American novels

01/10/12

I can’t get emotionally involved when England are playing ODI cricket and I haven’t found much interest in the current T20 world cup.  I expect I would have done if England had progressed but they didn’t and I suppose the end result will be a return for KP…  The test series in India will be more my thing, England will start as underdogs and going into an Ashes year I’d make Australia favourites for that right now.  We’ll see.

As usual I’ve been reading constantly and I’ve gone through a series of books by American writers.  I re-read “Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time around.  Mix drugs with a motor race, add more drugs and a DA’s narcotics convention then marinade in loads more drugs.  Manic, hilarious, mad, love it.

Norman Mailers’ “The Naked and the Dead” is billed as ‘the best war novel to come out of the United States’.  I’m not sure about that.  Set in the Philippines towards the end of World War 2 it charts the progress of a platoon of US marines through a campaign to capture an island from the Japanese.  I have mixed feelings about this book, it’s gritty and real and does not celebrate the ‘heroism’ of war but the narrative is constantly interrupted by flashbacks charting the protagonists pre-war lives.  If these flashbacks are designed to make the reader care about the characters then for me it failed and the book would have been a better read with these edited out.  Overall it’s a good enough read with some vivid descriptions of skirmishes and the author manages to convey the fears and suffering of the soldiers.

Last week I finished the classic “Catcher in the Rye” by J D Salinger.  This is the story of teenager Holden Caulfield who is from a life of privilege in New York society and has been thrown out of the state’s best schools.  Caulfield despises the world of wealth he dwells in and the story is of him undergoing some kind of mental breakdown.  The story is told in the first person but we never who he is telling his tale to.  The obvious guess is he’s talking to a counsellor of some kind.  Sorry but I didn’t find it very interesting and to me it is only a “classic” on the over-rated shelf.

Following “Skagboys”  I re-read a few of Irvine Welsh’s early books and I’ll type a bit about that another time, maybe.

Thanks Skip...

100 test matches, 7037 test runs, 21 centuries.  Captain of the most successful England cricket team in over forty years and a gentleman on and off the field.  Andrew Strauss retired yesterday and should walk away from cricket with his head held high.

I can remember him beaming with delight whilst celebrating his debut century at Lords in 2004.  That smile was on his face a lot throughout his career which has coincided with the most successful period of English cricket of my lifetime.  He was a major part of the all conquering side led by Michael Vaughan through 2004/05.  We all remember the fabulous Ashes victory, when Strauss scored two centuries but he also scored three tons in a series win in South Africa.  It was this that instilled the belief in all of us that the Ashes win was possible.

He was captain of the next great England team which made it to No. 1 in the rankings and was widely respected, a gentleman both on and off the field (with one notable exception).  I suppose personal highlights would have been fewer in this period but the 161 in an Ashes victory at Lords stands out amongst three years of team successes.  Whenever I watched him live I seemed to bring bad luck but I did see him score 55 against India in 2007 and saw part of his recent 141 against the West Indies.

He took over the team in the aftermath of a KP induced meltdown and his retirement followed another attack of the uncontrollable ego.

Enjoy your retirement Straussy and thanks!

End of summer

21/08/12

So England’s reign as world number one has come to an end. Over this series we have been thoroughly beaten by a better team. South Africa have batted, bowled and fielded better and deserve to go to number one in the world. However I still believe that had this series been played a year ago, England would have won.

This year we have been guilty of the kind of errors our opponents had been making previously, dropped catches and run outs went a long way to costing England the third test for example. It’s difficult not to wonder what the team spirit has been like with all the bollocks surrounding KP going on. I still feel shocked and disappointed by his disgusting behaviour.

What of the future? I still believe Andrew Strauss is the right man to lead the team. There is talk about his form but it seems to have been forgotten that he scored two centuries against West Indies a couple of months back. He has always handled himself with dignity and genuinely seems to be a good bloke. Overall his record stands up there with the very best, over 7000 test runs with 21 hundreds.

