The inaugural Deershed Festival was a glorious affair and just a 40 minute drive up the road bliss! We got there a bit late due to kids stuff (parties, drama groups, yknow, all that never happened to us) but missed the early showers as a result and basked in the beautiful sunshine.
The festival is a one-day thing and resembles a school fete with a few little stages dotted about, things for the kids to make and a wonderful wall of art that grew as the day went on.
The arena was enclosed so you couldnt loose the kids who wandered off with their mates for most of the day. Bumped into John as we got in and Danny and the Champions of the world were on We saw these play with “The Duke and The King.
The downside of a new festival is that they didnt have everything quite right. I was in a huge queue for burgers and was just nearing the front when Sorry weve ran out. The wonderful local bitter that was £2.50 a pint ran out not long afterwe were not impressed! Still, Id drank enough to have a good dance to Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara who were FANTASTIC! I looked Justin Adams up when I got home and was delighted to find he was in Jah Wobbles Invaders of the Heart and I have at least 4 CDs with him on. The mix of rocking guitar and African instruments was infectious to say the least. They are used to playing rather bigger crowds mind
The rest of the time was spent playing with the kids and chatting with pals Lee, Nic and their gang, Thuvia & co and also with Sue and Phil who were down from Newcastle. By a bizzar(o) coincidence, John (who I met via QUIMS through Dr P) and Phil (who I know cos he married Sue, who Ive known for over 25 years) went to school together and still keep in touch Its a small world!
Last up were the Wedding Present who did a great set including all of their 1989 classic Bizzaro – Possibly one of the best indie LP’s of the 80’s. It was introduced with multiple John Peel introductions from the radio spliced together – a nice touch! John M of course has a long association with the Weddoes – being name-checked on their first single. The crowd loved it and we stumbled back to our tents as happy bunnies.
Everyone we talked to had enjoyed it and would be signing up for next year.we just need a few more barrels of beer.
Bob the Chiropodist
