Hop Farm Festival 2011

I discovered this festival by accident a few months ago. It seemed fairly cheap and yet with a stellar line up. In previous years bob Dylan and Neil Young have played, though I gather 2009 was a wet squib and in 2010, many were disappointed by Dylan's performance. I'd have liked to have seen Dylan though.

I haven't been to a proper festival since 2005, Glasto. Since then I've been too mired up in my own problems to be bothered. So this is all very good news if you're me.

One thing that sold me this fest was that it is just 30 minutes drive away from where i live. I could have cycled if I had to. I didn't have to.

I just went for one day though and camped over till Sunday. It cost £25 to camp but on the whole was worth it to keep the festival feeling going for just a little longer.

I'm still buzzing now, as I write this, at home.



We got there in an hour due to bad traffic in Welling (Danson Festival) and were parked up, feet planted on festival dirt soon after noon.

Then tents up, and straight into the arena. We walked past food stalls, clothes stalls where ladies tried on vintage dresses while hubby sat bored, being asked intermittently to give his "honest" opinion, and wondering why his festival experience has gone quite so radically wrong.

The food stalls looked good, the eye-catching ones being the Mexican food, the hog roast and the Indian style burger van below:

And then the music:

We started with Frankie & The Heartstrings. --> On Myspace.

They were even better than I expected from seeing their stuff on Youtube earlier this week. Young, and therefore very energetic. Good to see a young band not trying to be achingly cool, or under the delusion that they are black in any way. This band from Sunderland, working class, and a throwback to the 80s when bands behaved like gangs and the music was less well crafted but much more heartfelt. A fabulous perfomance by a fabulous band, and I hope to see them creeping up the bill in future festivals.

We followed them by watching the Bluetones, now on their farewell tour. I remember them bringing out their first single and getting played by Mark and Lard on Radio One. They were a band I neither hated nor loved. A band that were almost too bland to remember, though always perfectly pleasant when being played. The opposite of the Heartstrings in that they were perfectly crafted and yet deviod of passion. We watched two songs and then moved on.

After the Bluetones we wandered off to catch legendary band Magazine on the main stage.

I knew a few of the songs and enjoyed the 30 minutes set, though 30 minutes was enough.

After Magazine my friend and i parted ways while i trotted off to see Graham Coxon, P stayed on to see Patti Smith's accoustic set.

Coxon was magnificent. He seems to have absorbed the history of rock & pop and regurgitated it in the form of several albums worth of brilliant pop songs. This guy was the heart and soul of Blur as far as I'm concerned and the bast part of it too. It was a rollicking set, and though I knew very few of the songs, it didn't feel like that.

A break in proceedings followed while we toileted and snacked, and got into position at the main stage for Lou Reed.

Some said he was shit. Mostly people said they were disappointed. Well I thought he was in good form. I was also mightily impressed with the tremendous bad language he used in a couple of the songs.

It's true that Lou was not in a crowd pleasing mood. He was sombre and downbeat. But then, isn't Lou always sombre and downbeat? In fact he did quite a few crowd-pleasers: Velvets classics "Sweet Jane", "Sunday Morning" "All Tomorrow's Parties", "Who Loves The Sun"; a cover of Lennon's "Working Class Hero" and a number of solo numbers including the fairly obscure "Waves of Fear". OK - some of the introductions dragged, and a few numbers sounded a bit droney. Lots of it was a mite bit too delicate for a festival format. I feel he'd have been better rocking out a bit more, like he did on the last two numbers. But really, what did people expect? Ling a longa lou? Lou sings popular songs including his greatest hit? Lou's always been challenging, and that's what he was today. Challenging but worth the effort i'd say!

then Iggy. Crowd pleasing Iggy, who can do no wrong. He really was our dog and you could almost see his tail wagging non-stop like an eager to please terrier. ~He looked so happy on stage! and I'm so happy that I've finally got to see him.

Finally, Morrissey. Headliner in a gig that included Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Iggy pop. Of course Morrissey was aware of this, and remarked "How can anyone follow Iggy Pop?"

Before coming on stage we were treated to a video compilation of Mozza's faves including Gene Vincet, Diana Dors, Lou Reed, New york Dolls, Sparks, and others. The set itself was a throwback to the era of Smith's covers being mainly stills from classic old films. And Morrissey did more smiths songs than I remember him doing any time in the last 20 years.

Before Moz appeared, a woman approached me and asked for my help. There was a bloke sat in her folding chair next her partner and bothering them, refusing to get out of the chair despite being asked politely and kept asking them if they were lesbians.

I genuinely did not give it a second thought. I consider lesbians to be a part of the continuum of "god's chosen people", though there be no god, if there was a god, a good and groovey god, they would be right in there!