James Taylor came into the side at Headingly where he scored a battling 34 but in this last match he didn’t contribute. Johnny Bairstow looked out of his depth against WI, in fact at the time I wrote “Roach takes the new ball it’s a different matter.  Bell is out quickly and Bairstow comes to the wicket.  To be frank the youngster is out of his depth and Roach makes mincemeat out of him.  If he’s to have a test career he needs to learn to play the short ball”. Well Bairstow has gone away and improved scoring 95 and 51 against the best attack in the world!  I expect he’ll be a fixture in the side for many years to come.

The test summer has come to an end, next up is a tour of India but before that the ODIs.

Pride & Prejudice

The London 2012 Olympics has just finished and what a fantastic show it was!  I must confess I was completely uninterested in the whole thing until the games got under way.  Actually to be precise it was at the opening ceremony when the sound of “Going underground” by the Jam came booming out.  The opening ceremony had me feeling confused up until that point by from then on I enjoyed it.

The games themselves were great too.  I celebrated every medal won by TeamGB, no matter what the sport, even the Dressage.  What a performance from Bradley Wiggins added a gold to the Tour de France he’d won only a couple of weeks earlier!!  The middle Saturday was fantastic with the under pressure Jess Ennis winning the Gold the country demanded and winning it in style.  Then Greg Rutherford won a surprise gold in the long jump and looked like he couldn’t believe it either.  The evening was completed when Mo Farah won the 10000 metres and the sight of his wife & daughter running to greet him brought a lump to my throat.  One of my friends missed all this because he was watching second rate football on the other channel.

The undisputed king of the athletics stadium was Jamaican Usain Bolt, whenever he ran the world stopped and for the second games in a row he was unbeatable.  GB dominated the cycling, done bloody well in the rowing and equestrian events too.  Lots of medals in boxing and a few more to our sailors.  On the last Saturday Mo Farrah picked up a second gold for 5000 metres, what a star!

There was lots of talk about being “proud to be British” after all of this.  I can understand this but I don’t feel any more or less proud to be British because our TeamGB done so well.  I gained enjoyment from watching people who had worked hard and trained for the last four years, reach the pinnacle of their career in their own home Olympic games and share the experience with all of us.  I enjoyed it on a more personal level rather than the extension of “TeamGB have done well therefore I must be great too because I’m British”.  However one enjoyed it doesn’t matter though.  Our games were a success on every level, who could have predicted TeamGB finishing third on the medal table?

It is much easier to feel proud of people like Jess Ennis, Mo Farrah, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and so on than it is the overpaid footballing thugs who will be all over our TV screens again very soon.  It’s also easier to feel affection for all of our Olympic athletes than a certain mercenary cricketer who has been in the headlines lately.  The third and final test begins at Lords tomorrow and I was glad to see KP has been left out of the squad, I don’t think England had any choice even if it makes winning the test to level the series that bit harder.  Maybe the improvement in morale will give England a boost but it’s hard to see England defeating a very good South African team.  We live in hope!!

The best and worst of Kevin Pietersen

2^nd Test Headingly

Thursday morning and are we England fans looking forward to the start of play?  I was thinking …”it can’t get much worse but how much better can we play?”  First surprise of the day is the omission of Swanny even though I’m pleased to see Finn in the team.  As expected Taylor is in at no. 6 for a test debut.  Next up Strass inserted the Saffers after winning the toss…another surprise, would England make it count?  I’ve managed to find a spot for the radio at work so its TMS all the way now

In short, no.  SA were 84-1 at lunch with missed chances costing England dearly.  However the bowlers kept on plugging away and eventually got rewards, with the odd wicket falling here and there.  Amla managed to run himself out for 9 which was a great bonus but no England bowler has dismissed him yet and his series average is 320.  The second new ball sees the end of de Villiers and night-watchman Steyn just before the close but Alviro Petersen hit a ton and was unbeaten at the close.

