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Summer festivals, and other plans

jay hay-char

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I did a few Knebworths, and the like, when I was younger but I no longer feel the urge to do the big summer festivals - Glastonbury is best watched on the telly, imho, and our son is going to Reading, so that's out However, we went to the Larmer Tree Festival last summer, and enjoyed it so much that we're going again this year, for a couple of days. It's a small(ish) boutique(ish) festival, and when we're fed up with watching bands, we can retreat to Mark Kermode's Film Club. We also enjoy camping, even at our advanced age, and we're planning to go down to Burnbake if we can - the great advantage of living where we do is that, if there's a favourable forecast, we can bung some stuff in the car and be putting up the tent an hour later.

What age-inappropriate plans do you have for the summer?
 
Not sure it's really age inappropriate but I'm off to the Wilderness Festival mid August for 4 nights under canvas, some interesting lectures, crafty workshops, late night revelry and unknown bands. Then driving down to Cornwall - will stop wherever on route and pitch a tent. Hopefully some campfire cooking too
 
I'm off to Glastonbury, it's def not best watched on the BBC, there is so so much more to it than a few music stages! Got to hope for good weather though, rain makes it hard going due to the sheer size of the place
 
jay hay-char said:
What age-inappropriate plans do you have for the summer?
Click to expand...

It seems some people think I'm age-inappropriate because I'm 60 and have a hippy van that I practically live in during the summer! But I'm only doing what I've always done - I used to live in a van full time but failing health put a stop to that in the colder weather, but I will continue summering in my van for as long as I can.
I live on the Devon / Cornwall border so spend most of the time on Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor or Exmoor, but can be home within an hour or so if need be. Sometimes I might wander up to Wiltshire, around Stonehenge / Avebury.
I don't do music festivals any more, I prefer the peace of the moors now, but do go to a few pagan gatherings and camps at certain times of year.
So what's so wrong with all that?
 
I am going to become a grandmother, I think that is quite age inappropriate!
 
I live within walking distance of the Paleo festival in Switzerland. This year is the 40th edition and will last for 7 days. Just Google to get the list of participants. It ends with a massive fireworks display. There is a camping there and hundreds of people live there all week.
 

@rowan - your summer in your van sounds amazing!

I have never done any festivals coz I'm just not cut out for it, hate being cold, hate muck & mud, will not enter one of them 'toilets' that they have there. But to watch them on the tele looks AMAZINGLY and I'm always so jealous!

I've just booked a week relaxing round a pool, that's my kind of summer fun lol
 
I have a friend who sounds like she has the same views as you. We nearly got her to come camping once, but unfortunately she discovered that there would be nowhere to plug in her hairdryer .....
 
jay hay-char said:
I have a friend who sounds like she has the same views as you. We nearly got her to come camping once, but unfortunately she discovered that there would be nowhere to plug in her hairdryer .....
Click to expand...

Haha she sounds like my kinda girl!
 
I would love to go to a festival, but not being a driver, it's difficult to get to places, I'm 57 but feel and act like someone 20 years younger ( most of the time). Also I'm a carer for my elderly dad. I need to just get up and go, as when I think of things too much, then doubt sets in.
But we have a live music festival in our town every July for a weekend, so always go to that, Real Thing performed there last year, but that's only a 20/25 minute walk away.

Happy festivaling
 
I'll be heading to Download this summer. Looking at the bands playing, I'm not so sure it is age inappropriate....
 
Ooh didn't know there was such a thing! Off to Google it now
 

They put the tickets on sale last night. 220,000 tickets were sold online and in the traditional way in 55 minutes! A few more will be available on the mornings of the concerts. Otherwise it's the black market at exhorbitant prices.
 
I've got the tickets for this years Cropredy Festival. It will be my 22nd year. It's run by Fairport Convention and among the acts this year are Emmylou Harris, The Proclaimers, Fish and a female band called Katzenjammer who are Swedish I think, not forgetting Richard Digance on Saturday lunchtime getting 20,000 of us waving our hankies in the air pretending to morris dance. We always used to camp but now we decamp to the nearest Travelodge and as I don't drink (much) I usually drive back each night. There's a festival not far from us called Boomtown but unfortunately it's the same weekend and they've got Gogol Bordello so if I hadn't got the tickets already I would have been torn between going to see them and going to Cropredy. we're taking Dave the Coalie for his third year and our friends who will be Cropredy virgins. Not sure if the son is doing Glastonbury this year, he normally works as security
 
Friends of ours go to Cropredy every year, and keep trying to persuade us to come as well, but we've always been occupied one way or another. Maybe next year.

Boomtown is held near us, and has a slightly dodgy reputation - there have been several deaths there, usually as a result of adverse reactions to drugs, and someone committed suicide there (in the toilets ) last year. That's not to say there's anything inherently bad about it; maybe it's just ill-fated. Matterley Bowl, where it's held, is a spectacular natural amphitheatre. There's another smallish festival - Blissfields - that's local to us and we have always fancied going, but it's usually full of kids, including ours, from the surrounding area and we have been prohibited from being seen there, on pain of death

Gogol Bordello are great, live.
 
You should def come to Croppers, it's a lovely picturesque village and the limit is 20,000 so it's small enough to be really friendly. There are people I've bumped into every year and we have a catch up over a few drinks, then it's see you next year then! Boomtown has got a reputation as you say, and no doubt I'd stick out like a sore thumb at my age
 
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