Festival highlights...

Having made it safely through another Isle of Wight Festival unscathed I thought I'd post some of my highlights.

Of the bands I saw I think the most impressive were...
On Friday night wee K.T. Tunstall was brilliant, N*E*R*D just blew my socks off and the Kaiser Chiefs were amazing.
Saturday it was One Night Only and the Zutons that stood head and shoulders above the rest.
And on Sunday Newton Faulkner wowed the crowd with his simple songs, The Music were amazing in the Big Top and Starsailor turned in a superb set.

The Sex Pistols were c**p basically. It was like watching someone's dad doing very bad Karaoke. Appalling. No way should they have EVER been headliners.
The Police were good too. But I wasn't 'moved' by them. The crowd enjoyed the sing-a-long at least. They were good. But not THAT good.

The weather was very kind to use again. That's the third year on the trot that we've had good weather.
Saturday did get very chilly late afternoon though which had us all shivering and reaching for our hoodies.

On Sunday at about 6:45 it almost rained. The clouds got very close to us and we did feel a few spots of rain which quickly brought out all the rain gear and sent some folks scurrying for cover. But nothing came of it and my fish & chip supper stayed dry !!!

Funniest moment.
After seeing the Kaisers we all left the arena down a path lined with security guards.
Some wag started playing "Play Your Guards Right" a twist on the famous "Play Your Cards Right".
Each guards fluorescent orange security jacket had a number on the right chest.
The guy behind us would shout something like "112 !!!" "Will the next guard be higher or lower than 112 ??" to which the crowd responded in choruses of "higher, higher" or "lower, lower " etc...
On reaching the next guard it was a either a huge cheer or a load groan when the result was shouted out.
Then on to the next one with a "1342 !!!" "Will the next guard be higher or lower than 1342 ??"
The guards of course were totally baffled. Poor things.
Very funny.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of side stalls, fun fair rides and just mingling with 50,000 other festival goers, there is one haven of tranquillity that still exists.
Tucked away between the Oxfam tent and several screaming fair-ground rides is the tranquil Solace Tent. This oasis of joy exists to spread peace and love with free tea and cakes.
Yes, that's right. When every other stall on the site is trying to fleece you for every pound you have. And where even a pint of beer costs you £4 a shot. There still exists a place in this World that does things purely to spread cheer and good will. 
We found it last year and thank the Lord it was still there again this year.
Sitting down with a cup of tea and a nice piece of home-made cake is such a treat.

All in all a cracking festival.