Protest music is back

Radical protest bands have been a bit thin on the ground since the demise of Red Wedge, the movement that Billy Bragg and Paul Weller famously created in the eighties.

But... now we have Headsticks, a Stoke-on-Trent band that don't pull their punches demonstrating their disillusion and anger with 'modern Thatcherism'.
I wonder if they will be the first of many.  In this age of unemployment and low wages, it seems likely.

Headsticks was one of the bands at a small roots festival, Cloggerfest, in Draycott-in-the-Moors.

A bit of posh

Ingestre Festival Day is about as posh as one can get in the summer fayre world.
Set in the grounds of Ingestre Hall, there were the usual craft-stalls and tea & sandwiches stuff, but the highlights of the day marked it out as, erm, posh.

The highlights included bell-ringing displays in the eighteenth-century adjacent church, choir-singing on the steps of the great staircase, one stall (called 'The New Rectory') which featured the local vicar, and a mummers' play on the lawn.

But... it was all rather lovely, really.

Inflatable church

This is the most unusual church building I've ever seen...    This particular one has to be erected with the aid of a bicycle pump - and doesn't look totally steady in even a slight breeze.

Of course, it's not entirely serious. It's more of a publicity gimmick (though it does have a prayer space), and you'll see it at festivals and fetes. (I saw this at The Fuse Festival in Lichfield where it was being used by one of the town's most active Christian communities).

The idea is: if the people won't come to the church, you take the church to the people... 

Rockin in Milwich

The Milwich Village Rock Festival was - as you'd expect - a low-profile affair, but surprisingly enjoyable with a fantastic quality in the acts.

I had to get this photo of The Taskers, a college-rock outfit with some intricate rhythms, because in the last one I took of them, I missed off Jack.  Some of their fans complained to me that it shouldn't be that hard to take a photo of band that only has two members.  I guess they have a point...

Lichfield Festival goes stripey

Lichfield Festival is the major cultural festival in Staffordshire, taking place every year in July. Orchestras, authors, theatre troupes – they all turn up during the twelve days that the festival is on.

This year, the theme across the city was ‘coloured stripes’. I have no idea why. However, outside the cathedral, this open-air installation – created by local school-children – took up the theme.

Tomorrow is the last day of the festival.

Night of The Dog postponed

The ‘Night of The Dog’ rock festival will not happen this year as the organisers are having a break. It’s a shame though. This terrific little one day festival, which takes place in the small village of Tean, is as friendly as you like.

I took this photo at last year’s event. The wording on this t-shirt made me laugh, as it’s a spoof of the ‘world tour dates’ type t-shirts.
The fact is that Tean probably isn’t more than a mile from one end to the other, so a ‘tour’ by all these bands would not have taken long!

Link: Night of The Dog

Transport fans rally round

Attending a vehicle rally - especially one with vintage cars and agricultural machinery - is one of the ways we English love to spend a Saturday afternoon. The owners turn up with their beloved and ancient machines, and we the public pay for the chance to inspect them, very often staring meaningfully at their engines and asking obscure questions.
To be frank, it's a bit of a mystery to me..! But such fairs definitely are popular.

The 1962 Metropolitan car in the photo here was at the Draycott-en-le-Moors fair at the weekend.

Wakes day

For me, Alstonefield is the quintessential Staffordshire Peak District village. It's pretty but not prettifield, and while it has enough car parks to satisfy the hordes of ramblers, there is no other concession to commercialism. It's a living and working village that is not just the preserve of the rich, and it still manages to be perfect.

Today, it was the village's annual 'wakes' and sports day - with the egg & spoon race the most important of all... True to its image, there were just villagers there, and the event was small but perfect.

Jay at Lichfield Jazz & Blues fest

The three-day jazz festival at Lichfield takes place every year at the town's rugby club. This year the Jay Phelps Quintet was one of the headliners on the Saturday night - you can see Jay himself in the grey jacket in this photo getting ready for the band's spot. I have to say that the quintet do the lot, from standards to experimental (the experimental stuff was dizzyingly good).

I hadn't realised that there was a real ale fest in the club at the same time, otherwise I would have been tempted to take advantage of the camping, which was on the adjacent practice pitches...

Link: Lichfield Jazz & Blues festival