I made no plans for this weekend. Well, I sort of planned to go to London but I've spent most of this week being sociable and catching up from last weekend so I decided London could do without me for another week. I could have gone to Pride in Norwich but I'd forgotten it was on, and anyway I'm not feeling very 'gay' at the moment.

So instead I've been ridiculously productive at home. Nothing exciting obviously, but tons of jobs have been done and everything is nicely organised. I could have done more but I decided I'd save them for the week as I have quiet one ahead of me.

Now before I go and settle down to this evening's entertainment I wanted to write more about last weekend's festival. I know I've given you a blow-by-blow account of what I saw, but now it's time to write about how I felt:

My Big Latitude Festival Blog (part 4)

It was a lovely relaxing weekend. I was in the campervan/caravan field, in a tent next to Jan & Barry's caravan, from which came a steady stream of gin, bacon sandwiches and pastry products. Ema, Alan & family were in the family camping, and this year had two tents. We popped in to see them when it rained on Sunday, and Ema whipped up pancakes, as you do. She truly is her mother's daughter!

Each day I had a list of thing I wanted to see, so I'd wander off and see things then meet up with people, then some of us would go see something else, then we'd split up again. It's a great way of doing a festival - I got to see everything I wanted, plus I got to be very sociable!

The food is good if slightly expensive, and if you pick the wrong time there could be a big queue. But I managed to enjoy haggis, three different types of Scottish pudding, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and cider. I didn't starve!

On Sunday it rained in the afternoon, and after I'd seen a Nick Cave film I still had several hours ahead of me. I was all wandered out, so I headed back to the tent and found Jan & Barry at home in the caravan. We gossiped, had gin and a few sweets, then the sun came out and I felt revived enough to go back out for more bands. On the way back I bumped into Ema & Alan, which was one of those happy coincidences, then I left them shopping and headed off in search of fun. As I did I realised that I was properly happy for the first time in ages! I'd proved to myself that I was capable of doing stuff on my own, and I was having fun, something I just don't do often enough. It was a very content feeling to have.

Being in a tent with nothing more to worry about than the next band and the next gin really did help me get things back in perspective. There were people I really missed and wished had been there - I hope you know who you are! - and there were people I didn't miss at all, which made things clearer in my mind.

Hopefully I'll go next year, and it would be lovely to see some of you there!

Thank you Jan & Barry for gin, bacon sandwiches, driving and good company! xxxx

Here's my favourite photo from the weekend - Jan as Lady Gaga:



That's a picnic table she's wearing. Give her enough gin and she might sing her version of Paparazzi, retitled Liberace. And here's the woman herself:



Uncanny isn't it!

Here's the rest of the weekend's pictures:

latitude 2009

I'm not eating out tonight rather impressively. And as I'm eating cheese on toast and Jammie Dodgers it's safe to say I'm not cooking either!

Before the weekend begins I ought to finish writing about last weekend:

My Big Latitude Festival Blog (part 3) - Sunday

I'm starting to regret the band-by-band account of the weekend. It worked nicely when we saw four bands over a whole festival, but now my festival going has been rejuvenated it's proving rather exhausting. But the urge to show off keep a record of what I saw is strong, so here goes:

Sir Peter Blake - the day started in a tent, lounging on big cushions, listening to a legendary Pop artist talking about painting. He was lovely, and so interesting I could have listened to him talk for days! There was also a bus at the festival selling some of his prints:



Simon Goddard - also in the Literature tent, talking about his new book Mozipedia, an encyclopedia of all things Morrissey! I'd heard about it and thought it was a bit stupid and unnecessary, but having heard him talk about it I want a copy! I particularly enjoyed an anecdote about Morrissey going to lunch with Henry Winkler (The Fonz) and getting him to ring Morrissey's Mum for her recipe for mashed potatoes.

I'd steered clear of the comedy tent over the weekend, because it's very busy, and also because comedy isn't always my thing. But I had time to kill so I sat down to see what was happening and ended up watching a comedian called Andrew Lawrence who was fabulously bitter, swore lots and was really quite filthy, which was just what I needed for Sunday lunch!

Do you love me like I love you - a short film, which will end up as a DVD extra on a forthcoming reissue of an early Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album, which was followed by a Q&A with the directors. It's really interesting to see people talking intelligently and passionately about music!

The rain stopped, but it left everywhere wet, so with four hours to go until the final band of the day, and with no urge to wander, I went back to the tent for a gin and some crisps, which perked me up no end! So when the sun came out I headed back for one last batch of bands:

Saint Etienne - I think they're incredibly underrated, I never really think of them but when I do I suddenly remember how many of their songs I know and love! They did a hits set and I sang along to every song, and for 45 minutes they turned a big old tent into a bit of a gay disco. Here they are singing something fabulous:



Slow Club - these were a last minute fill-in bonus band, who I only noticed because of a photograph in the programme in which one of the band has lovely hairy forearms, which I love!



