Hello Guys!
Well, I haven't blogged for an extremely long time. I'm sorry, I'm the absolute worst. From the end of March until the 23rd of May, coursework, revision and exams had consumed my life. I literally didn't do anything except revise for that entire period. I am ecstatic that it's all finally over! Since then, I've been recovering from lack of sleep and doing a few extra shifts at work. Now I'm finally back to doing what I love; writing.
On the 11th of June, I attended my second music festival. I know, crazy right, seeing as I've lived in London most of my life and the UK plays host to countless well-known festivals. The first one I went to was a few years back, when Radio One brought their yearly music festival to London. I was put off festivals completely because I came home covered in mud and aching from head to toe. Even though I got to see Rihanna live, it was not a fun day. I decided to give festivals another chance after being invited to Strawberries and Creem festival by one of my closest friends, Zahra who studies at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge. My ticket only cost me £35, so I thought what the hell, why not?
The day began with a bit of pre-drinking (an essential part of any student's night out). Although, I can honestly say that I have never started drinking as early as 11am. The festival started at 12, so it was either pre-drink or pay excessively for drinks when we got there, which I was definitely not going to do.
Admittedly, I'm not the biggest music person. So I didn't know half of the people on the setlist when I bought the tickets (and I still don't... except Nelly. Everybody knows Nelly - although I'm not sure where he's been hiding for the past 5 years...) Despite that, I was still excited to see all the acts and have a chilled day with two of my closest friends. Of the acts we saw, I recognised Kano, Nelly and Big Narstie.
What I liked about Strawberries & Creem was that it wasn't only artists performing, but DJs too. Again, I wasn't familiar with any of them before the festival, but I liked the fact that I was able to experience several different genre's of music; Grime, Rap and Reggae are just a few of them.
Also, unlike the last festival that I went to, there was space to relax on the grass. I get claustrophobic very easily, especially if I'm in a crowd of people with very little escape routes (the reason why I can't go to a standing concert unless I'm at the back - which is basically pointless - the very front, or in the seats).
The only thing I can fault about the whole day was the location. The festival is held in Haggis Farm, a field about 20-30 minutes drive from the centre of Cambridge. On the way there, the taxi was relatively cheap (about £12) but on the way back, not only were there a shortage of taxis, but they were overcharging people by more than triple what the fair should cost; some were charging
£50! That's more than the festival ticket cost!
Getting a taxi was tempting, especially because the Heavens had opened and it was chucking it down. Luckily, we had planned for this weather and bought rain jackets. Following the crowd, we decided to walk back to the centre of Cambridge, hoping the walk would not be too long... boy, were we wrong. The whole journey lasted about 1 hour and a half. In the pouring rain. With a gash on my leg (caused by barbed wire... don't ask) bleeding profusely. What can I say, it was definitely an experience. Good company made the time fly by.
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| 3 miles = death |
Strawberries and Creem was obviously very small compared to the much bigger festivals that were taking place that weekend (Parklife, Isle of Wight for example), but it was pretty much perfect for me. As I already said, this is was only my second festival. Maybe one day I'll feel confident enough to go to a larger one. For now, I'll be taking baby steps.
2 comments
Ok, see.. now I'm convinced that I need to attend a music festival. I may or may not have attended one in the past -- I'm not going to confirm or deny to embarrass myself. LOL! We have a few coming up in the states this summer so I'm considering them.. even though it will be scorching hot.
ReplyDeleteYes girl! Do it, you won't regret it. LOL I'm betting that's an interesting story :D American festivals always look so good tho, which ones are you considering? And I'd take sun over rain and mud any day! x
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