So that two lovely lesbian ladies were being bothered in front of my very eyes was a call to action. I jumped in and confronted the brute, for a brute he was. Half my age and abviously stoned, and again, right in front of me, asked the lady to his left, "are you lesbians?". Clearly they were, and clearly it was none of his business. I tried to reason with the guy. P had joined me and was standing shoulder to shoulder with me. I hoped to intimidate him out of the chair for me and P are quite big looking blokes, and I know I can intimidate if I want to, for a good cause mind you, never for evil.

The guy was heavy, very heavy. Seemed to be using protester techniques on us, the very ones I used to once to prevent the police from carrying me out of protests. You think heavy and do an impression of a sack of cement.

So - and this took everyone by surprise, inclduign me. I held the chair down and pivoted it backwards so the guy fell out of the chair onto his back, and then pulled the chair out from under him. Voila, one twat now removed form chair. so he decided to rugby tackle me and after a couple of goes got me over. Then some other blokes joined in the attempt to intimidate him. this time it worked. The kid tried to be friendly, I don;t think he ever meant malice, but behaving like a twat was not a way to win friends, especially amongst the lesbian community.

Then a security guard joined us and finally, finally, after a bit more threatening - this time that he would be thrown out of the festival - he walked away.

Shortly after that Moz walked out onto the stage.

We got treated to "Murder", "There Is a Light", "Miserable now", "Panic", amongst others, and such Morrissey classics as old b side "ouija board", "you're the one for me fatty", "everyday is like sunday" alongside more recent fare such as "paris", "irish heart" and "first of the gang".

For the moment Morrissey is still the Godfather of Indie pop and long may he reign.

I was very disapointed that the comedy tent at midnight was so packed out I couldn't get near it. I wanted to see Sean Hughes and Stewart Lee, but so, apparently, did everyone else at the festival.

instead we went to the Mexican food stall which had ben singing to me like a crazy-loud motherfucking siren ever since we arrived there - chilli, burritos, tacos, tortillas, and all that excellent stuff from my favourite north american country.

What happened next wasn't planned. once back at the tent i suddenly became too damned tired to move. P went back to the bar and left me for (nearly) dead. I rasped "go on without me, I'm not going to make it" through my gritted teeth as I lay pathetically on the damp grass. My two cans of lager went undrunk and instead i lay in my tiny tent listening to drunken conversations and marital rows as couples sweetly whispered such words as "fuck you, I was waiting for you there." There was also a couple who got busted for having drugs, though they did get let off as long as they took it back to their tent.

I slept fitfully and woke up with a hangover and a full bladder, inside the world's smallest tent.

I love festivals, can't wait for next year!!

More bits...

A Sideways Look at Lou Reed


Iggy invites the audience on stage to dance to a song I once believed was called "Shake A Beetle"

Greenpeace VW Campaign

George Lucas's lawyers have pulled this off Youtube so here's a link: http://www.vwdarkside.com/

Excrement From My Camera

I'm pleased to say that the infection in my nose has gone away as a result of shit-loads of anti-biotics that I've been taking. Had a couple of dodgy mornings though the week where I woke up with terrible headaches, but essentially, am getting better.

Managed to cycle to work and back every day except one morning, giving me 95% - the best I've managed since before I was seriously ill at the end of last year.

Dunwich Dynamo - Bring it On!!

I've had a good week on the net - with the BT connection really doing it's job - full on Twitter and full on blog. Took to trying to find a backlog of youtube footage, mainly old music and live performances - I've got two years worth to catch up on, and have subscribed to all my fave podcasts. Now it's mainly a diet of news, science and discussion, plus film and music and quite a lot of comedy.

This week I mainly watched Sopranos (final season), Buffy (series 6), Weeds (series 2), Phenomena by Argento, and some Glasto footage - Pulp 1995 & Morrissey 2011.

10 eccentric dwarfs live next door to me?

Thanks to Morrissons, this weekend's meals sorted for less than £2.00

This rather racey young lady has been propping up the bar for decades now, but I just noticed her this week.

New

Old

my life in drugs - this week's prescriptions.

Johann Hari: How to survive the age of distraction - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

There was originally an article by Johann Hari in this post. In the light of recent events, ie, Hari was a major bull-shit merchant and lazy cut and paste journo to boot, I have removed it. There is still a link if you're interested.

Hack charge teenager has Asperger's | UK news | guardian.co.uk

The court heard that Cleary is of high intelligence but is agoraphobic and has difficulty interacting with other people. But Mr Cooper's request to the prosecution to reconsider the bail appeal was denied.