Day two started with England bowling brilliantly but Saffer batsmen surviving.  Things were looking ominous for England now with Petersen passed 150 but just before lunch the wicket of Rudolph falls, the unlikely bowler is KP!!!  But it makes you wonder why no Swann?  The tide turns in the afternoon session, Petersen is finally out for 182, Duminy bats well with the tail but England’s bowlers keep chipping away, sharing the wickets and bowling SA out for 419.  Then it’s our turn to bat and the openers make it to the close scoring 48 runs along the way.

The third day begins with England in high hopes of batting all day but SA have other ideas.  Every time a partnership begins to form a wicket falls.  When Bell falls for 11 after playing a crap shot Taylor joins KP at the wicket with England at the precarious position of 173-4 and a new ball not far away.  Pietersen then plays an amazing innings. Of all the batsmen in world cricket only he is capable of this kind of thing.  Taylor plays well and scores 34 in support but KP dominates smashing the ball to all parts.  The shot of the day was a disdainful straight six, back over the head of bowler Steyn.  Taylor was out in the last session but KP continues and finishes the day on 149*.

Day four and England have a chance of setting up a win with KP and Prior at the crease there’s the chance of quick runs.  Second ball of the day and KP departs…oh well!  Prior bats well with the tail scoring 68, but no-one else really contributes and England finish up all out for 425.  If we can get a couple of early wickets we can put SA under pressure, we don’t and rain washes away most of the day and probably any chance of a result in this match.

Or so we thought…..  The final day began as expected, Smith and stand in opener Rudolph batted comfortably putting on a partnership of 120 before that man Kevin Pietersen took the wicket of Rudolph for the second time in the match.  A short while later KP removed Smith and a little later Amla making him the leading English wicket taker at that point in the series.  This makes the dropping of Swann seem even more ridiculous!  In the afternoon a burst of wickets from Broad saw SA fall from 182-3 to 258-9 and then Smith cheekily declared leaving England an unlikely target of 253 to win the match.  In truth this was never a realistic proposition but England maintained the pretence of going for the win by re-jigging the batting line up and opening with KP.  England appeared to be going for it for a while but after the departure of Prior, Trott and Bell dropped anchor and the match meandered to a draw.  Then the fireworks really started!!

Kevin Pietersen rightly won the man of the match award for his all-round performance but instead of concentrating on the match, the press conference was all about KP’s grievances and his threat to retire from international cricket. Having watched the video all I see is a man putting himself and his own petty problems before the good of the team.  Apparently KP is upset by a spoof twitter account mocking him and blames unknown team mates, this has been denied.  I find his behaviour in this instance a disgrace.  The dressing room must be an uncomfortable place, the team spirit must be shattered and it is hard to see how this England team can conjure up the win they need to square the series from here.  However, if indeed there is someone within the ECB leaking things to the media then they need to be named and shamed.

Since KP became a fixture of England teams in 2005 I have loved watching him bat but given his background and his history of selfish outbursts it’s hard to think of him as anything other than a mercenary.  I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong.

Stuffed

South Africa have thrashed England by an innings & 12 runs. England had the better of the first day but ever since the Saffers have been dominant and win deservedly. I travelled to the Oval for the third day with four of my favourite people and we had a really enjoyable day. The beer flowed well, the atmosphere was fantastic and some friendly saffers shared their biltong. The cricket however was just about as dull as it gets for the England supporter. Credit to the South Africans though; Smith was superb for 131 (last time I watched him play he scored 154*), Amla patient for 186 which he later converted to 311* and Kallis was Kallis. England’s bowlers seemed flat, the seamers were all down on pace and Swann didn’t look likely, he’s hardly taken a wicket all summer.





