The beauty of the British summer festival

[James.]

There is no doubt that this country is facing a historically difficult time. Divided, dominated by hateful, ineffectual politics and staring right into the face of a deeply uncertain future. There are many reasons to worry, no matter what side of the political spectrum you sit. Our public services creak under the pressure of record workloads and limited resources. Our country desperately attempts to carve out its place in a post-Brexit world.

 

But we are British and whatever happens we will remain British. And it is safe to say that the British have certain characteristics that have stood the test of time, in moments of greater turmoil than what we face now.

 

One is our sense of humour - dry, ironic, self deprecating and when it comes down to it bloody funny. One is our sense of fun - we know how to have a party and we make sure we party often. We have a deep and profound musical heritage and continue to push boundaries, evolving musical genres and shaping cultural movements as we do so. We also have a deep, engrained desire to get out of our heads - we do this with a sense of commitment and lack of regard for our personal safety that makes other countries recoil in horror. Finally we constantly, relentlessly talk about the weather. In short we are funny, we are silly, we know how to make a tune, we love a drink (and the rest) and we can't stop talking about rain.

 

And with that in mind is there anywhere better than the great British summer music festival to truly capture the essence of these characteristics and what makes us British.

 

I have just returned, starry eyed, from Secret Garden Party. It was without doubt one of my favourite ever weekends. Some say it's just a festival full of posh kids getting wasted. I can guarantee that it represented so much more than that. It was a complete mishmash of people from all walks of life. Children, old couples, rude boys, posh girls, naked men, crusty hippies and everyone in between covering themselves in glitter and losing their minds for a few days in a field just outside Huntingdon.

 

I saw dance offs, I saw a man dressed as a lion chasing a man dressed as a giraffe, I danced to drum n bass, I danced to Irish folk, I danced to bands who I will never hear of again but produced music of exquisite quality, I slid about in mud, I ate great food, I chatted to lunatics. We drank red wine at 10:30am, we saw a paint fight of epic proportions, we danced in woods and we stumbled back to our tents as dawn unfolded. I was with my wife and two very good friends and we had never been happier. The friendliness of the crowd was tangible, the fancy dress was superb and the overall vibe was one of love and happiness.

 

This country has hundreds of festivals every year. I've been to a few of them and I can guarantee that SGP was no exception - these are the greatest gatherings of humanity you will find in this country and in some cases the world.

 

Whether it's for a day or a week everyone needs to get themselves to a festival if not this summer then next summer. Go there and relish the beautiful simplicity of dancing in a field with new friends. Go there and realise that in these dark times there are some things that will always make us proud to be British.

[SystonFox]

Why do people at British festivals stumble about the camp site shouting ALAN all night. What is that about

[foxxy]

Boomtown. Just got back 

[Finnegan]

On 28/07/2017 at 23:56, SystonFox said:

Why do people at British festivals stumble about the camp site shouting ALAN all night. What is that about

 

STEVE 

[Osavo]

Just got back from Leeds. Beautiful weather for it and Kasabian and Eminem were fvcking brilliant. Nothing beats a summer festival.