Help: Sidmouth Festival

Subject: Sidmouth Festival
From: Roger in Sheffield
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:12 PM

Fingers Crossed - This year I get to go to the folk festival for the first time
So I was wondering if any of you regulars could give me any tips?

Roger

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:24 PM

If you like pub sessions don't buy the season ticket, unless you dun gotta be on the official camp marsh. Buy event tickets and find drier tentage. If you see a red person it ain't me. I prefer something a little more folksy and less big business but hey - different strokes for different folks. Enjoy

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Gervase
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 12:58 PM

The festival is bloody huge, so you probably won't be able to see everything you want to see (the working programme usually lists upwards of 300 different events over the week, starting with workshops in every conceivable genre at sparrowfart and going on to the raucous but fun Late Night Extras in the wee hours).
There's many who'll say the festival isn't what it used to be, and certainly artist selection has been a bit patchy over the past couple of years, while some events have smacked rather too much of commercialism, but given the huge variety on offer, there's something for every taste.
The real life of the festival is to be found on the fringe - from the pub sessions in virtually every bar in the town (including the legendary Middle Bar, where you'll hear and participate in some of the finest unaccompanied singing anywhere). Many of the fringe events can be hard to find, but there's a daily festival newsletter available from the main tourist office on the Ham and from the camp site office which lists all sorts of ad-hoc stuff (but they go soon, so grab one early).
And if you are camping, make sure you camp at the top end of the site - in previous years rain has wrought havoc on the steeply-sloping hillside! The site itself is a fair walk from the town centre, but there's a dedicated bus service running every 20 minutes or so, and you can buy a weekly pass rather than pay 50p a ride.
Despite the caveats, Sidmouth is a cracking festival, and you'll come home absolutely knackered but having had a brilliant time. You'll also doubtless meet plenty of Mudcatters there.
And the Cornish pasties (even though it's Darzit) are memorable!

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Dazzler
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 04:26 PM

Save up for some time before buying a ticket ;-). Think about a 2nd mortgage, or at the very least sell your grandmother.

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 04:49 PM

Oh Gervase, how long have you been going to Sidmouth? T'es oaver the barder, in Deb'n me dears, b'ain't Darzet tall!!! Darzet do stop at Seatown, and then it be Deb'n, you.

I will have to thing up suitable punishement for you.... me bein a Darzet lass laike......

LTS

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Feb 01 - 08:16 PM

You can have a great time without going to any ticket events, but having a season ticket gives you freedom to drop in where you want, if you can get one, it's worth. Especially on a first visit.

And you don't fall into the trap into buying a ticket for something that sounds great on paper, and five minutes in you realise it's not for you, but you've paid for it so you hope it'll get better, and it gets worse; or the opposite - only going to stuff you know is safe, and missing new stuff you'd love if you heard it.

And there are some events you can't buy tickets to anyway, they only come with the season.

So I reckon if you can scrape the cash together, get a season. And look out for a workshop that appeals to you.

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Shuffer
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 07:28 AM

Of courde if you can't afford a ticket it is worth considering going as a steward. You will work about 4 hours a day but you do get a free season ticket and free camping. We have done this in the past and it is a great way of getting involved in the festival and meeting lots of new people both in the stewarding team and people at the venue yo are stewarding at.

Best of luck it is a great festival

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: GUEST,jayohjo in Russia
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 08:45 AM

Yep, would agree with the stewarding - I did it last year, and hope to do it again this. Good deal I reckon - free season ticket, camping, bus pass etc, all in return for 4 hrs work a day, which to be honest is not much, and rotas seem to be pretty flexible. Will see you all there - when I'm back in the country...... Jay XX

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Sarah the flute
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 08:47 AM

You can always stay longer and join in the free events in surrounding spots eg on the bank holiday weekend near Salcombe there is Hope Cove weekend with the associated infamous Galmpton Village Folk Festival - all for the cost of a few litres of beer only.

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: wes.w
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 09:08 AM

I wouldn't camp on that festival site under any circumstances, coz the number of times its flooded. For 20 years we have always camped.. but ahh, that would be telling and you'd all be up there!