Few would have predicted such a thrashing but let’s be honest, England have been off form since the turn of the year. Defeat to Pakistan, a draw in Sri Lanka and an unimpressive win against West Indies. In this time it’s been mostly the middle order that have let us down. KP played one great, match winning innings in Sri Lanka but has contributed next to nothing either side. I’ve been a fan over the years but I’m almost out of both patience and respect. Sometimes it’s difficult to avoid questioning his commitment. Bell had a shocking winter but he’s class and I‘m sure he’ll come good. Why not play Bell at four and Peitersen at five? There’s less responsibility on KP then. England have not scored runs at number six since Colly retired & Bell moved up. Morgan never looked convincing and Bopara doesn’t look likely although he will be given this series to stake his claim. As No.6 isn’t contributing why not play the extra bowler? Finn would walk into virtually any test team in the world, although maybe not SA.







There are only two more tests in this series which is just daft. One match sacrificed to make way for an ODI series against the Aussies is insulting to the greatest game there is. Just like the 2010/11 Ashes this is a career defining series for some of the England players can they step up another level? It’s hard to see England winning the series from here and I’d certainly be happy with a drawn series but to be honest on the evidence of the Oval, South Africa look like the best team in the world right now and I expect them to win the series.

Latitude Festival epic.

Last year the lovely lady and I had a fantastic weekend at the Latitude festival so decided straight away to get tickets for 2012.  The festival took place last weekend and I think I have just about recovered from another fantastic weekend.

For us the festival started on Thursday which happened to be the lovely lady’s birthday, that and other good news meant we set off in good spirits, stopping en route for a quick bite to eat.  We expected traffic to be slow and heavy on the A12, it was.  However in the middle of the afternoon we pulled into the car park with cloudy skies above, thankfully they weren’t threatening rain, yet.  It was in the car park that we met the first character of the weekend.  One of the car park attendants was clearly taking his job far too seriously and was very loud and sarcastic when giving directions. This got him absolutely nowhere as every driver completely ignored him which added to his frustration as well as my amusement.  To his defence he was very busy as the car parks were filling up quickly.

We’d had a good look at the map and found a decent place to camp, away from the madness but close enough to amenities and not too far from the arena.  Last year we’d been in family camping but the kids were doing their own thing this time so we were expecting things to be a little less comfortable this weekend.  Anyway, we began our long walk, checked out the price of buggy hire and thought “bugger that” to the £50 deposit charge.  I know it’s a deposit but fifty quid??  So we had a long trudge with heavy kit, we just had to get on with it.  We swapped our tickets for wristbands and the staff were friendly and helpful.  The walk seemed to go on forever but there wasn’t much mud considering how much rain we’ve had lately.  We finally made our destination and pretty much pitched the tent exactly where we’d planned.

Last year we’d spent four nights cramped in a little tent which was OK but I’d decided it was worth a little investment to get a tent I could actually stand up in. This year’s model was great and kept us warm, dry and comfortable throughout the weekend. We said hello to some of our neighbours and had a sneaky look around and luckily we didn’t appear to be camped too close to any nutters nor were there any large groups of teeny boppers. I have nothing against teenagers having a mad time at a festival but I wouldn’t want to be camped next to anyone who was like me when I was a teenager. After all of that toil I absolutely needed a beer so I donned my wellies (Muck boots are great) and we wandered off to check out the arena and become familiar with the place again. Firstly we found beer, Cider for the lovely lady and the absolute best local brew for me, Adnams Southwold bitter, fantastic! After that the memory starts to deteriorate but we found the layout to be pretty much how we remembered it from last year. I’m sure we found some music and I’m positive it rained at some point. We found ourselves in the literary arena where we were entertained by Carl Donnelly who was standing in as compere and his ad lib stuff was funny. We turned in fairly early and had a decent night sleep thinking rest now, play later.

