Nicki drove up to us in the morning and got to us around 11. The weather was a bit unpredictable, but hey, as Jo said: “what’s the worst that can happen?”. Mum decided to stay at home, because of the threatened bad weather.
So, Jo, Janet, Nicki, Ann and I, stocked-up with enough food for an army (or two), and a range of umbrellas, set off for the event quite early – 4.45 (for a 7.30 start) – in order to ensure we got a good spot at the event.
As we approached Oundle for the Oundle Festival, we joined the jam! It looked like the whole of Northamptonshire was going where we were going!!! We then noticed that the tickets said the gates opened at 5 o’clock not 5.30 – that explains it then…
On arriving, we saw that the car park was packed. We couldn’t believe how so many people had got in so quickly, even if they’d got there at 5pm.
After parking close to where we thought the outdoor event was going to be, we noticed that everyone seemed to be walking in a different direction. The ‘old’ area was now full of cars – things have obviously changed considerably since we last came here.
Laden down with all the food, chairs, blankets and umbrellas, we followed everyone else into the next field. Eeeek, there were thousands there already and we ended up almost walking right to the back of the field for a space.
Note to self: get there MUCH earlier next time!
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So, we settled down and prayed that the weather would hold. The forecast was rain but it was initially just windy. Being so far away from the stage made it difficult to see what was going and initially the sound from the massive speakers was below par…but they got that sorted after a short while. The distance made photographs of the acts impossible! Most people brought picnics – some were more elaborate than others, with linen table-cloths and candelabra – As normal we ate well.
We noticed that for the first time, in our experience that there were also stalls selling food and drink. In fact we think that next time, we’ll rely on those and that’ll save us lugging what felt like 500 tons of provisions across miles of terrain. We even considered getting a taxi there and back next year and that’ll save all the walking.
First-up, there was a support Rock and Roll Band, ‘The OGs’ (a bit out-of-tune in places), followed by The Manfreds (pretty good) and then at around 8.45, the Bootleg Beatles. We’d seen them years ago, and they were great then. They didn’t disappoint this time either had captured the sound of the Beatles perfectly.
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At around 9.30 the rain started – and it got worse..and worse…and worse! We decided to pack-up and skip the second half of the Bootleg Beatles and the fireworks (a shame) – we then headed back to ours for tea/coffee – the drive home was horrendous..rain, rain and more rain!
All-in-all, it was a great evening, although we could have done with being much closer to the performances and the deterioration of the weather didn’t help…next year will be better!!!
At around 11, the girls left (Nicki was driving back home) and we got to bed around 11.30.
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
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