Beautiful Days. Again.

Here be dragon.

No let up to the schedule, this week I'm at Beautiful Days in Devon - which I stewarded last year as well, and indeed wrote a blog entry about.  That festival finished up on a somewhat sour note with a crane accident, and doubtless as a result of that, this year I have to sit through a twenty minute health and safety induction before being allowed on site.  At least when I do get to the campsite I have a bit of luxury, as for this festival only I have borrowed my brother's campervan, so I have a proper bed and even my own shower, oh yes.  Nice to have a refuge for the Wednesday and Thursday, as there isn't a lot going on at the festival other than rain.

Friday, and my shift starts at 10am, guarding the beer of all things behind the main bar.  It is safe in my hands.  Then I shift over to the main arena, which is rather cool, not really anything to do other than, I assume fill a requirement for so many stewards per paying customer.  And I get to watch the bands, starts off with Kim Churchill (male, Australian), and then Coco and the Butterfields (none of them seem to be called Coco).  Then off to party, I watch the Moulettes on stage two, then I quite fancy the Circus of Horrors in the theatre tent, but it is full.  Good news is 3 Daft Monkeys - well, two of 'em - are playing an unscheduled set on the bandstand, most cool.  Of course I end up in the Bimble Inn, watch Flight Brigade and Land of the Giants, then generally jump about.  All good fun.

Monkeys!

Saturday and I'm feeling a bit worse for wear, good thing my shift doesn't start until 6pm.  Well, I have a book to read... eventually I emerge from the van, go watch Hobo Jones on stage two (includes playing of guitar with a hammer).  Then to work, again mostly on the main stage, so this time I get to see Hudson Taylor, Hoffmaestro and Idlewild.  Then just as the Dropkick Murphys are starting, disaster strikes.  I realise that I have managed to lose the keys to the van somewhere.  The spare set is in Surrey... this is really not good, and now the fact that it is chucking it down with rain changes from something I can cope with to a bit of a problem given I have nowhere to sleep and all my dry stuff is in the van.  I retrace my steps, but really it is impossible, so I call the RAC who eventually answer the phone, and promise to send somebody to try to break in.  But then looking at the van, I realise I can get in through a loose window, just about.  Cancel the RAC, still have the problem of getting the spare keys to me though.  Oh and the window I opened won't shut again... oops.  I try a bit harder, maybe it is just a bit bent, oops again.  With various popping noises the hinge breaks on one side, and one of the plastic window panes breaks.  At least I can shut the damn thing now and try to get to sleep, with little success.

The lovely Bimble Inn, with Flight Brigade.

Next day, and more bad news as I realise the awning at the side of the van is also broken.  Sigh.  At least I get in touch with my brother and he reckons he can get the key to me via UPS.  A little worrying leaving the thing unlocked while I go to work for Oxfam, but I get away with it.  Also kind of hard being the 'smiling face of the festival' today.  I watch Katzenjammer, Gogol Bordello and the Levellers of course, I am on the main stage again.  It provides some distraction from my woes I suppose.  Less good is when Dan phones to say UPS don't guarantee twenty-four hour delivery, so I could be here until Wednesday.  Aargh.

Gogol Bordello.

In the event my sister in law Donna heroically drives all the way to Devon with the key, which does mean we can spend the evening and next day around Lyme Regis, which is nice.  There is even a funfair...  Of course it would be better if we didn't get soaked to the skin while walking down to the sea on the Tuesday morning, but obviously it has to rain every single day.  Well, I hear on the radio that it isn't the wettest August since records began, just the wettest in a hundred years.  So that is OK then.


Photos to go with this post can be found here.