They are a duo: man on guitar, woman on drums, both singing - how very White Stripes! But they're English, less rock, more quirky and fun, and rather fab!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - I came to this bad very late in the day, so the last few years have been exciting as I've caught up with them. I love Nick Cave's lyrics and he always puts on a good show. But this left me a bit flat - he's very rocky at the moment and as it was Sunday night I would have preferred a few strings. He did a short, sweet set which somehow left me feeling disappointed.

So that's what I saw - loads wasn't it! No wonder I've been exhausted all this week!

I've just eaten out for the second night in a row, this time with the 24 year old. I haven't seen him for about a month, and to be honest hadn't missed him, but he'd been badgering me to do something so we went for a meal then for drinks afterwards.

We went to a Chinese restaurant that just serves a buffet, which I'd been daydreaming about all day! The food was great, really tasty and not horribly greasy. Of course I overdid it with the starters, but still managed to cram in some main course, and of course there was room for pudding:



Clockwise from top: toffee bananas (yes I know they look like potatoes), jelly, sushi. I know sushi isn't pudding, but it needs to be kept cool so it was in the same cabinet as the pudding, which is probably a food safety nightmare but I'm not worrying about that. But of course I didn't notice it until I was ready for pudding, so I had it before the jelly. And lovely it was too!

Then we moved onto Bar Red, a gay friendly bar in town which I'd never been to before. It was really quiet but actually quite nice. We sat in the garden until it rained, then came in and watched the slightly odd collection of customer's, until we were too tired to speak.

And how was the 24 year old? Well, I think I'm done with him. I don't want to have any more sex with him, and he's not that interesting company - he has no interest in anything I've done and has done nothing himself to talk about. I think he was a little diversion to get me through winter, which sounds harsh but is honest.

Tomorrow I can't eat out. In fact I probably shouldn't eat at all!

Last night Jan, Josh and their new baby, who are over from Spain visiting Jan's family, came over for the evening. Josh got his fix of internet access whilst Jan and I gossiped and started on the wine.

Then we headed off to The Hare Arms for food. We sat in the conservatory because it wasn't warm enough to sit outside - typical summer!

The food turned out to be great: luxury fish pie, which had big chunks of fish in it, although bizarrely they'd swapped the mashed potato topping for pastry. Then I had an Amaretto Syllabub, which was essentially a cup of cream, but I'm not complaining!

There was also a woman from work in the bar, out for a meal with another woman I used to work with, and after two pints of Guinness and a glass of wine I managed to get their names the wrong way round. Oh dear!

It was a lovely, sociable evening, lots of laughing and gossiping - great to see you Jan & Josh! xxx

Today was the inevitable return to work. It's fair to say I was dreading it. Amazingly it was fine. Very productive. Cheery even. Dear God, what's happening to me?!

This evening I've been cleaning although it didn't go to plan: I ran out of cleaning products and I think I've broken the vacuum cleaner! I knew cleaning was evil.

My Big Latitude Festival Blog (part 2) - Saturday

Surprisingly busy day, here's what I saw:

Loose Ends - the BBC has quite a presence at the festival and you could get tickets for some of the programmes they were recording on site. We had more than we actually used, but I'm glad we saw something. This is a panel show presented by Clive James with a selection of guests, including awful Keith Allen. It was a funny way to spend an hour and I'm curious to see what bits they edit out.

New Art Club: This is Now - my only venture into the cabaret tent, which I'd love to have spent more time in as the line-up was really interesting but it always seemed to clash with other stuff. This was a show based on the first Now that's what I call music album and was a fantastic trip down memory lane with dance and random memories from the performers' pasts. It was funny and silly and I'd forgotten how great some of those old songs are!

Paloma Faith - I'd never heard of her but the critics, and Ema, insist she's great, which is how we ended up in a tent watching her. She has Amy Winehouse's voice and a fabulous taste in showgirl costumes. Good songs too, she could be huge!

Shlomo and his vocal orchestra - a human beatbox, who'd been on Loose Ends earlier. He was playing on a small stage in the woods, but they obviously seriously underestimated his popularity. So much so that we only stayed for a couple of numbers, as it wasn't really possible to see and enjoy him properly. I know the whole idea of a human beatbox sounds silly and outdated, but he's amazing!

Patrick Wolf - a big gay pop singer with more talent than he knows what to do with. He seemed to play a different instrument for each song and had some very strange outfits that looked like origami. He might be great if someone can get him to focus.

Then there was a little gap in my viewing schedule so we wandered and took in some random things: Newton Faulkner, who seemed exactly like Jack Johnson to me only even worse. And Doves, who I like the idea of but who are actually a bit samey.

Grace Jones - festival highlight! Grace Jones is not your average singer. She's not average anything! So many of her songs are timeless classics but she hasn't done anything for years. Then unexpectedly last year she made an album and people loved it! But she doesn't play live and is on the unpredictable side of mad. I desperately wanted to see her do Slave to the Rhythm but suspected she might not turn up at all.

