Glastonbury

I was talking to a couple of people in the pub last night and the subject of Glastonbury came up. The couple concerned are off to this years event next week attending in a strictly administrative capacity although both are well into middle age. I pointed out that I was never at the actual Glastonbury event but was at its predecessor, the Bath Blues Festival of 1970 which gave Michael Eavis the idea for the annual event that followed which has of course, now become as much a part of the annual summer scene as Ascot and as much part of the rite of passage to adulthood for maany young people as the first pint down the pub. Whilst Glastonbury has become a multi million pound business I suspect that it has had a major effect in promoting mini festivals right across the country, especially in this part of the world, and encouraging people to take up music making who would never have done so and persuading those who played in their youth but have since retired from playing to get their instruments out and return to the stage.

In Silverton, of course, we used to have our own mini festival in the car park as part of street market and for many of us it was one of the most enjoyable parts of the proceedings. You could have a few pints and watch local bands playing under the august evening sky along with an assortment of people ranging from old age pensioners to the Satans Slaves Motorcycle club. Sadly, the usual crop of regulations and complaints from the NIMBY element put a stop to this event but perhaps some enterprising people could think about putting something similar on in a less contentious location. Most of the post 1945 generation tend to enjoy good music and good company in an outdoor location. As good a venue as the Lamb Inn Shed is its not the same as having music in the open air.