Monday 15 June 2009

Peace, man

View of the crowd in front of the main stage
Over the weekend it was sunny and warm, and the Leamington Peace Festival was on. A proper festival, with stalls and bands and everything, all for free and about 100 yards from our front door. All the regular stalls were there - every religion you can think of, charitable causes and pressure groups, weirdy hippy healers, clothes and hats that seem like a good idea at the time but you can only wear at other festivals, and millions of knick-knacks made from crystal, wood, glass, hemp, silver, scissors, paper, stone, gravel, porridge and elephant dung (only three of those are made up). I don't buy very much at these events, I've got enough rubbish in my house already.

A selection of people wearing hats
I did buy a brownie from a stall that makes the best brownies I've ever tasted. I bought one last year as well. Once a year is probably enough, although they are damn good. The rest of the time I sat on the grass listening to the music, trying not to get sunburned and taking photos of interesting things. I took quite a lot of photos of hats this year.

Man in tap outfitThe majority of people at these events are probably ordinary types, with proper conventional jobs and houses and families, but because this is a festival they wear the ludicrous clothes and hats that they bought at the last festival. Pink-faced, bellies bulging, tattooed arms, necks and backs (and that's just the women). Some are odd but familiar: the man who wears no shoes, corduroy trousers that are too big for him and has cotton wool in his ears was there, dancing to the music. I last saw him at a Medusa Touch gig at Kellys, long ago. My favourite, though, was the man dressed as a tap, collecting money for Water Aid. He looked so fed up, and I sympathised. It's a hell of a costume.

Mr A came with me on Sunday, but didn't really enjoy it so he went home and mowed the lawn instead. I had a lovely time, sitting on the grass or wandering about, watching people in the sunshine and listening to the music.

2 comments:

aims said...

We don't get these kind of events here where I live. I wonder why not?

The tap man.....poor guy!

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't like to see him get "turned on".