We were up fairly early on the Friday but even so, by the time we poked our heads into daylight a couple of tents had disappeared and more had been put up in their place.  I’d packed a stove, kettle and some tea making stuff so every morning began with a brew.  The campsite toilets were already covered in shit coloured mud (I hope) and were beginning to stink.  Those in family camping last year were in a different league.  We were soon wandering down to the arenas and wellies were absolute must as it had rained overnight and there were showers through the day.  The Regatta packaway jackets we’d brought were great.  They’re light, totally waterproof and breathable so no sweating.  They got a thorough testing throughout the weekend and get a big thumbs up.  We got a big breakfast roll from a place in the village which was pretty good, get some fuel in the tank early on.  Then it was through the checkpoint and into the arena again.

Now the festival proper was starting and we began seeking out entertainment along with refreshment of mind, body and soul.  I thought we began in the comedy arena but checking back it seems it was the Obelisk arena where we saw The Givers who were great.  Described in the program as ‘Ravin Cajun’, I’m not that sure about that but whatever they were doing I enjoyed it.  The band was energetic, talented and versatile, the girl singing had a good voice and we found ourselves jigging for the first time that weekend.  I think I’ll have a little look out for the Givers on Youtube sometime soon.  Next we found ourselves in the Word arena for Lloyd Cole.  I recognised a tune but it was a little too …dull for me and didn’t cause a commotion.

Our next stop was the comedy arena where we spend most of the afternoon.  We saw Shappi Khorsandi last year and she hadn’t impressed so we weren’t expecting much but this year she had a new routine and was a lot funnier.  Next up was Holly Walsh who didn’t seem very confident and didn’t make me laugh much.  “Frisky and Manish” were a big surprise doing musical send ups, much better.  Then it was Russell Kane who has never impressed me much on TV but live was both funny and clever, another nice surprise.  Kathrine Ryan was small and Canadian if I remember rightly and there were a few moments where she could have died a death on that stage.  She didn’t but only just.  Josh Widdecombe followed, I can’t remember much about him but I do remember him being pretty good.  Then it was the comedian we’d been waiting for, Mark Watson.  Last year he’d been a surprise star for of us, absolutely hilarious, topped only by Steven Hughes.  I didn’t expect him to outdo last year but he was very funny and came pretty close.  He and Russell Kane were the best comedians of the day for me.

At some point in the day I nervously braved the arena toilets for a much needed dump.  My fears were unfounded, the toilets were very clean and remained that way throughout the festival, the staff deserve medals.  There was one mishap however in the gents urinals, when a bloke slipped on the floor and hit his head against the piss filled plastic trough.  I checked and he was OK but it couldn’t have been nice. 

Time for more music.  We went to the Word arena to catch the end of Dexy’s and thoroughly enjoyed it.  A few tunes from our youth played by good musicians with the singers playing the parts of the characters in their songs.  I thought they milked “Come on Eileen” a bit and by Christ Kevin Rowland looks old but all in all a really good show.  NB.  “I came on Eileen” was one of the best Tee shirt slogans of the weekend.  Lana Del Ray came to Latitude on the back of a few hits and a pretty good album which is sitting on my shelf.  She’s a fine looking lady with a very good voice and writes good songs.  Unfortunately her performance was unprofessional, her band lacked oomph and she has very little stage presence.  I’d expected a lot from LDR but this was possibly the most disappointing performance of the weekend.

Energy was sagging so we had delicious curried goat and magic beans then went wandering in search of music that suited our mood.  Bon Iver on the Obelisk didn’t, sounded dangerously close to country music to me.  At some point in the evening the Word tent emptied while the lovely lady and I were in the toilets.  We lost each other for a time amongst a sea of people but normal service was soon resumed.  This was probably after White Lies in the Word who were much better than Bon Iver but still didn’t hit the spot.  Shortly after they finished Moshi Moshi DJ’s started up, playing some great tunes that got us dancing amongst a crowd that was mostly half our age…at least.  After a while we went in search of doughnuts and shortly afterwards it started pissing it down.  There was lively music in the Lavish Lounge but the Wolf was cancelled due to the weather.  We wound up in the I arena where DJ’s Heatwave ?were playing Dancehall music and we danced…and danced…and danced.  The killer tune was ‘Out of Space’.  A wild night finished with us crashing out, thoroughly knackered at about 0330, still buzzing too much for sleep.  Brilliant.

