Saturday 5 September 2020

The Virtual Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2020

Hello, thank you for popping in. I'm enjoying a quiet Saturday after a busy week and even though the sun is shining outside, I'm hiding away indoors because I really want to share our lockdown festival experience with you while it's all still fresh in my mind and still giving me a little bit of fizz. 

Since 2009 we have spent the August bank holiday weekend at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival, camping on our county showground.  (I wrote a comprehensive post about my history with the festival in 2015 which you can find here if you'd like to read it.)  Sometimes it has been our main holiday and sometimes it hasn't but it has always been a high point of our year and something we look forward to for months in advance.  I usually buy our tickets in December.  This year, the decision to cancel the festival was announced in April - I mean, you really can't have 5,000 people packed into a marquee in the time of Covid-19, can you?  This came as a blow to us but all was not lost: a virtual festival was to be posted online with music, dancing, workshops and children's activities over two days.  We couldn't go to the showground but we could stay at home in Shropshire and make the most of it.  Plan A was to erect our tent in The Teacher's back garden so that we could have some kind of camping experience and project the entertainment onto her shed but alas, we discovered that our tent is too big and wouldn't fit.  Harrumph.  Plan B was to hang out in her conservatory and furnish it with bunting, fairy lights and blankets.  The Teacher and her father rigged up a screen using the roof of her swinging bench, a sheet and a bunch of clothes pegs.  With a laptop, a projector and a speaker we were sorted until we discovered that during the daytime, there was too much light for the projection to be visible, so we brought in a television for the afternoon sessions.

Here you can see Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel on stage in the main tent at the festival in 2018 and Benji Kirkpatrick and The Excess online in the conservatory in 2020.   We really appreciated the fact that Benji and his mates had dressed their barn in the colours of our county flag (and one of our festival marquees).


So, we had music.  What else would we need?  Well, some people have described the festival as "a beer and cider festival with music"  and the Best Beloved and The Teacher usually enjoy the libations offered in the beer tent so the Salopian Brewery offered festival packs for sale and I bought two packs, one of which came with two free glasses.  This act earned me a huge number of wife points.  I like good beer too but since the festival introduced a wine and cocktail bar a few years ago, the cocktail has become my daytime festival drink of choice.  The Best Beloved had no idea how to make a mojito until last week but he is a quick learner.  Here are hers 'n' his outdoors at the 2017 festival (that was a cucumber bellini and it was delish)...


... and indoors at the 2020 festival.


When we were explaining our plans to Tom Kitten he remembered that we had wristbands last year.  He loved his wristband and wouldn't take it off for days afterwards and as he wasn't even two years old then, we were surprised that he remembered.  I took some cotton yarn and a crochet hook with me to his house last weekend, he chose the colours and fairly soon we were all sporting wristbands. 


The festival is like a buffet: there are different bands playing on four stages and you can wander up, listen for a while, stay if you like it or, if not, sidle away and listen to somebody else and so I have discovered and enjoyed artists I wouldn't otherwise have come across.  This year was different because there was only one musical performance at a time but we had decided that we would watch them all with open minds.  I wouldn't have entered a tent to listen to Truckstop Honeymoon because they don't play the kind of music I usually enjoy but they were great!  Tom Kitten thought so too, he was totally absorbed in their music.  We'll definitely go and see them live if they are at next year's festival.  


The other revelation to me was Sheema Mukherjee.  Sitar music has never floated my boat but after Sheema's performance each of us said, "That was lovely!  I didn't know I liked sitar music!"  We'll go and see her next year, too. In fact, on the back of Sheema's concert we watched Anoushka Shankar's Prom concert on BBC4 last night which was absolutely wonderful.  That'll teach me to discard my prejudices in future.  

There was more we could have tuned in to but I wasn't in control so I was on somebody else's agenda.  We tried the lullabies and the stories for Tom Kitten and Cottontail but they weren't engaged.  My cousin, in another county, enjoyed the ceilidh with her family on Saturday evening and sent me a joyous photo of her son dancing with their dog!  I'm not disappointed, it's all there on YouTube and I'll catch up. 

It was an extraordinary festival for this extraordinary year.  I thought I was disappointed but when I was looking after Tom Kitten on Tuesday he asked me if we could have another festival.  When I asked him what he liked best about it he answered that he liked the lights and the music.  Really, I can't be disappointed, can I?  We've already got our tickets for next year. 

See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x


21 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a great time especially with Tom Kitten. It’s amazing how adaptable everyone has become this year. Love the wrist bands :)

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    1. I agree, we have all become adaptable, haven't we? I have really enjoyed seeing how creative people have been. I hope it's something that can continue as part of "the new normal", but I doubt it will as everyone seems to want to go back to the old normal. Sigh. x

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  2. That went really well, didn't it! Tom Kitten, hasn't he grown, had a wonderful time, the lights were twinkling and the music played on. Roll on next year! x

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    1. Absolutely! I'm so pleased we made something special of it. x

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  3. What a wonderful way to enjoy the festival without actually being there. It sounds like you all had a great time. X

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    1. We did, Jules. We've missed out on so much over the last six months that it was good to really throw ourselves into the festival spirit and give ourselves a treat. x

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  4. Sounds wonderful and it really hit the spot for Tom Kitten which is a great bonus.

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    1. I've always worked on the basis that if you keep the small children happy, the adults will relax and enjoy themselves, too. I didn't go to a music festival until I was 44 so I'm thrilled that he's so excited about it already - and, not yet three years old, he has already been to three festivals. x

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  5. This year has been all about making the best of a bad situation and you certainly did that, what a great experience enjoying the festival from home with all that you usually enjoy at the venue.

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    1. We even treated ourselves to a takeaway dinner! I think it's been really important this year to make the most of these things and push the boat out a bit. It's a lesson I think I'll take forward with me once this crisis has passed. x

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  6. Sounds like you all had great fun brining the festival to your homes and also discovering music and bands you might not normally have listened to had you been there over the weekend. Let's hope that all will be back to normal next year:)

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    1. I really do hope so Rosie, I'm quite fed up of all this now. x

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  7. Such a lovely adaptation to enjoy something you love during Covid. I do find Tom Kitten's hands behind his back utterly charming. One of my granddaughters (now 8) used to stand like that. I hope you'll be able to attend in person next summer!

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    1. Tom Kitten doesn't usually stand like that, Lorrie, but he was riveted to the spot by this band. I hope we'll be on the showground next summer but the way things are going now, I don't think anything would surprise me. x

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  8. You really went for it! Our girls were disappointed not to go too. Of course I usually dance there but we haven't even been able to practise as a group. Mojito? don't mind if I do. Jo xxx

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    1. I bet you've really missed the practice, as well as the performances. If you're there next year, we should meet for a mojito? x

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  9. Glad you all had a good time...here's hoping it's back to normal next year. x

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    1. I bloomin' hope so, Jackie! I missed it SO much. x

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  10. Brilliant idea!! It amazes me how innovative and creative people can be when pushed to the extreme. I love the idea that you made up a wristband for little Tom Kitten and everyone. The saying " it's the little things that count" comes to mind and so very true ......the little things are fantastic memory triggers I am sure Tom Kitten will remember those good times because of this. keep well Amanda :-)

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    1. Thank you Amanda. We have all worked so hard to keep the tiny people sane and happy during this last six months but I wonder what they will actually remember. x

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  11. Oh, this sounds absolutely delightful and such fun. I’m glad you enjoyed your virtual festival. Stay safe and well. Marie x

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