{"id":3715,"date":"2013-08-18T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-08-18T07:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3715"},"modified":"2013-08-18T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2013-08-18T07:00:01","slug":"recipe-for-an-english-folk-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/music\/recipe-for-an-english-folk-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Recipe for an English Folk Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The festival begins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s August \u2013 so webmaster John and I have been settling down in fields with a few thousand close friends for that most English of events \u2013 folk festivals.<\/p>\n

I’d never been to such an event before coming to England \u2013 and despite my impressive attendance record at such events during the past few years, I am still sometimes surprised \u2013 after all, who would have expected the guillotine\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A proper English folk festival begins with a field \u2013 one big enough to hold 10 or 20 thousand people who are soon to become your friends.<\/p>\n

It’s best if this field can slope gently down to the point where you must add a stage (or sometimes more than one).<\/p>\n

You’ll also need food stalls and a bar \u2013 lots of rubbish bins and at least one very long line of portaloos\u2026 Don’t forget the toilet paper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I did not take a photo of the portaloos - people might think I was a bit... strange<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once this base is in place, you need to add a liberal number of enthusiastic volunteers to pour the beer, pick up rubbish, and clean the portaloos. These should be balanced by a small group of professionals to look after the ambulance stations, security and electronics.<\/p>\n

Now add the audience. This can come in all shapes and sizes and ages. Leave room for kids and dogs\u2026\u00a0 the laughter and wagging tails are an important part of the mix.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Doggie bandanas are optional - but remember tail wagging can be exhausting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Large amounts of sunscreen are needed at this point \u2013 and hats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
While most hats are for sun protection - the occasional sartorial splash adds flavour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is possible to add a little water, but avoid too much rain – this will result in your festival mix becoming soggy.<\/p>\n

The most important ingredients are, or course, the musicians. You can vary this according to taste \u2013 but popular flavours include\u2026<\/p>\n

Exponents of traditional music \u2013 these flavour the day with jigs and reels. There will also be traditional songs \u2013 which usually centre on sex and death \u2013 both normally to occur outdoors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
To keep balance - for every musician in a kilt there must also be an audience member similarly attired.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The solo singer songwriter is a popular flavour. These may be male or female \u2013 and usually come pre-fitted with a guitar. The content here may be humorous or a form of social comment. Sex may also be involved at this point.<\/p>\n

Make sure to include some up and coming young musicians \u2013\u00a0 they will mature over time and become the mainstays of your festival in years to come.<\/p>\n

You may also want to add a seemingly inappropriate 70’s Goth God. This is like chilli in chocolate \u2013 unexpected and a bit startling \u2013 but once you get used to the idea, you love it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This ingredient may include a snake, a guillotine and more costume changes in two hours than some of the audience manages in two days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

An unexpected classical touch can also add flavour .. prompting a sing-a-long in Latin or middle English.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Singing is attempted - even if one's Latin is poor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

And of course, there should be a generous serving of a much-loved bands \u2013 fine musicians with a long history of fabulous music. This is the ingredient that binds the whole mix together.<\/p>\n

During the making of the festival, you may notice the audience forming into lumps and strings. These are called queues and are generally found near the bar, T-shirt tents, food stalls and the aforementioned portaloos. They are an important part of the mix, although some care should be taken to ensure they don’t get too long.<\/p>\n

Other clumps may form in the audience \u2013 in groups or clans or families. If you find them re-occurring each time you make a festival, this is a sign of the health of your mixture.<\/p>\n

If you have got it right \u2013 mix will begin to bubble \u2013 and a great deal of noise will ensure\u2026\u00a0 after which you’ll be overcome with an urge to do it again the next year \u2013 and the one of after that.. and the one\u2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Thank you Fairport Convention for a fabulous Cropredy 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s August \u2013 so webmaster John and I have been settling down in fields with a few thousand close friends for that most English of events \u2013 folk festivals. I’d never been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnhocking.net\/jg2025demo1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}