Unlikely that I'll be going but The Pogues have been announced as Saturday headliners, with a load of other acts also announced today.

VF link

Right on cue, Shane comes on my iPod singing Kitty.

I love The Pogues. I loved Beautiful Days when I went. Sod Big Chill, Shambala, Bestival and Endorse It, I've got a new must-do festival.

*gets job quickly somehow*

And the cost of the ticket is about the same as the amount that will be in my leaving collection, which I was going to use for a Big Chill ticket but this is cheaper.

Oohh, and Pendulum, Levs, Dreadzone, Saw Doctors, Eliza Carthy and John McCusker too. It's like the line up was put together just for me.

I seemed to spend a large proportion of the festival asleep in portaloos the last time I was there, if I make it this year I think I'll hold off on the pre-midday Cava and giant Jenga sessions in the Bimble Inn. That Jenga is potent stuff.

I love BD's.. I'm certainly up for it. I just hope the weather is better this year 2 wet ones in a row is just cruel!

Hmmm. I wonder.

*ponders*

I bought a ticket and then we didn't bloody go.

I know you sold them to me! LOL

Endorse It is only £68 though this year according to their email! Interesting.

Makes £50 for BT a bit hmmm too.

Jim Moray is playing, swoon

I have now in my hand. Well not in my hands cos I wouldn't be able to type, but in my possession 2 BD tickets .

I cannot sing the praises of BD enough,and this year i will be there as a punter, the first time paying since 2004 as well . Will be good to see you again Jolly
Edit:> was it not me that put you onto this cracker in the first place

It was indeed and I shall be eternally in your debt, just one thing, make it sunny this year!

Righto, tickets for Tim and myself booked. Hooray for foolhardy spending whilst still on the dole.

Anyone else in then? Lori? Chimp? Becks?

There better be somebody good on in the Big Top, Little Top, Bimble Inn or Spiegel Tent when Hawkwind are droning on. I'm hoping for Dreadzone in the Big Top followed by Tom Middleton doing one of his rave-tastic Summer of Love sets in them Little Top.

*vicks up*

Squeal!

That is all I have to say.

I'm in

Squeals with Tim

Excellent stuff, jelly all round and lots of manky teethed people (I include myself in that)

Me too.

I am not in.

Saving cash and it's around my Birthday, so I want to be at home.

When does this normally sell out by ?

Am speaking from relative ignorance but I seems to remember it's either been late June or early July for the last couple of years. You thinking of coming Dave?

Don't think it'll happen for us this year (although I'd very much like it to), but we're v keen on this next year, so I hope you haven't all gone off it by then.

Ackcherly, we're now considering it for this year. Eeeeeks. Where can I get useful info in festivalling with a 9-month old baby?

If it turns out we can't afford a holiday I'm coming. I'll see how Glastonbury goes and think about buying a ticket.

That would be fucking fantastic if you did. You know I'm going to give you all manner of hell on Friday until you agree to come don't you? Sorry in advance.

Here's a few links innit.

Milly willl love festivals

As will mum and dad

Excellent. It might me Him Indoors that needs to be convinced rather than me.

Ally / Andy - i'm sure you would have a fantastic time at BD if you did go. Sadly i don't think we will be going though, so will be very jeaulous of you if you do!

If you think the festival may too big, i would urge to have a look at Shambala as well as that is mega family friendly and a great little festival (its the weekend after BD).

I'd also suggest Shambala

You're still breastfeeding right? That'll make it way easier, no bottles to keep sterilised

Yeah. She's on solid food now, too, but we bypassed the puree stage and went straight onto finger foods, so she's piss easy (if a bit messy) to feed. She and I are both dairy-free as she has an allergy, but if you can't find vegan-esque food at a festival, where can you? Plus if all else fails I can just breastfeed her more and have the excuse to sit and eat fattening food myself for the whole weekend as I need the calories.

Winning either way then!

Also must be easier to take them when still little and can just be put in a buggy. It's when they start toddling about everywhere and escaping that you have problems...

OK, so we reckon we'll come if Andy can get the time off work. What day does one turn up on for this? thursday? friday?

*tentative squeal*

We'll also need to borrow a smaller, lighter tent, because I ain't carrying the behemoth on my own!

Fuck it. We've booked it! 2 adult tickets, 1 baby one and a car park pass. Milly is going to her first festival!

<squeal>

Brilliant

I believe very strongly that babies should fit in with you and not the other way around - it's how they learn what is normal and stops them believing they are the centre of the universe. The only people who freak out over babies at festivals are their parents and/or people without babies - the kids have a ball!

She'll have a great time & you'll have a great time watching her have a great time

(ps get some ear defenders for her!)

So Milly's going to grow up thinking drinking wine before 9am is normal? Fantastic!

I have a shopping list a mile long! I'm so excited.

Can I please put in a plaintive plea for Lori and Becks to come to this festival please. It'd be nice to have someone else there who has baby-wrangling experience.

I'm guessing she already has a taste for it.

Well if the Hewitt Lock gang are coming I might impulse buy a ticket just in case the holiday thing doesn't work out. They sell out so I can sell it on, don't they?

Fuck me. I stay away from the board for one day and suddenly we go from me and Hurlage attending to the whole world. Well I am squealing that little bit more now.

Also, after having this festival 5th or 6th on my list of priorities this year...now that I am going I've suddenly realised that it looks absolutely brilliant and the line-up is breathtaking. Can't wait!!!!

Go BD's.

Edit: I would also like to announce that if I scrape the money together to do Bestival (won't know until about a week beforehand whether I can afford it) then I will be doing a festival each weekent from the 14th August to 6th September. Four weekends in a row. This will make me a hero. And clinically dead.