LTS: Thee be Dozzet? Wor bist to? I be jis over barder vroom Sherborne, in Zum'zet.

..wes

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Gervase
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 09:41 AM

Bugger! That's probably why I never did geography O-level!
It's just that Tony Day always does a Dorset night in the Middle Bar, so I assumed Sidders was there.
Doh!

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 11:53 AM

Forgiven Gervase, on one condition.....

Wes, I was originally from Charminster, just outside Dorchester but the family are all from Abbotsbury and Portesham, for almost 200 years (no we don't have webbed feet and extra fingers....). Before that it was Toller Porcorum and Rampisham.

LTS

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Roger in Sheffield
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 01:31 PM

Camping is out!
A few years ago we stayed at a place in Dorset and picked up ticks!
The woman running the site put our minds at rest by explaining that her daughter had one on her neck once and did not get it all out, it 'went wrong' she told us, and made a real mess.......
I enjoyed going to the local doctor and explaining to the receptionist just what I had on my arm and why I wanted it removing. Several waiting patients went green as I explained that it was an 'insect' which had attached itself to drink my blood. Luckily my Tick kept its legs still, if they had been moving around I might have considered chopping my arm off! (Ticks aren't true insects they are related to mites and spiders). I was told to return to the surgery the next day to see what the doctor could do. That night I twisted the tick out (it was only about 4mm long)and me and my friend began a nightly ritual of checking each other over with a torch for ticks. Several ticks later we moved campsite!

Thanks for all the tips, sure it is going to be great fun

Roger

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 06:48 PM

They prefer stewards do do the whole week and 4 hours a day is more than I do at any other festival that is that well organised. AND I don't get a second class ticket at other festivals. Stewards are expected to defer if the venue is over subscribed. Not that stewards always agree with it.

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: GUEST,Arne Langsetmo
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 07:52 PM

Half the fun is just wandering town, and finding other musicians to jam with, if you happen to play. The pubs are real fun, and in fact I may have enjoyed those more than the scheduled music.

Caming up the hill is definitely not a bad idea, probably better in inclement weather, and you can even find a bit happening up there as well (although less campground picking than I'm used to in the U.S.).

Looking for lodging anywhere near may be pretty futile; we were told by Roger Watson: "Don't bother looking", and simply camped.

Have only been there once in 1988, but it may be one of the best of the Brit summer festivals, and is definitely in a nice location (even if cramped with all the influx of people).

Bring your swimsuits.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

-- Arne Langsetmo

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Gervase
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 11:29 AM

Liz - I can't afford to lose any more leg-hair!

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Gervase
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 11:30 AM

Liz - I can't afford to lose any more leg-hair! And swimsuits are a good idea if you want to take part in the ceilidh in the ford and the singing in the sea (none of which feature on the official programme, but have become traditions of the festival).

Subject: RE: Help: Sidmouth Festival
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 07:33 AM

I've done the Ceilidh in the ford - it was a drought year and we had to move upstream to find enough water to get even slightly damp!!

Gervase - you know you are getting old when your leg hair goes grey....

Stewarding - 4 hours is a lot, but if you cover the morning shifts, it goes quite quickly and you can still get to all the afternoon stuff. I like doing the hangover shifts, I did an afternoon shift one time at Towersey and no-one came to relieve me at all during it, they were all in the beer tent. So doing your shift outside of opening hours has 2 advantages.....

Ticks - the way to get them all out is to get a cotton bud/corner of grubby hanky dip it in some gin or vodka (or medicinal alcohol, though not many people carry that) and dab the black bit as it joins your skin. The tick will absorb the alcohol, get pissed and let go. Then you pull gently and make sure you remove all the black body parts. The infection starts when the head and/or mouth parts detach when you pull them too roughly or the little pest hasn't let go. The mouth keeps eating and because the body part (the big white bit) isn't there to restrict it, it just keeps going for as long as it can... not very long admittedly, but long enough for it to infect you. Try not to camp in fields prevoiusly/still inhabited by sheep, try not to camp in long grass (for more reasons than just ticks....) and if you get a cut or scratch, cover it immediately, as the ticks tend to go for already opened wounds as a first preference.

Happy Camping!!

LTS