I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Category: Festivals

This is mainly going to be music festivals, but it could be any kind of festival I suppose.

Tom Waits for no man

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Tom Waits for no man flyer

This was the last show I saw at the fringe this year and it was a truly great way to finish off the trip. I have been a fan of Tom Waits since my teenage years, which is why this was of interest. It was brilliant and reminded me just how much I love his music and lyrics. It prompted me to listen to his music again, and since then I’ve been making my way through his entire back catalogue. It has been a very enjoyable experience.

If you get a chance to see this show, I would thoroughly recommend it.

Edinburgh Fringe 2022

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The last time I was at the fringe was in 2018, before the pandemic. I was looking forward to coming back again as it’s something that I’ve enjoyed for a number of years.

But this year it felt smaller, much smaller. Probably because it was smaller, and that’s likely to be because of the pandemic. It’s a shame, but I take some comfort in the fact that it is still there. Plenty of other festivals and events have fallen by the wayside.

Even so there were some good shows. Some less so, but I won’t focus on those. I enjoyed the good ones and also just the ambience of being back in Edinburgh after a long time.

I’m not sure when I’ll go back to the Edinburgh Fringe, in the current climate it’s hard to know what will happen next, or indeed to plan ahead with any certainty, but I think I’d like to do it again at some point. It’s a good festival and one worth supporting.

Beyond the border postponed

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Some memories from the last Beyond the Border Festival

Like so many other events Beyond the Border has been postponed. It’s a shame. The last time I went was at St Donat’s, which is a beautiful venue for a festival like this. The next time the festival runs it will be somewhere else, and I’m not sure that’ll work for me. Sometimes it is a good idea to know when you just want the memories of a thing to be left as something beautiful to look back on.

It might be now for me. It might be a good time to leave it anyway. Given that it’s postponed for now I don’t really have to decide. I hope that it does get going again next year. It would be a shame for it to end completely.

The Edinburgh Festival

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Once again I visited the Edinburgh Fringe this year. It was, as always, great fun, with some truly excellent shows, and of course, some really quite terrible ones too. But overall it was great.

There were a few shows that stuck out, but only a few. But that’s kind of what matters at the fringe. You find a few things that make you sit up and think, and the rest, whilst fun, is just a part of the trip.

One thing that stood out was a production about Delia Derbyshire, which I quite enjoyed, but I actually knew a lot of the content was before I went to it. It was good to see a show about her anyway, and it was good to see people talking about her work.

Not getting to Beyond the Border this year

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  • Flag at Beyond the Border

Which is a massive shame really. I’m going to miss it. Last time it was an amazing experience and a huge amount of fun too. I’m a big fan of storytelling. It’s important. It is just so fundamental and core to how we understand things.

I’ve always found the storytelling at Beyond the Border to be incredible. The range of stories and tellers is so rich that I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in all of the years that I’ve been there.

Maybe disappointed with the weather, but even then, not that often.

I hope it’s as amazing as ever this year. I’m just so sorry not to be there.

The Oxted Beer Festival

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Oxted Beer Festival
Oxted Beer Festival
Oxted Beer Festival
Oxted Beer Festival
Oxted Beer Festival

I haven’t gone every year, but I think I have for the last few, and it’s been ok. My big gripe with this beer festival is the cost. It’s more expensive than the Great British Beer Festival and is no way near as good! So why does it cost so much, and why has it gone up in price year after year? I don’t get it.

The beer wasn’t bad. They didn’t run out, which was a positive as they did run out last year. The music was ok. Friday night was better than Saturday. Saturday started well and got progressively worse as the evening went on.

So I’m not sure that this festival is going to be on my list if it keeps on getting more and more expensive for less and less value. It’s a shame, but if the organisers can’t make it work without putting up prices by 20-25% every year, then they’re doing something very wrong.

If you have never eaten one of these then you’ve never lived

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The last time I went to Beyond the Border I discovered these. That was back in 2014. I’ve waited two years to have the pleasure again, and it was worth the wait.

I’d hoped that these would be available again at Beyond the Border, and they were, possibly one of the best foods I’ve ever had. The amazing Onion Bhajee Scotch Egg. Believe me when I say that there is truly nothing better at all.

I ate quite a few of these last weekend and I love them so much that I ended up bringing home a box load of them. They’re awesome.

Now when can I get them again?