The Jacket On Cherry Hinton
Folk festivals are all about tradition. The Cambridge Folk Festival has never been one for wholesale changes, it just subtly tweaks here and there so as not to offend those who like things how they've always been and also appeal to those who want something a little more contemporary. The Living Room was one such addition this year. Not the most original idea - the sofas, standard lamps and mock fire place look has been around for some time and unless you were either prepared to wait or had incredibly fortunate timing getting a seat was not viable. But, it's positioning - on the way to the Hub, the Den, and the folknet café was just perfect and served as a gateway to that part of the festival. The Den, a new addition last year was no longer fenced off making it more accessible.
Sky, the festival's major media partner, may not be everybody's favourite company but you would have to be particularly one-eyed not to see that their coverage of outside events it exemplary. Their construction of a temporary studio over the duck pond has met with criticism for the adverse effects it may have on the wildlife; I am not a biologist but I struggle to see how. The open plan nature of the studio gave everyone the opportunity to see interviews and, more importantly, sessions from artists - surely an important part of any festival?
My traditional campsite changed this year. Usually I head to Coldhams Common, pitch my tent next to my car, stroll to the bus and am on the festival site in plenty of time to get a pint and head to the club tent but this year I was at Cherry Hinton. I've only camped on the main site once in the past twenty plus years mainly because I always equated the difference in the price of camping to 'free' beer and latterly because it is easier to take more gear if you have your car next to you. It took me three journeys from car park to campsite (and I don't care what the sign says - it's never ten minutes); it should really have been one but I packed using holdalls rather than a rucksack which necessitated a second trip and then forgot my phone charger so had to go back a third time. I really needn't have bothered as my car battery/crocodile clips/charger combination managed to discharge rather than charge the phone leaving my plans of a daily blog and plenty of tweets in tatters.
One of the reasons for the change was making the conscious decision to cook breakfast and one other meal during the day and this would be impractical at Coldhams as it is a bus ride away. A couple of years ago I wrote an article about how Vegan the festival was and concluded 'very'. I am glad that I am not writing that article now as I feel that the quality and variety of food has lessened. The satay wrap was a tasty but mean portion; the burger was substantial but bland and there was not a black bean chilli to be found. The Caribbean stall was as excellent as ever although I'm fairly certain that you'll not find courgette in any other West Indian curry.
Another reason for choosing Cherry Hinton was not having to carry jumpers and coats around all day in case of the inevitable changes in weather. Up until ten to three on Sunday afternoon wet weather gear was not required. It really was the most glorious festival weather; dry, warm and still. The evidence of the previous two months worth of continual rain was only really evident in the club tent which I guess suffered most due to its proximity to the main bar. I heard that a significant amount of water needed to be pumped from that area just to get stuff on site and it was touch and go if the festival would go ahead. On the Thursday evening the ground was, to borrow a racing term 'soft' which actually was no bad thing for the Mojo interview on Saturday morning as the ground (once suitably covered with a two pound poncho) was more comfortable to sit on. By Sunday evening parts of it resembled a swamp in look, feel and smell.
At ten to three, some way through Karine Polwart's set there was a clap of thunder, a flash of lightning and two hours of rain. The first hour was torrential with the raining only easing up enough to give way to hailstones. The next hour was just heavy. Puddles formed inside the covered area of stage one causing a small number of people who had been sitting (and who were largely reluctant to give up any of 'their' space to those who needed shelter from the storm) to finally move as they realised they would be sitting in a couple of inches of water. Their places were gleefully taken by pairs of tartan, coloured, flower patterned wellington boots worn by people glad they had bothered packing them.