It’s been a couple of months or so since I last posted, so I thought it was time to remedy that! I’ve been away a few times this summer – twice camping, and also a weekend away for a wedding!

I got back this week from Greenbelt in Cheltenham at the racecourse, and it was so wet and muddy! I’ve been to it quite a few times now, but the conditions were never this bad before!

There’d already been quite a bit of rain during the week, so they weren’t letting cars driving up to the camping pitches as they had in previous years, and the last couple of times I’d been, I was with Ali who was working on site, so we’d been able to camp really close to the main areas, but this time we were a long way away!

So I was camping with some of my friends from Bristol – Claire, Rosie, and their friend Sharon, plus Amy and Michelle who came and joined us from the Saturday.

One thing I did notice this year was that there seemed to be fewer bands that I’d heard of, but even so I still got to experience some good music over the weekend.

On the first night, I managed to get into a pretty crowded tent to see Hannah Atkins performing – she was singing whilst playing piano, but had a loop pedal where she was able to record parts live and sing over it. She even added a violin into the mix, and it sounded really good! She’s married to Aydee, who I used to know from when I went to Reach, and he was there doing techy stuff for her!

Following that, I got to see The Leisure Society’s set on the main stage, before we got some food and watched some other bands, finally ending up in a warm venue, sitting on dry carpet for Last Orders, where they showcased some of the acts appearing over the festival.

Next day the rain continued, and we started quite early in the Big Top and Rend Collective giving us a rousing start to the day. The sun came out for a bit around lunchtime for a bit of respite, but by early afternoon, the downpours were back! I nipped back into the Big Top to watch Andy Flannagan performing with his band, and then joined the others over at the Canopy venue to watch some bands, whilst trying to stay dry by standing right a the front to take cover from the rain!

Around tea-time, I thought I’d go and check out an event being hosted by Sanctus1, which is a kind of church community in Manchester that I’ve heard of, but had never been to. I think they were involved in a Sunday communion I went to at Greenbelt a few years ago too. To be honest, I’m normally open to creative ways of expression, but I found it all a bit weird! They invited people to come up and splatter ‘mud’ and ‘blood’ onto blank canvasses (it was actually just red and brown paint), and then started anointing people with actual mud. They also emptied a bag of compost over someone’s head to demonstrate how we need to reconnect with dust and dirt…. riiiiight. To me it just seemed really self indulgent, and seriously lacked any real substance.

Outside, the weather was getting worse, and the walkway to the inner section of the racecourse was becoming a bit like a bridge over a swamp! Asian Dub Foundation were the headliners on the main stage which we watched for a bit, before ending the night again at Last Orders.

The sun did come out for a period on the Sunday morning, but by now, everywhere was so muddy (and that without even talking about the state of the toilets!). The conditions got so bad that they eventually stopped people going into the middle, basically cutting everyone off from the Bit Top, the traders, and the pub!

This was the first time I’d been at Greenbelt with Ali, but she, Julie and Matt came to visit so we spent most of the day with them which was really cool.

After chilling out at the Tiny Tea Tent, we spent the afternoon at the main stage (well, to the side of it to avoid the quagmire!) and watched Hope & Social followed by the Proclaimers! They went down really well with the crowd, culminating with everyone marching on the spot for the classic ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)’!

That evening we watched some more stuff on the main stage, and then after saying goodbye to Ali, Matt and Julie, went to our usual late night venue where we got to see the Austin Francis Connection do a brief performance to promote their gig the next day.

Monday was still wet, but we packed up early on, and then in the afternoon spent our time over at the Canopy, where we got to see the AFC’s full set, which was really cool, and then they were followed by Ad-Apt (Adam Brown) – who featured Hobbit beatboxing whilst wearing a crocodile onesie!

I enjoyed the weekend – I think specifically I enjoyed hanging out with the people I was there with – but the weather and mud really got to me! Not sure I’d go again to be honest, because it was really grim at times!

The week before Greenbelt, I was camping at the Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet for Momentum. We had a bit of rain, but generally the weather was much better for this week!

I camped with a load of guys who I know from Reach: Joel Pambakian, Nick Engall, Dan White, Tom Brown, Lucy Trew, Laura Piekos, Dave Elton, along with some non-Mancs – Katie, Kossy, Beth, Geoff, Katie’s brother Simeon, and Beth’s friend Laura.

We set the tents up in a circle, giving a good communal area in the middle. We were a bit late to the first night’s meeting, so we were right at the back, but it was still a good one and a great atmosphere.

The next day stayed dry, although not massively sunny. We had a group barbecue for lunch which was really good (kudos to Tom and Joel for the expert cooking of the sausages and burgers!), and I also caught up with some old friends from from Tamworth in one of the cafes after the evening meeting. The only time I ever see them is now at these festivals!

Sunday was a really sunny day, and early afternoon we just chilled around the tents. Lucy had brought a guitar with her, so she was playing some stuff whilst we had lunch. Then a bit later on, it was time for the Momentum Hog Roast!

Basically, they held a massive picnic in the field next to the Big Top, with hot pork rolls for all 6,000 of us there! We took along box of Peronis, plus some other snacks, and just hung out in the sunshine! I actually bumped into Prince whilst there – I think maybe he was there doing some seminars or something – so it was nice to see him and have a chat.

Then that night. the Austin Francis Connection were preforming in the Live Lounge, so I made sure I was there for that, and had a good chat with the guys afterwards.

The rest of the week was good fun too. It was nice that people hung out together so much, and generally they were doing communal cooking, which meant we all got to eat together (although I was doing my own because I’m a bit of a fussy eater!)

As well as those I was camping with, I also saw James Watts and Yan every so often. They were both working on team so they were kept busy most of the time, but would come over and visit! Dan was also volunteering on the Enabling Team, so had to go off at various points, but not too much! Oh, and Hope was singing in one of the bands in the main meetings, so saw her around the site occasionally!

The last day was a bit rubbish weather-wise – it was okay for our group barbecue at lunchtime, but we then had heavy rain for the rest of the afternoon. Next morning we were up early to pack up, and luckily there was no rain, but my tent was still a bit wet for packing away.

I really enjoyed my five days at Momentum – obviously as well as having a good time with the people I was with, it’s an event I feel at home at. I guess because I’ve been going to Soul Survivor summer festivals since the late nineties, and have actually spent quite a lot of time on that site, it just seems natural! I cut together a video of bits I filmed of the week here on Facebook!

Not a holiday, but a weekend in Bristol in July for Ali & Matt’s wedding! I took the train down and stayed at the Mercure Brigstow Hotel on Queen Quay in the city centre (and not too far from the reception venue).

I actually got to the church quite early so had quite a bit of hanging around to do whilst people were still getting things ready! The service was really great – and both Ali and Matt were turned out pretty well! It was also nice to see Phil & Mary, and Helen & Dave, and I sat with them at both the service and reception.

I recently bought a new camera, so was able test it out properly taking loads of photos. I’ve got a Canon 60D with a 18-135mm and 50mm lens, and the prime took some really nice shots, although I could maybe do with a slightly wider prime lens because I was struggling to get far enough back to take small group shots!

After the evening reception (which was a lot of fun!), I was persuaded to carry on partying at a nearby bar until early hours with Claire, Amy, Michelle & Rosie. To be fair, it didn’t take that much persuading! We ordered cocktails – I don’t think I’ve actually had one before. And for £7 I’m not sure I will again – very expensive and I didn’t really enjoy the taste! But apart from that, an ace day and night!