A Little of Me!: September 2008

Well, the deed is done. The crazy idea of having a Mini-Festival for my 40th Birthday was indeed a crazy and sometimes very naive idea. After months of preparation and planning the week arrived and my friend Dave and I hired a van, packed it with all we needed and off to Wareham we went on the Wednesday 3rd September. when we arrived the field seemed to have grown ten fold and where to set up became our first decision. I had a full size outdoor stage coming and caterers with a full field kitchen, both needed water, one for cooking and one to fill ballast tanks. The problem was that the Purbecks had decided to greet us with 40 mph and winds and weather that changed it's mind every ten minutes. Wednesday was the first of many nightmares with the rain and wind against our every effort to set up. I had hired a camper van and after a while we retired to this to rest and wait and see what Thursday would bring. Rain rain and torrential rain bounced off the camper in the morning. The raindrops turned the camper into a large drum, which made a lie in out of the question as well. The stage was due today as were five marquees from three different companies. Would they still come and set up in this??? Off to Wareham Town Centre we went for breakfast and I felt lower than I could begin to explain!

My relationship with my Dad has always been amazing, but I was bought up to think for myself and as my Grandfather had had very little to do with my Dad, I had watched him cope on his own through most things. I have turned out the same but this situation needed some advice from him. He had taken a few days off work to help set up and I phoned him at my lowest point to ask for some advice. "I'll be there at 11am ", he said "and we'll decide over a nice cuppa and a fag!" 11am arrived and so did my Dad and the Sunshine! The stage crew had been on the phone constantly up to that point and in the end I told them to come along anyway.

So Thursday was a great day and everyone arrived and all the marquees went up, as did the stage and caterer. That evening, I stood on the stage and looked out and felt great. What a roller coaster ride of emotions, but against the odds we were there and ready. We retired to the camper for a Strongbow and to talk tactic for the big day the next day. We parked next to the stage to pinch some electric from the generator and slowly all drifted off to sleep content with the days work.

Friday morning, I was woken up by one hell of a racket! As I drew back the curtain and peered outside, I noticed what was causing the noise. The back panel of the stage had come loose and was now horizontal and flapping in the 60+mph wind, slowly disintegrating as the violent wind battered it. What about the marquees? From the side wind I could make them all out except one. Where had it gone? Panic set in and I shot out of the camper and there is was still intact but out of view! Phew.... I went back inside and we decided to wait and see if the wind would die down. I watched out of the window as the wind relentlessly whipped across the site and then the top corner of one of a group of marquees came undone and started to flap in the wind. Ten minutes later I watched as the whole thing collapsed and turned into a tangled pile of canvas and poles. The company that had provided these marquees had turned up with the sort of marquees you can buy from Makro and B&Q and these proved that they were just not up to the job. It was heart breaking to say the least. We cleared up the wreckage and again the thought of cancelling the whole event was at the forefront of my mind. Susan phoned and I told her how I felt. She then read me some of the comments on Facebook and I could have easily cried for England. My friends truly are a nutty bunch of loonies and their positive comments lifted me right back to positiveness. we still had a 9m by 20m marquee with a small scaffold built stage at the end (meant for one man acoustic acts between bands on the main stage!). We set up a bar in there and the next minute people started to arrive. Over three hundred people came along, loads camped and the party seemed to start as soon as the first band started at 7pm.

The bands were absolutely awesome and to see friends I haven't seen for 25 years singing along and smiling like never before was very overwhelming. That tent rocked for the next 36 hours and no-one cared about the weather, although on the Saturday, the wind dropped and we had a 6m climbing wall in action for about five hours, as well as bouncy castles and kites.

Dodgy were the headline act for the Saturday and everyone crammed into the marquee to catch them. They were absolutely superb and after them, and to end the live music, Sgt Pepper's only dart board band, a fantastic Beatles tribute band. I have seen them many times and they were better than ever. The highlight was when Nigel Clark, the lead singer with Dodgy, came to the bar to get a drink and on his way back to behind the stage he joined in with them and sang Beatles songs for the next 45 minutes. I even joined in as well. 14 bands played their hearts out and every single one of them where brilliant and a hit with the crowd.