Saturday is a blur as we were struck down by the ailment known as “Festival head”.  We got up around 1000 after no more than four hours sleep.  I think it was dry at the time but there was evidence of heavy rain having fallen at some point in the recent past.  After the brew it was down to the village for breakfast and then into the arena.  Mud management is very good at Latitude but at this point they were still fighting a battle, one that they eventually won in most places.  Phil Jupitas was on but the Comedy tent was packed out so we gave it a miss.  We ended up at the Obelisk watching Sissy & the Blisters who weren’t at all bad, lively rock & roll.  Mick Flannery followed and he succeeded in driving us from the arena.

We couldn’t find anything that really floated our boat so chilled out around the benches, energy was flagging so it was a perfect time for the sport of people watching.  Latitude is perceived as the “middle class festival” by the comedians at least.  Watching the audience it’s hard to argue with that though.  There are lots of families who are well catered for at this festival and maybe at times the music reflects this.  The biggest give away are the voices and accents, there are lots of “Ya Ya’s” in the crowd, a big percentage is made up from the privileged few.  For teenagers in Norfolk & Suffolk, Latitude has become a rite of passage and there are thousands of kids celebrating the end of exams.  There is fancy dress all around, every conceivable type of outfit from dinosaurs to Elvis’s.  Watching the ebb and flow of humanity and ear wigging snatches of passing conversation is an entertaining way to while away a little time.  Whatever the makeup of the crowd may be the vibe is always peaceful and the atmosphere rarely hostile.  Latitude really is a lovely chilled out festival.

The showers came and went through the day but luckily the heaviest rain fell in the afternoon while we were back in the tent crashed out.  We regained consciousness in the early evening and ventured out again feeling refreshed.  Before our sleep we’d left our phones at the Vodafone stand for a free charge up, so we picked them up again on the way out.  Dinner was from “Hot wok”, noodles but not very nice.  Adnams Southwold Bitter revived my taste buds once again.  Around this time we caught a little bit of David Doherty in the comedy tent but didn’t hear enough to form an opinion.

We tried to watch Laura Marling, of whom I’ve heard good things but that wailing vocal is not my thing and the more I heard, the less I liked.  The lovely lady wasn’t getting it either so we moved on.  At some point during the evening we saw a band in the Word arena, I don’t remember when so I can’t find out who it was but they were dancey trancey kind of stuff and were pretty good.  We did see quite a bit of Elbow who had a big show, made a big sound and seemed a bloody good band if you like that kind of thing, but I don’t.  I recognised a few tunes and could appreciate the show, they are good at what they do slick and professional. I almost wished I liked them so I could share the experience with those that were loving it.  It’s just not my kind of music.

We wandered around some more and watching the laser show by the bridge then found ourselves back at the Lavish lounge.  Before the Wolf (more about him in a bit) was a folk singer called Sam something or other.  We gave it a chance but hurried off before the end of the first song.  Horrible!  We killed time wandering around in the woods checking out the big art.  Modern art, I get it sometimes but mostly it’s just self-indulgent, pretentious shit as far as I’m concerned.  The Emperor’s new clothes.  Before long we were back at the lounge and unfortunately the folkies were still at it.  I found it all painful to my delicate ears, all that wailing and misery but there were many people enjoying it.  The last tune they played was a bit more lively and the folkies were in raptures.  One guy with curly hair, a big beard and wearing a green Corduroy jacket (I kid you not!) was jigging around in a state of absolute bliss. I considered gouging my eyes out and stuffing them in my ears to block out the misery.  But fair play to the folkies if that’s their thing, one man’s meat is another man’s poison but I would gladly have eaten that poison if it would stop me listening to that bilge.  Our late night surprise last year had been the Big Bad Wolf telling his dark and nasty bedtime stories so we’d looked forward to renewing our acquaintance.  This year his act was a little different and there wasn’t as much crowd interaction but still he made us laugh though not as much as before.  It was worth enduring the folkies though and I’m sure we’ll pay him a visit next year. 

