Category: Festivals
This is mainly going to be music festivals, but it could be any kind of festival I suppose.
And that was Beyond the Border
Flag at Beyond the Border
I’ve been going to this amazing storytelling festival for well over a decade now. And, even though it’s now only on every other year it is as wonderful and magical as ever it was. I love it. It is a complete change of pace for a few delightful days and is, in my opinion, completely unmissable.
I shall be posting a few of the highlights over the coming days as there were many, and not all of them were story related, but all of them were wonderful.
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: What Would Spock Do?
Ok, I love Star Trek. That’s only fair to say, but even so, this was a lovely little show. It was fun, poignant, and very well done. It was a one man show, and the one man was one of the actors who was in the Frontier Trilogy. He was excellent.
I’ve no idea if this show will go anywhere else after Edinburgh, but if it does I can thoroughly recommend it.
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: Frontier Trilogy – Red Moon
As I said before, I saw all of the plays in this trilogy, and each was amazing. This one was also amazing.
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: Now Listen to me very carefully
An interesting show this one. Not perhaps my favourite of 2015, but still good. It was about a guy who was obsessed with Terminator 2. Which was especially interesting as the guy who performed the show was the guy with the obsession!
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: The Blues Brothers Live
This was a must for me at Edinburgh this year. Of course, with a show like this you never quite know what you’re going to get before you get there. It’s a gamble, like most of the Fringe, but even more so when you’re a big fan of something like The Blues Brothers.
But it was very good. Very good indeed. They did all the major songs and more. The routines were very good, Jake was especially convincing and all in all it was a good gig.
I think I should go to a few more Blues Brothers tribute bands.
Edinburgh Fringe 2015: The Frontier Trilogy – The Rattlesnake’s Kiss
This was the last in the trilogy and was not only an incredible performance, but also a fantastic story in its own right and a great end to the trilogy itself. If you ever get a chance to see this trilogy I would strongly recommend it.
So that was the Edinburgh Fringe
This year’s Edinburgh Fringe felt bigger than before. In fact, it felt a lot bigger in many ways. The crowds seemed denser and much more difficult to navigate through, and even the cab drivers said it was a bigger event than in previous years. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it felt like it.
I did enjoy this year’s fringe. As always there were highs and lows. Amazing shows, and things that are better left unremembered. But that’s the way it has always been, and I’ve been going for quite a while now.
Going to the Fringe is always a gamble. Just because a show has a 5 star rating doesn’t mean it’ll actually be good or indeed that you’ll like it. Added to that, the weather is an even bigger gamble, although you could argue that it’s always going to rain if you’re in Edinburgh for the fringe, and I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet.
But it was good this year, and it was fun on the whole. It’s a tiring holiday though. It’s the kind of holiday that you come back from more tired than when you left, and that’s getting increasingly difficult.
I’ll be posting thoughts on my favourite shows over the coming days, but as for those that didn’t appeal to me, I’ll leave them alone and won’t bother boring you with them.
Well this looks like it might be fun
I haven’t actually been to one the Wetherspoon’s beer festivals in years, so perhaps I should give it a go and see what it’s like these days. It might be fun. It will be cheap!
GBBF 2015
After a break since 2012 I went back to the GBBF. It’s still in Olympia, but as the weather was somewhat overcast it didn’t get too hot in there during the day. But it was a good festival. I’m so glad I went this year. There were some cracking ales there and some very nice food too.
A couple of ales that stood out for me were:
This was quite a light ale, very fruity and citrus flavoured. I really enjoyed it, although I know it isn’t to everyone’s tastes.
Also …
I liked this mild for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was a nice mild, and I don’t tend to drink mild much these days. It had a lovely burnt flavour that wasn’t too overpowering at all. Secondly, I liked the name, which reminded me of The Boards of Canada, The Campfire Headphase, and thirdly, I really liked the design. So I think I may need to locate some of these in the not too distant future.
This year was also unique as I actually managed to get my glass home with me! The last few times I’d been to the GBBF I’d not bothered as normally I’d either mislay it on the way home, or it would get broken. This year it lasted all the way home!
I am Ashley Elsdon 