Over the past 3 days, I've put in 36 hours at the Oxford Folk Festival. I'm knackered, my feet and legs ache... but I am over the moon. What a weekend!! The first big buzz was that after just 2 years helping out with stewarding (in return for free tickets - whoot!), I was asked to be one of two 'town hall managers' this year, looking after nearly 100 stewards over the festival weekend and scoring an 'Access All Areas' pass. Better yet, I got to share the job with the lovely Becca, a fellow flautist from the Half Moon, who is studing 'how to run festivals' as part of her arts degree. Cool, huh?
In between problem solving on the fly and standing in for stewards who needed a wee, we managed to catch some amazing acts, and some brilliant gossip (the things some artists want as a condition of playing! ha!) as the weekend just got better and better.
Friday night and I loved Jack Harris, who I'd never heard of before, and the sheer joy and uplifting African harmonies of Oxford's own Afropean Choir. And Ants and I were reunited with 'Laurence the sound guy', a friend of Mandy Connells who we met 2 yrs ago at Cropredy. We probably shouldn't have all stayed in the Half Moon after 'til 3am, but Barry the Steward was driving us home and besides, you only live once.
Saturday, after recovering from one of the artists turning up just 20 minutes before he was due to play, feet hardly touched ground as I ran between errands and trying to catch the talents of local Half Moon virtuosos Rob Ryan, Jamie Huddlestone and James Bell. Scotland's 'next big thing', a trio called Lau, were amazing, as was Fay Hield from the Witches of Elswick, accompanied by her fabulous spouse, Mr Boden.
Minor panic ensued as we lost Anthony at the beginning of a shift... only to discover that he'd been helping a 4-month-pregnant Kate Rusby lift instruments onto the main stage. He had no idea who she was until later... but there was no mistaking that voice once she began. Mid-set, I desperately looked around for Ants in the crowd as she launched into 'You belong to me', which has been 'Anthony's song' for me ever since that night at the Dan O'Connell before I came away. Found him at last and had to shed a tear, although we laughed long and hard as the woman with the voice of an angel then dropped back into broad Yorkshire dialect for her legendary banter between numbers.
And I thought that would be the highlight of my weekend. Little did I know that the Reel Bach Consort (who take the works of Bach and turn them into folk tunes, complete with bagpipes), would prove that Germans DO have a sense of humour; or that the whole festival committee would get down the front of the stage to shake it for Spiers and Boden (see pix). I even caught the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain - who are good, although I still can't stop giggling at the concept of a uke orchestra, specially one that only has about 7 ukes in it!
Last but not least, after all the cleaning and tidying was done, Becca and I learned we'd been made 'friends of the festival' for this year, and scored seats at the free 'thankyou' concert from Saul Rose (who, incidentally, plays the lilty Hobbity bit on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack whenever hobbits are in a happy place in the movie). Gilesy and Woodsy made it down to the 'Moon for the session, and I just know that the revellers will have kicked on long past my bedtime.
I can't wait for next year.
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