This seems to be another clear case of an AS sufferer with huge intelligence receiving little or no support from the authoritiies, no guidance and no clear boundaries, suddenly find themselves in deep shit without clearly understanding why.

The state says we can't afford to help people like me, even suggesting we should accept lower salaries for not being entirely "normal" at work , but then comes down like a ton of bricks when we put a foot wrong. Really? We can afford to arrest, hold, prosecute and deport these people, but not a little bit of counselling. That's really fucked up!

Don't believe the spin on thorium being a ‘greener’ nuclear option - News - The Ecologist

It produces less radioactive waste and more power than uranium but the UK would be making a mistake in looking to it as a 'greener' fuel. The Ecologist reports

I wonder if this makes the pro-nuclear conspiracist climate deniers shut the fuck up about thorium. I'm so fucking sick of hearing about thorium and associated conspiracy theory being posted about under Guardian CIF articles about climate change and energy issues. It's nonsense you idiots - now feck off!!!

humble-oil.jpg (800×496)

How right they were:

humble-oil.jpg (800×496)

The most unequal place in Britain' - The people of Tower Hamlets speak out

It's a good little film this. We all knew that once the cuts started to bite, the government would start to become increasingly unpopular. Today, in the Guardian

"David Cameron's personal popularity has dropped, and the Liberal Democrats' poll rating has hit its lowest level for 14 years, a Guardian/ICM survey has revealed."

Though Labour is not benefitting particularly but small parties including the Greens are.

World's oceans in

'shocking' decline

"As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the oceans, the implications became far worse than we had individually realised.

"We've sat in one forum and spoken to each other about what we're seeing, and we've ended up with a picture showing that almost right across the board we're seeing changes that are happening faster than we'd thought, or in ways that we didn't expect to see for hundreds of years."

These "accelerated" changes include melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, sea level rise, and release of methane trapped in the sea bed.

"What we're seeing at the moment is unprecedented in the fossil record - the environmental changes are much more rapid," Professor Rogers told BBC News.

"We've still got most of the world's biodiversity, but the actual rate of extinction is much higher [than in past events] - and what we face is certainly a globally significant extinction event."

This is really bad news which adds to all the other really bad news we've been seeing on the environment generally. While we're dicking around putting in a solar panel here, and a windmill there, we are continuing to deforest, acidify the seas, melt the ice caps and generally fucking up the environment. All the time it seems most people are absolutely blind to this reality, and the abuse being meted out to environmentalists is unprecedented.

Our children we inherit the world that we deserve.

By Dose Is All Swollen Ub

It's true. On Thursday and Friday I just thought it was migraine. Then after my headache cleared the nose hurt to touch. Today it looks visibly bigger. I scared myself online self diagnosing and even though there is a virtual three line whip on us attending the team meeting which begins in about an hour's time, I really need to go to the doctor's. One more day and who knows how bad it can get. Last time I had anything like this the whole side of my face began swelling up within a couple of days.

Just woke up dreaming about open cast coal mines - or rather, on in particular that I paid a visit to. Hundreds were streaming in to help themselves to some coal. I was with a part of people that seemed to made up of former work colleagues. We arrived in some sort of bus or train on a platform above the open cast. When we stopped it took me so long to get my coat on, etc. that I was the only person left onboard.

PC Simon Harwood is due in court today for killing Ian Tomlinson. Let's hope justice previals, for once.

[Follow Up - Tomlinson Faces Trial At Old Bailey ] <- watch this space

When I was staying with my parents in Devon, back in March, I sat watching the news with them, just after being on Twitter. I'd been mainly following Tweets from Egypt and Libya, and other countries in that region which were beginning to experience serious unrest.

I immediately noticed a massive discrepency between what I'd seen on Twitter and what I was seeing on the news. The BBC were still insisting on referring to the ceasefire which it said was in place, hours after it had become clear on Twitter that the ceasefire had in fact broken down. In fact one reporter even tried to say that there was no ceasefire during a live report and was interrupted by the anchor guy who then immediately went back to the same cease-fire in place fiction. I can't pretend to understand what was going on there, but it does seem to be pretty much the usual thing for the BBC to lag behind actual news in such situations, and yet quite happy to speculate in other situations. My guess is that in very delicate international situations like this they tend to lag behind and take the conservative viewpoint until it becomes clear what the line they need to take is. The line they need to take is the one issued by the government. And before anyone shouts me down about this, it's been clear to me that the BBC does take its orders from the UK government during situations like this. I've heard direct accounts from ex BBC reporters that they've been in the office when the government minister called through, etc. You hear a lot of these stories when you're active on the left, though precious few ever get into print.

