Plymouth volksfest photo's

This bank holiday weekend saw the 6th annual plymouth volksfest, although now dubbed as more of a music festival than a Volkswagen classic car show there was still plenty to see and do for both music and car fans.

Arriving on the friday night greeted by a spectacular rainbow over the festival site made the perfect start to the weekend. camping up with Newquay Dub Club, vans were arriving and tents pitched all before darkness and the festivities starting.

Headlining the Friday night was Alabama 3, with a chronic amount of base pumping the band got the whole place dancing. Apologies now for the quality of some of the photos in the evenings in the main marquee, these are taken on my phone as I didn't want to take my camera into the arena and wanted to have a dance and enjoy the music rather then spend the whole night with my camera.

The following morning with lots of thick heads and a few going to bed when the sun came up were left to enjoy a day of sunshine. 

The baja track opened for some off road action and the music continued on several stages throughout the day. There really is something for everyone, with reggae, ska, folk, rock and acoustic music there was even comedy, poetry, dj's and a cinema.

 The evening was topped off by performances from Mad Dog Macrae, Land of the Giants and the Levellers.

After the music ended it was off to the camp to carry on the drinking but with temperatures dropping and frost forming on the tents and vans it was time to do the sensible thing and go to bed!

The next morning and another stunning day. Although a lot smaller than previous years the cars lined up for the show and Shine and the sun did not stop shining. without a cloud in the sky nothing could spoil the day, with an ice cold cider in hand and a constant stream of live music and a selection of good friends there was only one thing to do, enjoy the atmosphere of how a bank holiday weekend should be. 

Finishing off the Sunday night and closing the show were performances by Seth Lakeman and Zion Train. What can I say! Seth Lakeman was pure magic, I felt like I was the only person in the room one minute and he was playing just to me, the next, throw in some thumping stomp box and some serious violin and the place is bouncing. Following this electric performance were the energetic sounds of Zion Train, I can not explain in words the energy that comes from this band. Feeling like I am back in the nineties with a phat reggae beat and insane strobe lighting really was a treat for the closing of the main stage. 

Sadly as with most bank holiday Mondays in the UK the weather did not want to last for the full three day weekend and the gale force winds arrived bringing with it torrential rain, but I really can't complain and the lack of sunshine on the third day was probably a blessing in disguise as the sunburn is really quite painful and i'm not sure I need any more vitamin D for a few days to come!

Well done to all involved with putting on a great show at this years Plymouth Volksfest and who knows what will happen next year with the last ever Run To The Sun festival coming to a close. Hopefully Plymouth Volksfest will stay true to it's routes and keep the volkswagens at the forefront of the festival and not become just another music festival.

Surfing, polo and sunshine in Cornwall

This weekend was another stunner with beautiful sunshine all weekend, although a little chilly that didn't stop the hundreds of people crowding to Watergate Bay to watch the beach polo.

I'm not sure the dog was to impressed with the polo but far more interested in learning to surf. 

Now i'm not typically a horsey' person, i never learnt to ride a horse when i was a child and i never collected my little ponies, but even for someone that doesn't have an interest in horses it was beautiful to see so many of them on the beach. It's not oven you see so many beautifully dressed horses walking on the sand. Now I don't know polo either but i have now learnt that the game is split into four sections the first three 6.5 minutes long and the last 6 minutes. These quarters of the game are called chukkas. Even if like me you were slightly confused by some of the terms there was something for everyone from horse stunt displays, live music and a BBQ on the beach. Another perfect day in Watergate Bay.

Grizzly and the Grasshoppers at the Phoenix Watergate Bay

Saturday night not only saw the final of the Eurovision song contest but also saw live music at the phoenix in Watergate Bay.

To be honest I had not heard of the band before but after a quick look at their website and the promise of  acoustic roots and hints of blues, funk and reggae I was sold.

Clearly the call of Eurovision was to much and the pub was surprisingly quiet but that did not stop me enjoying the band. Grizzly and the Grasshoppers consisted of four band members with each band member playing an array of guitar, drums, bongos, slide guitar and saxophone not to mention the gruff vocals from the lead singer.

I certainly enjoyed the night and am pleased to have got the chance to speak to the band after their gig and learnt that they are coming back to Watergate Bay at the end of the summer for the Surf and roots festival.

Here's a rather shaky mobile phone shot of the band on sat, apologies for the quality a combination of my birthday and several ciders doesn't make the best photo on a camera phone!