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Paloma Faith at Larmer Tree – Jessica Rabbit?

13 Jul

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“Marry me!” yelled an admirer of Paloma Faith, on stage last night on day two of the Larmer Tree Festival.
“What do you look like?” she replied in her little girl voice, peering into the crowd. “Oh quite handsome. What do you do?…A student? Oh dear. Come back when you’ve graduated.” Moving back from the crowd and flinging off her white stole, she added: “I’m not a gold digger. I don’t want you to be intimidated by my success.”
Charming and entertaining as well as good tunes, she glittered in a sparkly blue dress, all womanly curves. Add the white fur and flowing red hair and – a thought struck chronicler Pete – “It’s like watching Jessica Rabbit.”
She dedicated a song to hers and other people’s curves. Giving the finger – or the wiggling bum – to the red top media who have commented on her so-called weight. No complaints from the crowd or the marriage-proposing student.
So – day of firsts for me, chronicler Louisa:
1. First time at a full-on mud-fest. It’s like wading through chocolate.
2. First time in the ‘pit’ with proper press photographers.
3. First time it took so long to put up the tent (see point one) that Paloma Faith was the only thing I saw on my first day here. #Epicfestivalfail. We’ll never speak of it again.

Fire Garden at Stonehenge – once in a lifetime event

11 Jul

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Wow.

No other word for it.

Except maybe: amazing. Incredible. A one off. Fantastic.

I’m talking about Fire Garden at Stonehenge last night.

Not only was a huge amount of people old and young allowed to walk in amongst the stones – a rare experience in itself – but the Fire Garden was breathtaking. Continue reading

Alton Barnes White Horse illuminated for Salisbury Festival

2 Jul

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It was, commented our friends from the city, like a scene from The Wicker Man: country folk in a midsummer’s torchlit procession through the middle of nowhere to the sounds of drums and horns to set a horse on fire.

Braving wind and heavy rain, around 100 spectators trudged the mile from the village of Alton Barnes to the foot of Mark Hill – the joint-highest hill in Wiltshire at 294m – where one of the county’s eight surviving landmark White Horses has galloped in chalk for 200 years.

As darkness fell we stood, shivered and prayed to the gods, old and new, for a break in the weather while the 50-metre-long horse was illuminated: first its body in swirling patterns of brilliant white lights, and then its outline in the warm glow of yellow flame. Continue reading

It’s Sacrilege, but is Stonehenge really the inspiration…?

29 Jun

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One of the greatest mysteries of the prehistoric world is why Stonehenge was built. But the thinking behind a life-sized inflatable version of the world-famous monument is easier to ascertain – and it might have more to do with nearby Avebury than its younger but better-known cousin.

This morning Festival Chronicle was lucky enough to catch up with Jeremy Deller, the Turner Prize-winning artist behind art-installation-cum-bouncy-castle Sacrilege. Continue reading

Graffiti rains supreme at Upfest Bristol

4 Jun

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This week, they’ve all been talking about the Queen in Bedminster. But not Elizabeth; it’s Mary Portas, Queen of Shops, and her promise to help revitalise the tatty post-war shopping centre who has got people excited.

But whatever Queen Mary brings to the party, I wonder if it will do as much to enliven the area, or to bring as many people to South Bristol, as Upfest, Europe’s biggest street art festival, where the streets were alive with the smell of spray paint yesterday.

There was a gaggle (?) of graffiti artists from all over the world of all ages, shapes and sizes spraying walls, boards, shop fronts, beer gardens, beards (saw a pink one) and of course a New York subway train.

Continue reading

God Spray the Queen – Chivitz at Salisbury International Art Festival

30 May

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I’ll bet when the Queen visited Salisbury back on May 1 (International Workers’ Day, not that the UK ever recognises it) she never thought her jaunt would be immortalised in graffiti art.

But that’s exactly what happened at the weekend, when Brazilian street artist Chivitz created new works at Salisbury Arts Centre as part of the Salisbury International Arts Festival.

The Queen, who is quite used to having portraits done, although probably never like this, is pictured in the outfit she wore when she visited the city, although the cheeky graffiti artist has her brandishing a spray can. Continue reading

Salisbury Festival Family Fun Day at Danebury Hill Fort

27 May

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We rocked up to Hampshire’s Danebury Hill Fort, just across the county border, with the lure of an AfroReggae Family Fun Day.

Fun. For kids. An ancient hill fort. Summer sunshine music. Sounded great. Continue reading