The other issue was in Egypt. I ranted to the telly, annoying parents who were swallowing the official line, hook and sinker too, that a revolution had taken place. Noone seemed to be under that illusion in Egypt. It was clear that the military, who had taken charge, were carrying out a damage limitation exercise. Again, knowledge of history here tells you all you need to know (It's funny that I constantly had that old saw about not knowing history and being doomed to repeat it ranted at me by middle-class twots who it turns out know absolutely F-all about history themselves. My old saw about history is a fine line between history and propaganda - which then just ends up confusing the stupid). I've read extensively about Latin America, so I could see fairly standard stuff going on here. Activists were being rounded up and imprisoned, or even tortured, and the BBC wasn't reporting any of it. Preparations were being made for an election to ensure that the right candidates stood, and that even more important, the right candidate wins.

anyway - latest on the Egyptian situation from the world socialist Web Site

Robert Fisk

Robert Fisk: I saw these brave doctors trying to save lives – these charges are a pack of lies - Robert Fisk, Commentators - The Independent

This article has apparently got Fisk into trouble - Bahrain are seeking to sue him and the newspaper, for daring to print the truth. Full story on this website:

http://www.petercliffordonline.com/bahrain-news/

Of course, Bahrain is still being fully supported by the UK. No humanitarian action required there even though civilians have clearly been killed in huge numbers.

Libya's civilian casualties have silenced Sarkozy's crusade | Nabila Ramdani

Libya's civilian casualties have silenced Sarkozy's crusade | Nabila Ramdani

It's funny how quickly this "humanitarian" action is just turning into any other war.

Brian Haw - 1949 to 2011

Death of Brian Haw prompts rallying to the peace cause

Tony Benn On Brian Haw, Guardian, 20th June

Exellent Greenwich Blog

It' why I don't even try to do this sort of thing - I just couldn't do it as well as this.

With Time On My Hands...

I've just learnt how to edit videos using a function on Youtube - and here are the first three made from existing video bits and photos I happen to have on my laptop:

When I stopped To Watch The ducks...

And the birds and the bees, and horses, especially horses, of Thamesmead



This fox was on my neighbour's garage for ages while I filmed, when the neighbour came out with great lumps of chicken and fed it:

Fallujah Revisited

Some harrowing images here of deformed babies.

Other rather interesting videos to be had too. Click on title link...

Previous bloggings on Fallujah

Dreamland

Sorry to bore you with my dreams, but I need to write them down somewhere.

Woke up after dreaming about travelling around Ireland - I mean literally around - in a ferry. I was then in a pub talking to some Irish people and said I'd been to Dublin. They bought me a drink on the strength of this. then i said I'd also been to http://www.dunlaoire.com/ I was lying.

there was a lego Euston Station, on wheels. I wondered why all lego versions of things were on wheels. Then outside the real Euston Station with a famous and attractive Irish woman. she'd been called up my my colleagues to asnwer questions as part of a consumer survey. She hung up so I leapt in and asked her the same questions. she was cooperative.

I wondered why the sudden obsession with all things Ireland. Getting up and seeing post - a lot of post - I picked it up and found a postcard from my parents, on holiday in Wales, and the final line was "where the ferry sets off to Ireland". Just one of those bizarre instances of synchronicty I guess.

Morrissey Review

Morrissey – review | Music | The Guardian

I have a ticket for the Hop Farm Festival in Kent which is two weeks away now. Morrissey is the headliner. Kind of got myself in the mood for it by watching the Glasto film on telly this morning which showed clip of Mozza in 2004, which was my first Glasto, has it happens, and I was in the Mozza crowd, right at the front. Though I'm not in the film, DAMMIT!!!

This review suggests Mozza's still on form, and interestingly, included a Lou Reed song in his set. Lou Reed will be playing just before Morrissey at hop Farm - so I'm hoping for some sort of collaborative performance.

I've seen Mozza numerous times in the past - Glasto in 2004, and a few times in the 90s, Crystal Palace in about 1997, Wembely Arena and Brixton around 1993/4. I've always manage to see him in terrible venues, except at Brixton where instead my first wife started a row just as we were about to leave, and we ended up missing most of the show. what's worse, the bit we saw was fucking fantastic.

So it was some compensation for me to see him in 2004, right up the front, on mushrooms so there was none of this drinks/toilets/more drinks/etc situation going on. I was high, I wasn't drinking and I was right at the fucking front, at glasto main stage, and Morrissey was about to return after years of absence and do one of the most blindingly great performances I've ever seen at a festival. it was f*cking marvellous.

so I'm hoping for something similar on july 2nd.

