At around the same time that a protest song by the Ukrainian singer Jamala was winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm on Saturday night, the Spanish duo La Heidi Bèlika were performing their own protest song on the stage of Swindon Town Hall. Continue reading
8th April 2016
A Swindon Affair: a Family Affair and a Love Affair
When posting about this event on social media I accidentally referred to it as a ‘Family Affair’. But that was probably a Freudian slip – or something. Because a family affair is really rather what it felt like. The entire affair: afternoon and evening – was filled with people I know and have great affection for. And it was wonderful.
Loving Swindon: in words, pictures and music – a few words first about the afternoon event. The Platform on Faringdon Rd was overflowing with the astonishing literary output and outpouring there has been, and still is, about Swindon from Swindon people and others who love Swindon.
The whole thing was a collaboration between Swindon Civic Voice, Poetry Swindon and the Swindon Literature Festival. Three most marvellous groups right here in Swindon. Continue reading
2. My bin bag
It’s my bin bag again today, my bin bag I filled in the Stone Circle field at 7am this morning. This bag contains many things, some of them educational, some of them things I have learned about before. What would you expect to be in an eve of festival bin bag? Druids robes? Syringes? Michael Eavis comedy beards? Erotic cream? I can reveal that along with hundreds of beer cans, my bag contains dozens of little gas cylinders and deflated balloons, easily the commonest pick up apart from Stella Cidre and Blackthorn. Continue reading
1. Waitrose Bag – My tent
Let me explain, for a free ticket and free food I am collecting rubbish at Glastonbury. I’ve done it before, it’s everything you imagine and more and less and blimey what’s that? Continue reading
Fun. For kids. An ancient hill fort. Summer sunshine music. Sounded great. Continue reading
Festival Chronicle 