Was it really as » Continue Reading.

End of the Road 2023

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Last weekend we headed off for our first festival of the summer, attending the rather lovely Stowaway festival. It was our second year at the festival and it’s vibe is mainly ‘old cheesy quavers’ who have married, had kids and now have a nice job in marketing, but want to go out and cut some shapes like it’s 1996! Most of the line up were DJs rather than live acts and I quite enjoyed being at a festival where there wasn’t too much on the line up that I wanted to see (I did really enjoy Frenic, Waldo’s Dream and the Easy Star All Stars live, plus David Rodigan’s DJ set).

No sooner have we got back, unpacked and done the laundry for one festival, the Paws family are now getting ready to pack for our second festival. We’re heading off down to Dorset and back to End of the Road.

We’ve not been to EOTR for five years, but prior to that it was pretty much an annual event for us since 2007 (Mini Paws having celebrated her first birthday and taken her first steps there). I picked up tickets back in September last year on the hunch » Continue Reading.

Primavera Madrid

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Anyone been? We fancied another festival but the 2 we fancied (Doune the Rabitt hole and Latitude) are on the same weekend as the one we have booked (Blue Dot). So, GLW had a wizzard wheez of Primavera Barcelona (and maybe some Spanish lessons for her). But I’ve got work. But (2) the same thing is on in Madrid the next week. Anyone any tips/advice/offers to run my courses for me so I can go to Barcelona?

Festivals for the over 60s

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A very quick query for you all to consider

A client of mine was talking about their “bucket list” the other day and mentioned going to a festival again. As far as I can gather, they used to go to music festivals back in the 70’s, but would like to go again “to see what they’re like now.” With this in mind, does the Massive have any recommendations for a festival next year for someone in their late 60s? We’ve only been to End of the Road in the past few years (which seems nice enough) and I wonder if the Larmer Tree Festival would be a winner (as it’s on the same site, but seems less hipster).

I’d be grateful for any ideas or suggestions (as will my client).

Journeys of Meaning

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On Friday morning at 8 o’clock, I will set off at a laden-Landrover-defined speed of around 40 mph for Shrewsbury. I know exactly how long it will take, just under 2 hours, as I make the same journey on the same Friday each year. SatNav? SchmatNav! I don’t even need one of my much loved maps. The route is hardwired. The litany of Marcher placenames is entirely reassuring : Wimboldsley, Sound, Burleydam, Edstaston, Preston Gubbals. At Bomere Heath, I am almost there. No matter the names on the fingerposts, I am familiar enough with the hedgerows to home my way there.

Making the same journey at the same time each year brings other associations: the angle of morning sun, the likelihood of mist and dew on the meadows, the songbirds mustering voice for their last autumn hurrah after the lull of summer. Indeed, until I started doing Shrewsbury, I never realised just how autumnal is the August Bank Holiday weekend.

I could go by a different route, but I never will now. It would be almost blasphemous. It is fair to say that I order my world in geographical terms. So I can appreciate how set paths were used » Continue Reading.

ATM: Family tents

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Hello. Having done a minimal amount of camping in my life, I’m now in the market for a family tent. There are models we’ve viewed online called the Vango Stanford 800 or the Coleman Coastline Deluxe which seem to be what we’re looking for. Do these names mean anything to anyone? I don’t know who are the good tent brands. Any knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks.

Kendal Calling 30th July 2015

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Line up looks pretty reasonable at £135- Elbow, Snoop Dogg, Kaiser Chiefs, James, Billy Bragg, British Sea Power… We went in 2012 and it was very good apart from missing Roddy Frame, and it being bleeding freezing (they don’t mention quite how high up it is, which is nice until you are trying to sleep in a tent and the wind is whistling).

Ok, no real reason for posting this apart from – “You are back!”. Thanks. Missed it.