*nod nod*

Sounds like the sensible course of action to me.

Yes. You should most definitely do this.

i should also add that I'm totally not fussed by the line-up, but it really doesn't matter.

Hurlage, can you please tell me which bands I like adm which of their songs I like. Thanksyou.

Can I be told stuff about the festy by people who have gone before please?

Distance from car park to camp site, site set-up, where to camp, stuff like that.

Depends what you're after. The family, thus quieter, camping is really close to the car parks, general camping (where our rabble will be I suspect!) is a bit further away & is across the main body of the site. Most of it is on a slight incline, as the site itself is fairly hilly. It can get a bit awkward if muddy.

The kids area is great as well - very vibrant.

Oohh, not sure how much help I can be but I'll try. Last time I came from Exeter on a bus so not sure how far away the campsite from the car parks is. The site is pretty compact though so can't imagine it's more than a 15 minute walk from the far end of the site to the other. Drivers please feel free to contradict me, I like it that way.

The site set up is basically a stately home, with a big bank hillside that houses the main camping area, rolling down to the arena and then the main stage at the bottom of the hill. I say arena but there isn't actually an arena, you can go where you want when you want. No hiding booze to get past snarly secrurity. I believe family camping is on the other side of the site (behind the Big Top stage) but I never made it that far so please correct me again if I'm painfully wrong. Will you be wanting to go in Family?

3 stages (Main, Big Top and Little Top. Little Top has comedy in the day and then turns gurny wurny after dark),the Speigel Tent for silly dancing and the Bimble Inn which seems to go on late into the night. Spent a far bit of time in there, drinking cocktails and Cava and playing Giant Jenga during the day time. It's lovely but down quite a steep hill. Short but steep, great for rolling down the bank. Really big kids area between the Main stage and the Big Top, lots of Glasto-type walkabout stuff (seagulls, non-smiling people, that sort of stuff) and workshops, arts & crafts and stuff like that. Not the best place to roll a spliff when police are around, as one of our party found to his cost.

I'm sure I've missed a lot but others will probably be able to help more.

Ally - that's a big ask. Obv the Pogues which you'll know most of I'm sure, the Levs will be doing their first album in full (best songs Carry Me and What You Know) plus their big hits and lots of whizzbangs to end the show on Sunday night. Must try not to be horse tranquilised and lying in a ditch for the whizzbangs this year.

Other stuff I'll be seeing with a song choice of each:

Saw Doctors. Vaguely embarrassing bog-trotting Oirish muzak but stuff I listened to with my dad when I growing up. Song choice would be N17.
Lamb - Gorecki
Dreadzone - Little Britain
The Imagined Village - English supergroup. Sometimes with Billy Bragg, Eliza & Martin Carthy and various others reclaiming English folk from the hey nonny no brigade.
The King Blues - my fave group in the world at the moment. My Boulder, Taking Over and Let's Hang The Landlord are 3 of their best.
John McCusker and Roddy Woomble - chap from Idlewild and ex-Mr Kate Rusby.
Frank Tuner - both albums are pretty damn fine. Long Live The Queen is one of my favourite songs by anyone of the last 3 years.
Kissmet - jumpy around bhangra type of stuff
Pronghorn - washboard-tastic cowpunk.
Broken Family Band - fantastic Americana with dark lyrics but from Cambridge rather than Louisiana. Poor Little Thing is a great tune.
The Wonder Stuff - if it's anything like their set at Wychwood it'll be greatest hits all the way.
The Living End - ace Aussie punk/rockabilly band. Think Green Day with double bass. Monday and Trapped are 2 of may favourite tunes.
Tom Middleton - if he does the same sort of set as at the Chill last year it'll be old skool classics all the way. White gloves and whistle posse aceness.

Lots of other stuff I'd like to see as well. Pendulum DJing, Cara Dillon, Eliza Carthy, Edward II, Jim Moray, Peatbog Faeries, Subhumans (punx not dead!), the Blockheads.

Of course, all the above can be taken in whilst sitting at the back of the arena drinking booze and playing all manner of board and card games.

I think that's the longest post I've ever done. Sorry, but you did both ask me a question.

Hurlage, that's smashing, thanks. Re where to camp, unless there's a really good reason for us to go Family I think we'd rather be camping with you lot. There's time enough to figure that out, though.

I'll come see the subhumans with you. I was explaining them to Ally and she didn't seem very impressed at a load of grandads still trying to smash the system.

thanks Hurlage. Can we have a Beautiful Days Musical Education Day on Friday, please?

As Him Indoors said, I don't think we'll camp in family. Milly is small enough to be portable in sling or buggy and taken round pretty much anywhere with us. Maybe next year we'l want to think about Family camping etc, but this year I reckon we can just chuck her in a rucksack and take her wherever we go.

Omg. That changes everything.

Fuck fuck fuck!


edit: just had a look at the lineup and this does look rather good. Arghh! Decisions.

There are even lovely men with rickshaws that will cart all your gear for you to wherever you choose to pitch up tent.

Yes, I quite fancy the look of this one. Will have to wait until I get back from Glasto to get a ticket though. Nikki would be coming too so would actually bring a tent and everything.

Tent? Fucking lightweight.

Arrrrgh. I'm going to see how Glasto is. I don't know why I'm seeing how that is to be honest.

I really, really want to go. I'll speak to Gregory Michael or The Messiah as he's now been named.

If we get the beautiful sparkly tent then Greg will want to go. And, he loves all that music. And, it's the end of the summer & we could go really.