We decided against a late night so we could be well rested for the final day.  We made the muddy trudge back up the hill and by this stage the elements were winning again. As we made our way back for probably the only time all weekend, we became aware of loads of pissed teenagers reeling around.  They were no bother just having fun and at that age I’d have probably been worse so I did not envy their inevitable hangovers.  The campsite toilets had plumbed new depths of wretchedness and stench but were unavoidable.  I would have needed a seriously turbulent stomach to make me even think about taking a dump in there.  Over the weekend almost all the staff we met were great but the poor guy on nightshift at those toilets could be excused for being miserable. The last few steps back to the tent seemed like miles.  Brush teeth, crash, knackered, sleep.

Sunday began dry and bright, we had no idea what the weather forecasters had foretold but things looked promising.  We were well rested after a good kip so after the morning brew we skipped the village and wandered down to the arena.  Breakfast would have to wait because the morning movement was imminent.  The arena toilets had been very good all weekend but there was always the sense of “Flushin’ Roulette” on opening the porta-loo door, what kind of animal had been in before?  Actually I should pity those that followed me.  Anyway with jobs done we had a big, tasty breakfast burger to put fuel in the tank, oiled with another cup of tea.  Now comedy time.

We edged into the tent and caught the end of the “Early morning edition” with Marcus Brigstock & friends, not a bad start to the day.  After that there was a short pause which allowed us to wander around and find a good position towards the back of the tent.  At first I didn’t know what to make of the silly rock star send up by Nick Helm & the Helmets, Spinal tap 3?  But he’ a great, self-effacing character and by the end I was laughing along.  I’d seen Abandoman last year so knew what to expect, very funny improvised rap music/comedy performed by Irishmen.  It was basically the same act as last year so didn’t have quite the same effect.  Next up was one of our ‘must see’ acts of the weekend, Reginald D. Hunter.  He battled against a big sound coming from the obelisk, said he wasn’t used to the daylight and seemed a little out of sorts at times.  However he pulled it off and was damn funny, worth waiting for.

A quick toilet break followed.  The day was still dry and bright and the arenas had dried out beyond all expectations, the boots were hardly needed by this stage.  Back in the comedy arena for Nathan Caton who was a new face to us.  He started slowly but soon got into his stride and was good for more than a few laughs.  Should we hang around for Rich Hall?  In the end we did and it was an excellent decision because he was brilliant.  The dry, dead pan familiar from TV panel shows works just as well in stand up and he has a way of making ordinary words sound extra funny.  That is if ‘shit’ and ‘prick’ can be considered ordinary.  Great show and the comedy highlight of the weekend for me.

After that we had seen enough of the comedy tent so wandered off into the still sunny open air.  We met up with some of the lovely ladies family for a catch up and a laugh then bumped into some friends of the kids which was nice.  We were eager for music so made our way to the Obelisk arena for Simple Minds who I’d liked for about five minutes in the eighties.  The performance was dull and the music hadn’t aged well, after a handful of songs we’d seen enough.  More fuel provided by doughnuts and magic beans.  We sat on the benches for a while and agreed what the weekend lacked thus far was a really great concert performance that we could get caught up in.  Last year The Eels assaulted the Word arena with a brilliant set featuring a huge guitar sound from top musicians.  It was a truly great gig and something along those lines would do us nicely thanks very much.  More people watching, another good Tee shirt slogan read “I’m not a gynaecologist but I’ll have a look”.  Time for more music, we saw a bit of Bats for Lashes which started off pretty good but got a bit samey a few songs in and by this stage of the festival I’d heard enough wailing vocals ta very much.

