Lockdown Week 12 - June 9th - 15th

Twelve Weeks! It seems almost unbelievable that I've spent this long without really going anywhere - a couple of walks up the playing fields, trips to pick up the click and collect order, and until last week that was it!!

For once, this last week has been a busy one, comparatively, with things actually happening. 

First, the fortnightly click and collect. I used to shop once a fortnight with no problems but for some bizarre reason can't seem to get a click and collect order right. I always end up with too much of one thing, and forget something else entirely - this week it was tonic water and cake. Not the end of the world as I still had lemonade and the not-quite-ready elderflower fizz, and lots of rhubarb for muffins. I tried a new recipe this time with ground almond and white chocolate. The almonds weren't very apparent but the chocolate was a good addition.




When lockdown started I had great plans of getting my husband to do some re-decorating. On one of the last days of hot weather he did the necessary painting in the dining room, and this week re-papered this wall.

Next a sad event. One of our neighbours has been in and out of hospital a lot recently. I didn't really know her, and had no idea how ill she was, but she died a week or so ago, and the funeral was this week. Everyone came out and lined the pavement, and as the hearse left someone started clapping so we all joined in (has this become a thing? I thought it was very strange)  

Theatre night was moved forward to Thursday, as I was impatient to see this week's presentation from National Theatre Live.  I've lost count of the number of plays I've seen these past few weeks, but this week's offering was very special - Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III, which I saw twice during its short run at Nottingham Playhouse, including the night of the original cinema streaming! I'd very much hoped this would be transmitted as I wanted to compare my recollection of seeing it live with how it feels on a screen. I think it loses a little, but not much; these streamed shows have definitely converted me.

On Saturday I suggested we took advantage of a nice evening and go out to Locko Park. Going out somewhere, even nearby, makes things feel almost back to normal, and it's always good to get out into the countryside.  It was a well-timed trip, as the next day we had thunderstorms and torrential rain.

In the garden my carouby de mausanne  mangetout peas have flowered (they're purple, look very pretty and will contrast with the yellow Kentucky Wonder Wax beans), the white-flowered sugar bons produced their first pods, and strawberries are ripening. To try to regain structure in the week, for #FridayFlowers, I picked scented sweet peas and pink roses Sometimes things don't feel so bad despite everything.

I'm not impressed with the whole idea of social bubbles as they won't make any difference to me. I'm sure they'll be of help to some people but they just feel like a crumb we're being thrown to keep us docile. In the same vein, from the fifteenth non-essential shops will be open. I'm not tempted though. Despite the mishaps, for now I'll stick to click and collect for groceries, and online shopping for anything else.

One thing that didn't happen this week was a planned trip to Tangled Roots Festival in the West Country. I'd bought tickets at the beginning of the year and had been looking forward to taking the tent and experiencing a new festival - listening to the music and maybe even joining in with the flamenco class. Covid has forced so many events to cancel, and Tangled Roots is another of them. The organisers are hoping the event can go ahead in September, but although I'd love to go then I'm not sure it will take place. Something to mark in my diary for next year.

So Many Festivals, So Little Time

Once summer actually arrives there's never quite enough time to do everything you'd like to. It's certainly the case with festivals. There are so many out there - inspiring, fun-filled and delightful - but, with only a certain number of weekends for them to take place on, some are bound to clash.

Here are some I wish I could go to, if it weren't for other plans ...

Tangled Roots - photo credit; Camilla Arnhold

First, this weekend, is a new festival  - Tangled Roots at Radford Mill Farm in Somerset. It describes itself as a 'Contemporary Folk, Roots and Acoustic Festival' with music ranging from India Electric Co with their award-winning contemporary folk, to French gypsy jazz from Petites Annonces, a cappella, acoustic soul, roots Americana, and traditional Spanish music and dance from Flamenco Loco. As well as performances on stage, there'll be a choir workshop, a chance to try flamenco dancing yourself, campfire story-telling from Noah and the Whale's Matt Owens, and impromptu acoustic sessions around the site, or at evening by the campfire, that everyone can join in with.
It's location sounds idyllic - an organic farm with a stream running through the festival site

I already have tickets for a local festival this weekend - no, not Download, although that's not far from here, but a quieter affair, Wildside run by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust - but maybe next year I'll head south to Somerset ...


Also Festival, at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, is another fab-sounding event. It's a much bigger affair than Tangled Roots, offering over 200 experiences over the weekend 5th -7th July.










There will be talks and discussions to stretch your mind, music and comedy to entertain, food to keep you going, and a wide range of activities to take part in, from light sabre workshops to wild swimming.



 Where would I start? Well, what attracts me is the mix of informative talks, and hands-on experiences, so I'd maybe head to hear Margaret Macmillan on The Uses and Abuses of History, or James Wallman talk about Time and How To Spend It (as relevant to a person of my advancing near-retirement years as to younger folks), then make a flower crown, and join a foraging walk, though checking out the wide range of food on offer, from Tibetan curries to pizza, seems like a 'must' too.

This year though, Timber Festival falls on the same weekend, and I'll be covering that.

photo credit; Michael Bowles

Heading down to Cornwall later in July, you'll find another festival of ideas, Port Eliot. Running 25th - 28th July this year, this is timed awkwardly for me as it falls close to, some years actually on, a family birthday.

photo credit; Sarah Louise Bennett

 There are several stages showcasing different musical styles, so there's bound to be something for everyone, though I'd probably give the late night pop dungeon a miss :) I'd head instead to the estate's Church, the oldest in Cornwall, for some quieter acoustic sounds.

The church. photo credit; Linday Melbourne

Around the grounds you'll find a wide range of activities from river-based activities like wild swimming, mud baths, and canoeing, to star-gazing, yoga sessions, and Viking tournament games.

photo credit; Louise Roberts

The literary line-up boasts novelists, journalists, and comedians; there'll be cookery demonstrations to inspire your meal-times; and the drawing room of the house will play host to an exhibition celebrating fifty years in the fashion industry for designer Zandra Rhodes.
 An event mixing art, fashion and books with music and comedy, set on the riverside Port Eliot estate in a romantic landscape designed by Repton, sounds like another one I should catch sometime (and preferably before I'm too old to enjoy a few nights under canvas)


Looking further ahead, I've spotted another festival clash - Derby's own street festival Feste takes place the same late September weekend as Deepdale Festival in north Norfolk. Sometimes I feel a time machine is the only answer to doing everything I'd love to!