A magical Cornish weekend

Penwith is magical in the sunlight. This bank holiday weekend couldn't have gone better. It started with a trip to Porthcurno beach on Friday, where I jumped in the sea and soon got smashed back onto the shore again by a big wave, sand all over me. Then we went to take a look at Porthgwarra. No beach as the tide was high, but the views here, as the sun sets, are just incredible. You get a panoramic view of the tip of England, with the Atlantic below and the rugged cliffs beyond, the sun sparkling on the sea, heather on the ground and birds flying overhead. Perched on a rock on the edge of a cliff, this is a place to feel free.
Saturday was a lot of fun too. We headed to Sennen, to set up Pippa's 30th beach party. We trudged across the beach a number of times to get all our tables, windbreaks, pasties, cupcakes, cider, wine, flags, bunting and children, to a spot perfect for buskers and rounders games, and set up a wonderful party area as requested by Pip. The sun shone and a fabulous time was had by all, many going for a surf or a swim as the weather was so good. As the sun set we headed up the cliffs to our campsite, and sipped pink champagne as we waited for our curry to arrive.
On Sunday I met up with my school friends, who talked about houses and jobs and other such grown up things of which I know very little. Then we spent a long time making our way via Perranporth and Newquay to Polzeath, a part of Cornwall I don't know very well and which seems like the posh part. After a quick and exhilerating dip in the sea, we set up camp and headed out for a night in Wadebridge, only to find ourselves stranded as apparently no taxis work over the bank holiday here. We managed to hitch a lift back and spent a cold night on a clifftop.
Monday was spent walking along the beach to Rock, with a stop for a picnic, and catching the ferry to Padstow, which is a town made almost entirely of food and fat people eating it. Ice-cream, pasties, fish and chips, fudge... Not a lot else goes on here as far as I can tell, apart from the odd art gallery or jewellery shop. Oh, and clothes for posh people. Fat posh people. So after a pint in the pub we headed back, along the sand dunes this time, all the way to the campsite and into the car for the trip back to Bristol.
A wonderful weekend filled with buskers, bunting, balloons, beaches, babies, pasties, pink champagne, camping, clifftops, swimming, sunshine, family and friends.
I love Cornwall!

Boomtown Fair

I want to be back in the land of Boomtown Fair, where drinking all day is encouraged, mechanical horses carry children through the crowds, the music is mad and the people are smiling. I've just come back to earth with a bang after a fabulous few days in a field in Buckinghamshire. Yesterday I woke up in a tent, worrying only about how many wasps were heading inside my mouth (three got in during the course of the festival, it must have been all the hot cider I was drinking). Today I have a monumental headache after having my wisdom teeth pulled out. Ouch.
Boomtown Fair began life as a one day cider festival in a field in Bath, graduated to become Recydrate the West somewhere near Hay-on-Wye, and finally became a fully fledged festie with a new name last year, in the Forest of Dean. I have been there to witness all the changes, and I intend to keep up this tradition. I love Boomtown, because the music is mental, an incongruous but incredible mix of ska, reggae and gypsy-jazz, designed to keep you dancing. I love the people and what they wear, everything from flouncy, flowery dresses, stilts and superhero outfits, to nothing but body paint. I love any excuse to watch the Bristol based Invisible Circus. And I love drinking cider all day.
Boomtown may have grown up, but most of all, I love the fact that for three days straight, thousands of party goers can forget that they have too.

Edinburgh Festival

I've just spent a few days in Edinburgh catching up with a friend, helping to celebrate his birthday, and taking in some of the festival. I'd never been to Edinburgh before, and I was surprised. It's very beautiful, with huge old dark stone buildings, wide streets, and gardens and hills all over the place. It's also very cold. I had to dig out some winter clothing, and ended up shopping for more layers. Most of all, in August, it is busy beyond belief. The cash points run out of money and the city runs out of space. It's hard to find somewhere to rest your weary legs after a heavy morning of theatre viewing.
I was really lucky, as Ben was working for the festival, so I got to see loads of shows for free. It's astounding just how much there is on offer, as almost every theatre, pub, cafe, university building and open space is turned over to music, comedy and dance. I saw some fantastic stuff, favourites being a comedy play called 'No Son of Mine', an improvised musical by Showstoppers, the comedian Andrew Lawrence, and Axis of Awesome, a comedy band.
As I had a lot of time on my hands, I had a go at writing a few reviews, and after sending them off to various editors, have returned to Bristol with quite a busy week ahead of me. Writing, teaching, festival going... I can't imagine how I'd fit a job around my hobbies, and I'm getting quite nervous about getting one now! In the light of the madness of Edinburgh, I've come to realise just how calm and lovely my life has become this Summer.