She did and was only 15 minutes late. The next 75 minutes were jawdroppingly good. She did the key hits and some new songs, which sound fantastic! Her voice is as strong as ever and she looks stunning - she wore a basque and added an alternative accessory to it for each outfit - a jacket, glasses, extraordinary hats, and finally a hula-hoop. That's right - a hula-hoop! She sang Slave to the Rhythm - hurrah! - then introduced her band, and all the time she was twirling a pink hula-hoop around her waist - beat that Madonna! The woman is a legend! I am so glad I saw her!

Here's a photo of her, wearing a hat like a traffic cone, clambering over her set:

My Big Latitude Festival Blog (part 1)

So everyone knows how festivals work even if they haven't been to one: they take place in a field, bands play, people drink too much and accidentally buy tie-dye, then forget where their tent is and end up sleeping up a tree. If you see a band and get out of their alive you've had a successful festival.

And then there's Latitude, which is in a class of its own. The middle class, if you read any of the coverage of the weekend online. One twat on the BBC website was so sneery about the whole thing I could feel my blood boiling! I wonder if we were at the same place?!

I think it is my perfect festival. Their slogan is "it's more than a music festival" and it really is! There is loads of music on, but there is also theatre, film, comedy, poetry, literature, ballet and classical music on an open air stage, cabaret, Radio 4 - it's pretty difficult to be bored! And yes I realise other festivals have these too, but Latitude takes them to a whole new level and gets proper theatre companies to perform in a tent and novelists to read in a field. I love it!

Thursday

The campsite doesn't open until 2pm, and there are very few acts performing that evening so Thursday is a day for settling in and getting your bearings, and amazingly enjoying the sun! That's once you get through the 'holding pen' of course. Traffic Management amazes me - surely we've had traffic for long enough that people know what to do with it!? I guess putting teenagers in charge of things is never a good idea. Where's the WI when you need them?!

But all was forgotten once the tent was pitched in the sun and the first gin was poured. Time for quiche!



Suitably refreshed we headed down to the site itself to meet the other half of our party. There was just chance to catch a bit of The Scaremongers, a band formed by the poet Simon Armitage, who I was curious to see as I've just read a great book of his about music. They reminded me a bit of The Housemartins and were fun so I'd like to see them again.

Friday

It all kicks off on Friday and you really need an Excel spreadsheet to work out where you need to be and when, but it's worth it. Here's what I saw:

The Posters came from the Walls - not a band at all, but a film about Depeche Mode fans - what better place to see it!! It's extraordinary! Basically 'just' interviews with fans from around the world, but these aren't just any old fans, they're super-obsessed! But their stories are so interesting and I could totally see where they were coming from that it wasn't in the slightest bit mocking. Some of them really had their lives changed by the band - a homeless man who lived under Hammersmith Bridge for eight years found the strength to sort his life out because of their music; a young man in Iran grew up listening to them although it was illegal - imagine that!; a group of fans in Russia celebrate the lead singer's birthday as an alternative to a military parade. It was truly astonishing, and obviously the music was good too.

The Duckworth Lewis Method - these are a side project by the lovely man from The Divine Comedy. Their name is a cricket term and their album is all about cricket. I hate cricket, but he's a genius and they were fun and clever.

Noah & the Whale present The First Days of Spring - another film! You might remember Noah & the Whale - they had a very summery single out last year called 5 Years Time which was catchy to the point of annoying. The woman who sang with the band was also the lead singer's girlfriend, and after the last album she left him and the band, and as a result they've made a very sad and honest break-up album. They've also made a film to go with it, which is a bit self-indulgent, but you have to admire them for trying.

Pretenders - these were a little bonus as the previous thing finished early, so I only heard three songs but as these included I'll Stand by You and Middle of the Road I was very happy. Chrissie Hynde absolutely f*cking rocks!

Squeeze - way back in time I saw Squeeze more times than I can remember, then I got bored and stopped. It was lovely to see them again, and although I only heard the first four songs they were so good I wished I could have stayed for more, but I had a pressing appointment:

Pet Shop Boys - I've loved them for 25 years, so to say I was excited about seeing them again was an understatement! Reviews of recent shows had been great and of course they didn't disappoint! They did the key songs from the new album, their greatest hits, and even two songs from their first album which I never thought I'd hear live so I squealed pathetically! The set was fab - lots of boxes, projections, and it all ended in a shower of shiny confetti. They had four dancers/singers with them, and it was quite possibly the best show I've ever seen them do:



Yes, I really was that close :-)

To be continued... (If you're not bored already!)

I'm back! The weekend's festivalling was a triumph! So much so that I'm now too tired to actually type anything about it! Full blog later but for now the first of my pictures. Strangely one corner of the field was taken over by people selling food from Argyll in Scotland, including gorgeous puddings:



Sticky toffee pudding and custard - heavenly!