One of the bands we had pencilled in this weekend was The Levellers who were performing an acoustic set at the outdoor arena.  We got there early and found a nice spot looking down on the stage.  The lovely lady started to feel a bit iffy so sat down on a log for a bit.  The crowd began to swell and a friendly dread came and shared the log.  We got chatting about festivals and stuff but he ranted on about the “Nazi’s” that make big profits from organising festivals.  I countered that I was having a great time and it was all a means to an end.  Privately I could get where he was coming from but if that’s how he felt, why was he here?.  By the time the Lev’s came on stage the woods were packed out, the lovely lady was still feeling rough and I could hardly see the stage.  The band sounded awesome however, starting with ‘Beautiful day’ and playing some crackers like ‘Boatman’, ‘Carry me’ and ‘One way’.  As good as they sounded I still couldn’t see, the lovely lady was feeling better but needed some space so we reluctantly left the woods and headed over to the Obelisk arena for the main event of the day.

The light was fading fast as we weaved our way through the crowds to a good vantage point, right of stage close to both bar and bogs.  We didn’t have long to wait before Paul Weller hit the stage and began ninety minutes of great tunes played by great musicians.  I’ve always liked ‘The Jam’, bits of ‘Style Council’ and a lot of the solo stuff but until this gig I didn’t realise what a bloody good musician and songwriter Weller is.  We loved every minute, dancing slow and close together (‘you do something to me’) or jigging about solo (most of the rest).  Highlights included ‘Wild wood’, ‘Changing man’, ‘Town called Malice’ and the encore of ‘Eton Rifles’.  It made a nice change to actually get emotionally involved in a gig on the main stage and Paul Weller really is a fucking rock leg-end.  A really good show and without doubt the musical highlight of the weekend, exactly what we’d wanted.  We left the Obelisk arena on a high, buzzing and in search of more music to dance the weekend away.

We found DJ’s on the lake stage (Vinyl vendettas I think) and danced along to rock and indie music old and new for as long as our legs would hold us up.  Midnight came and went, as time went by we grew more and more tired so eventually gave in to the temptation of doughnuts.  We sat on a bench once more, enjoying the music, watching the world go by and trying to hang on to the festival vibe for as long as we could.  With a clear sky the temperature began to drop and it became colder.  It was this as much as tiredness that made us reluctantly leave the arena and take the slow walk back to the campsite.  It was a melancholy walk as we really didn’t want the festival to end but we had no choice but return along paths that had become homely.  The campsite toilets didn’t smell too bad at all by this stage and another brilliant day ended with us collapsing into bed around 0200.

All too soon it was Monday morning and we reluctantly crawled out of bed for a morning brew and slowly began tidying up and packing away.  When it came to folding the tent away there were spots of rain, typical!  We didn’t want to return to the real world but had enjoyed a great weekend so the post festival blues weren’t too bad.

We decided against hauling all our gear back to the car and took the lazy option of a Festitaxi, we felt we’d earned it after a big weekend.  There was a bit of a queue and so an hour wait but we just couldn’t be arsed to yomp back.  We were kept entertained by the antics of the departing festival crowd.  Bedraggled groups of hungover teens trudged by along with equally dishevelled Ya yas.  Near us in the queue were a middle aged and very middle classed couple with a young daughter.  They had been obliged to buy the ‘right on’ festival outfits.  She wore a leopard print jacket, heavy makeup topped with bottle blonde hair dying under a head scarf.  He loudly talked business into a mobile phone whilst dressed in a trench coat and full Native American head-dress.  Also nearby were three old biddies, easily in their sixties so fair play for staying the course for the weekend.  Two of the old gals seemed fine but the third was loud, miserable and moaning about everything.  She did not stop whinging from the moment she appeared to the time we left and I considered throttling her.  I was almost willing her to try and jump the queue just so I could…

Our Festitaxi arrived and we were happy to be away with a jolly young lady driving.  Just a short walk to the car and it was load up and drive away.  It took a while to get out of the car park then we were out into heavy traffic on the A12, back in the real world which is a far more insane place than the fields of the last few days.