Crummy beach

On a mission to escape the city, we headed to one of the nearest beaches - Aust and the Severn Estuary. It wouldn't have been my natural choice, but I was with a geologist, an artist, a very enthusiastic person (excited by anywhere) and a really nice person (not going to complain). So that's where we went, and I'm glad. It's weird. Kind of ugly, with the murky river, electricity pylons and traffic noise. But also kind of interesting. We wandered through some fields and along the path where the old ferry used to cross to get to Wales. Then I was instructed by Miss Enthusiastic to look out for fossils and nice rocks on the beach. This turned out to be an easy task, as the beach here is basically made from soft rocks that shatter as you walk across them. Most un-rock-like really, being all crumbly and blue or red, with the odd sparkly hard white one thrown in every so often. We enjoyed a picnic of bread, hoummus and kiwi fruit, took some photos and picked some blackberries. Then we headed back, pockets laden with our jurassic treasure. More of a school trip than a typical beach outing, but it's always good to change the scenery. In this case, especially if you're into surrealism.

Porth Kidney

The Summer gets filled up really quickly when you're not working, and it became apparent last week that my only time to fit in a trip to Cornwall is now. So I woke up in Penzance on Sunday morning and, after having applied for two jobs, felt a cliff walk was in order. I asked Mum to take me to somewhere I hadn't been before, and she didn't disappoint. We walked from Lelant to St Ives, along Porth Kidney and Carbis Bay, looking back over Gwithian and Godrevy. It's amazing how quickly you can feel a long way away from a city. School breaks up next week, so it was a good time to come, before the tourists take over! Gorgeous smells of wild flowers, stunning views of great expanses of sand and sea, all bathed in the beautiful Cornish light. There is so much space and beauty here, and suddenly I can't believe that school hasn't even broken up yet. I've done so much with my freedom already this Summer, and whether or not I get a job any time soon, I'm struck by the fact that I am still to share many spells of Summer happiness. How lucky I am to have family in Cornwall to visit. It makes going home all the more wonderful.

Carnival time!

You don't have to go far from my house to experience 70,000 people celebrating Afro-Caribbean culture by eating jerk chicken, drinking Red Stripe, dancing to sound systems on the street and throwing stuff on the floor. St Paul's Carnival happens on my doorstep (literally, as many a friend dropped in to use the loo, sit down for a moment or grab another beer), and it's a lot of fun. We were blessed with another gorgeous day, drawing long forgotten friends out from the cocoons of their cosy coupled lives, and the festival spirit hit the streets. We watched the parade, hung out in Portland Square, danced at the Malcolm X centre and ended up at the infamous Star and Garter, where a huge crowd refused to stop dancing as long as the tunes kept coming. A long, busy day, where I caught up with lots of great people and met some more. I love Bristol. This is why I can't stay away for long!

Glastonbury festival

2010 was my third Glastonbury, having been to 2003 and 2005. It was also, by far, the sunniest, as not a single drop of rain fell all weekend. For this reason, I think I'm not alone in saying it was a slightly more sensible affair. OK, so I danced like a lunatic, shouted lots, consumed plenty of alcohol day and night, and wandered around the crazy night-time city of Shangri-la with various new and old friends, dropping into diners, aeroplanes, gay bars and circus events. By no means was it sensible. But the combination of being hot all day, unable to catch up on sleep in an airless tent and therefore making the most of the festival daytime, and trying not to dehydrate, meant that less alcohol was consumed, being replaced by water. I'm also 5 years older than the last time I went, so maybe it wasn't a grown-up vibe at all, just a grown-up me.
Anyway, my new, daytime approach is going down well, as Boomtown last year was similarly hot and wonderful. I am terrible at sitting still, and more than happy to wander about in the sunshine all day, drinking cider (or water) and listening to world class musicians.
Highlights this year include Gorillaz, Shakira, Staff Benda Bilili, the Carnage Bar, Arcadia (a fire show on an unimaginable scale), making new friends, and the sunshine. Throughout, the music was not on a par with my previous two Glastonburys, as not many could compare with Lamb, Mogwai, Macy Gray, Morcheeba or Moloko of 2003, and no-one came within miles of Basement Jaxx of 2005. But then I saw Gomez in Avalon, a smaller, more intimate venue, and the standards were raised. They were incredible.
My advice is to be independent and mission to the acts you want to see, or just hang out at the West Holts stage, if you're anything like me and want to make the most of the music. You can sit down with your mates any old weekend! Most importantly, do it your way, and do not be afraid of missing out. There is so much to see you will miss a lot, but not as much as you take in!
All up, it was a great festival. Bigger, more overwhelming, more commercial every time, but endlessly entertaining. Looking forward to Boomtown already!