Well I did think I would be writing more chapters
but somehow they didn’t happen, and I’m sorry to all my regular readers for
that. Not that it was an uneventful
season, just a lack of inspiration to set it down in words as it was
happening. However, now it has gone, I
am feeling much more inspired to sum up the summer.
It was a classic British one for me. A memory of summers long passed, when you
could say for certain on a Tuesday that the following weekend would be bright,
sunny and warm. And it was, almost without exception. The one exception was the
Cumbria Steam Rally. Wet and cold for
the second year running. I felt so sorry
for the organisers, particularly when the Friday before and the Monday after
were both so glorious. And, as a result,
they have said they won’t be able to afford to invite me next year, so that’s my
memory of Cumbria Steam – sitting watching the rain lash down the windows.
But the rest was epic. Event after event of blasting heat and some exciting
new places alongside the old favourites.
Despite a late cancellation as a result of waterlogged ground on the early
May Bank Holiday at Rushden, the early season started well. MalvernSpring Garden Festival was as magical as ever with a much better location
for the stage. It’s becoming a lovely annual occasion for me, and I am welcomed
as an old friend. Herts County Show has changed committee, and after giving
them loads of feedback, they didn’t reply and, despite reminders, were too late
with their enquiry for 2019, so I won’t be back there again next year. Instead,
I have been booked by the FairylandTrust for their annual frolics in Norfolk (very me, don’t you think?). Look them up – they're brilliant. Sad for Herts
County Show, but that is how it is. There
are always shows…
Barking Folk Festival was friendly and welcoming,
although I found the cultural changes in London remarkable. I am not sure if my show was fully
understood. Not just linguistically,
although that too. Just a feeling that I
was being watched by people who didn’t have a vintage variety show in their cultural
vocabulary. They were friendly and
appreciative, just slightly vague and open-mouthed. Was it me?
Maybe. I am hoping to be back
next year and I will write a chapter as it happens. The immediate area around
the Abbey where I was sited, was historically fascinating. A few miles from the Thames on the River
Roding, it had been the port which brought medieval fish into London. I had noticed the fish on one of the flags
and asked a few questions. Alongside the
Abbey Green is the old port and I could imagine it in medieval times as a
bustling little fishing town, now completely swallowed by London. Fascinating and almost forgotten.
And then there was Ulverston and Another Fine Fest. Birthplace of Stan Laurel, hence the
imaginative event name. What a sweet
event and such a nice town. But strange
reactions from several of the town traders to the event. I always like to investigate local reactions
to new events, and this one was quite revealing. The ones I spoke to just didn’t like it. Most of the reaction centred on the type of
music played on the several stages through the town, some disliked the ‘type of
people’ attracted. But I loved it. The
sweet Laurel and Hardy museum in the town’s cinema was the centre of the event. I am hoping to be invited back again next
year and will report again.
July and August was as July and August are always
is for me. The summer had arrived. The back end fairs, with all the romance of
early autumn came and went. I didn’t know until recently that ‘back end’ is
a much more general Northern phrase for Autumn.
I thought it had been only associated with showmen. There you go.
A final outing in October to a new event, but one
which I think will grow on me. Whitchurch
Blackberry Festival. A lovely season for
blackberries this year. The event
has been going a few years. I met a young
man who I hadn’t seen since he was 8. I had
worked with his dad, Chris Panic of Panic
Circus at Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales in the early 80’s and he said I
had apparently encouraged him to bring magic into his performances. He did and still does. How lovely.
And the summer has brought other changes which I
will detail in the next chapter. Watch
out for it soon. I’m back at the
keyboard…
All the best
from a road near you,
Mr Alexander
