For those of you familiar with the concept but not with the details of the Cambridge Folk Festival, which I assume is 99% of you, this is a link to the website.
http://www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk/
The official music takes place on three stages - The Main stage, Stage 2 and a club stage which is by far the most intimate of the 3 AND has it's own bar. For the other stages you have to walk, oh, about 20 yards to get beer. They should probably rethink that - we're not there to try to get fit! The unofficial music will be happening everywhere.
For my part, the action starts early tomorrow morning (Thursday) when I get in the car for the 4hr drive to Cambridge, dump my car in a field and trek with tent and guitar to the campsite where I will be surrounded by hundreds of irate folkies, who - like me - are trying to remember how to put up a tent that gets used once a year. If I'm lucky it wont actually BE raining - just threatening to. It adds to the sense of danger. Once the tent is up, the drinking can start - it's like a prize. I always camp in the same spot (I say always but I've only been twice before) slightly closer to the toilets than the coffee bar. I find that to be the more convenient of the options.
The music starts at around 5pm on Thursday and stops at 11pm on Sunday. It's a great opportunity to see some people that already carry a solid reputation (Richard Thomson?) and others that will come as a complete surprise. I shall try to illustrate future blogs with pictures but I'm not sure how successful that will be. I'll be in a field!! I'll aslo try to keep them shorter - I'm sure I've lost half of you already.
And so as this first report comes to an end - and I finish up work for the weekend (I wish that phone would stop ringing......I'm busy here!!) - my thoughts are turning to people smiling, having fun, music all around me.....even in the camp site, singing along, clapping along and acting slightly younger than I should do but fitting right in. By way of balance I should also mention the sore back from sleeping on the ground and the assorted smells that you encounter by the Sunday evening. I think there ARE shower blocks but no-one seems to know where they are.
Until the next one - stay healthy
Stuart
Looking forward to you reports.
Although I'd left the orange juice behind - I did have a small can of Red Bull which came to my rescue. The problem with getting drunk on vodka and Red Bull is that you can't sleep it off.