Mozza - please be f*cking marvellous for me!! I love you!! and I'm old enough to know better!

A Cycle Ride in Thamesmead and Thames Side

I went down to Thamesmead a couple of weeks ago to help out on a stall for the Bexley branch of the LCC. It was a little fair organised by the Local authority, I think, with mainly bric a brac stalls raising money for various groups. I took part in a little cycle ride tour orgainsed for the children, just around nearby bits of Thamemead. I've been through Thamesmead on the main road, and along the Thameside path many times, but never before actually into thamesmead itself.

some links:

• Hidden London
• a potted history of Thamesmead
• Green Chain Walk

Initially I struggled to find a way in off the main road. Eventually found an overgrown footpath and walked along until it finally opened out into a cyclable path:

There has been some attempt to clean up the river front - or at least there was about a couple of years ago. I guess that it stopped as a result of some cuts. The clean up effort was never seen through to the end, and now it's going to gradually get worse again, I guess.

Thamesmead is full of horses - all friendly and attention seeking:

I found this horse on a roundabout. I was slightly scared when standing here:

Some arty type shots around the cement works:

Twitter: Have I peaked?

BT Infinity

I'm not advertising, or endorsing, just saying that I've got it. If it's crap I'll say so, and if it's good, well, so it bloody well should be.

So far though - 2 days in - just really pleased to have a normal broadband connection. Been catching up with my podcast backlog. My usual stuff such as Skeptic's guide, Dr Karl, Adam & Joe, in Our Time, collings and herrin, Mark Kermode, etc.

Also downloaded Springwatch episodes - I've always hated missing Springwatch. It used to be such an important part of spring/early summer for me and, I hope, my step-daughter when she was still a kid. that and Buffy - the only programmes we watched together.

anyway - now I have no excuse for not keeping my blog up to date.

My guardian clippings

My Guardian CiF comments

I'd like to tell Mr Piggles to fuck himself, frankly, but you have to be polite on CIF

Cyclists using Olympic lanes risk £200 fine | News

Cyclists using Olympic lanes risk £200 fine | News

"They face a £200 fine if caught riding in the routes reserved to speed VIPs across the capital.

Many key roads, such as the A40, Victoria Embankment and Marylebone Road, have been included in a 108-mile, £25 million Olympic Route Network.

Many pedestrian crossings will be shut, right-turns banned, traffic lights phased and bus lanes suspended on the network. Almost half of the roads will have their outside lanes designated "Games lanes", designed to shuttle 82,000 athletes, officials and media staff between venues."

Seems like for a few weeks the tube will be too crowded to use and the roads too dangerous to cycle on. It occurs to me though that this might be a good chance to really fuck the traffic up big time, after all, if we have to get out there with the big traffic, and if we get fined for giving way, then what option do we have but to keep pedalling away at 12 mph (on average) with all the buses, lorries, and taxis stuck behind us.

Should we have an anti olympics critical mass? Should we head out to Stratford to protest the gagging order in force around that part of London?

It could be fun.

Original cycling plans

previous rants about the London Olympics

Fox on a Shed

plastic is rubbish

Finally got round to putting my new tyre onto the bike. I've had comments from the bike shop man about my tyre, it was compeltely bald, and last couple of weeks, blue bits wereshowing through where the rubber had completely worn away.

So as I have had so much time this week, and got through so many jobs, I hd no reason to delay any further.

It was a bugger t get on. Thought I wasn't going to do it. Broke all my tyre levers, and I only had two decent ones anyway. Finally I ended up using a couple of spoons.

So today I bought these - metal tyre levers. There is no substitute:

Area 51 article

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/area-51-uncovered-2292659.html

I've been interested in Area 51 for some time now. My fascination started back in early 90s when I was a full on conspiracy and UFO nut. Now, as a Fortean, I'm interested in the whole phenomena of conspiracy - how they work as self confirming evidence free faith based systems - like religion. though evidence is collected, it is not examined or considered in any systemic or rational way. It can be interpreted in two ways. The fact that Area 51 was off the maps and utterly secret fuelled all the nonsense about aliens and spacecraft being studied there. now that the base is gradually being opened up, well that too will be evidence for government dastardly doings - of course the government are just trying to gloss over the truth, don't you see?

To further indulge in weirdness and demythologising the mythologies - I will be attending the Fortean Times organised Uncon event in November. Already quite excited.

http://www.forteantimes.com/events/uncon2011/

drugs war

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-how-can-americas-war-on-drugs-succeed-if-their-prohibition-laws-failed-1997227.html

I like Johann Hari very much. As well as his articles in the Independent he also produces regular podcasts on similar subjects to his independent column.