Forgotten Fields Music Festival

[7th August]

Di had won tickets to the Forgotten Field festival which was held about a 45 minute drive out of Brighton, near Tunbridge Wells. We spent the morning packing and making sure we had everything we needed. Di is an old hand at this festival lark, she has been winning tickets to all the big festivals since our uni days! Ry has been to 5 or 6 too so he knew the drill, I haven’t been to a big music festival for about 20 years and it was Ebi-kuns first.

We arrived without much of an incident then headed down to the camping area when the first of many orgainsers bungles became apparent. The festival had been advertised as family friendly but then they had assigned the field furthest away from the car park to the family camping which also happened to be the field closest to the main stage

It took us a while to find somewhere to pitch the tent, mistake #2, there was a definite lack of camping space, they really needed another field or two. We eventually got pitched and set up then we headed into the arena once Ebi-kun had done his hair!

Due to the ticket prices being quite low they were strict on what you can and can’t take into the arena, so they can make their money of food and drink. It wasn’t a big festival so the choice was pretty limited. We decided to go for pizza the first night, although Di had her eye on Ghandi’s Flip Flops!

The kids played for a bit and then we had a cheeky wander back stage, we had a general public pass and a green pass that no-one seemed to know what it was for. We were told we could use the hospitality tent and since no-one was really manning the gate we had a poke around backstage and used their fancy loos whilst we were at it. Unfortunately we didn’t see anyone famous (not that we recognized anyway).

We then went to watch a couple of the bands, we made it through the Horrors but then the boys were getting tired so we went back to the tent, because we were so close to the main stage we could still hear everything anyway!

Jane Said...

After our enormous yet delicious lunch we met Lesley and her kids and headed off to the Lego shop - Ebi-kun wanted to do the pick and mix again (they don't seem to do this in Japan). So we filled up on Lego then headed back to Lesley's house. By the time we got back I had a blinding headache and had to go and lie down for a bit, not the best behaviour for a guest!

The kids got right down to playing (very loudly I might add, I think they were rather excited!). I managed to get myself vertical so that Lesley and I could go out - it was going to take more than exploding head to keep this gal down! We had tickets for Jane's Addictions 25th anniversary tour and I was VERY excited, a beer and paracetamol cured the bad head and the band were frickin' awesome!

It was also brilliant to spend some kid free time with lesley, catch up on the gossip and just hang out - I love how I have friends that I might not see for months, sometimes years but when we get together it is just like we only saw each other the day before.

Give, Give, Give me More, More, More...

Bit out of sync, never mind! After London we went back to Di's in Nottingham and then the next day Di had some tickets for a little theatre in the grounds of Nottingham Uni. It was a performance for kids and just 50 minutes long, which was just long enough for the boys to sit through. It was based on the Rolf Harris song Two Little Boys, beautifully done.

Then we dropped the boys off at home and left them with Di's hubby, Rob and off we went to Birmingham, Di's hometown and old stomping ground. And stomping we did as she had snagged tickets for The Wonder Stuff and supporting were Jesus Jones and Pop Will Eat Itself. We booked into a hotel for the night, which out of luck was just round the corner from the venue.

We started off in the pub, (of course) and met up with some of Di's old school mates, it was like being back in 1992, except everyone was a bit wider around the waist and a bit balder - well the blokes anyway! After a couple of beers we grabbed some chips then headed off to the gig.

We didn't really watch much of Jesus Jones, Neds would have been a better choice I feel. The Poppies were disappointing, Clint wasn't on stage which I think made a huge difference and they weren't playing the old classics, which considering the audience, that is what they should have been doing. The Stuffies on the other hand were great, Miles, much to my amazement still had a full head of hair and the new fiddle player was fab too. 

It really was a trip down memory lane, the play list was excellent, the company perfect and due to the expensive bar, we didn't drink ourselves into a stupor - or maybe it's because we are a little older and a little wiser!

A big thank you to Di, definitely a highlight of my trip.

Now your turn, if you could see a band from your youth, who would it be? tell me in the comments!