Bestival

So, the sun shone, it was Mule’s birthday, we were on the main stage, surrounded by friends and were able to host a marriage proposal for two very close Skinny pals… idyllic weekend or what?! Bestival never fails to disappoint but this year was truly special!

Preparing for the off

Our arrival into the festival was filled with stress as usual while we’re all crammed into the land rover with no clue where we are meant to be or where we are going, we have crates of beer squashing our laps and rum bottles rolling around our feet. Eventually we manage to find the campsite, in the fluster Mule accidentally hits a female steward in the face (sorry) but all is forgiven and we finally have our tents up and running.

Tents in the Sun

We meet up with friends, drink beer and take in the atmosphere… Bestival looks beautiful at night then it’s a reasonalbly early bed time for us as tomorrow is a big day.

Happy Birthday Mule!

Waking up, the sun is shining and we’re all nervously looking forward to our gig on the main stage. We arrive early backstage as the Skinny Sisters require copious amounts of alcohol to wash away their hangovers, and we have a sound check. After being told off by New Order techs for loitering on the stage while their sound check over ran, we hold back. Time is running out to get a proper line check… something we’re used to, but this is a gig we want to go well. After a couple of instruments have crackle issues… we’re told it’s time to get off the stage as Mr Motivator is due on. EEK… no sound check has been achieved and I have no idea how the sisters are going to get off the 11ft stage and down into the crowd. Not only that but we have a dear friend wanting to propose to his girlfriend… arhh…what if I forget this? What if it’s a difficult gig, what if she hates it and says no???!

Getting ready

Backstage the mood is restored after a few swigs of rum. Once Mr Motivator has shaken off the hangovers of those animals in the audience, we head back on stage to complete our soundcheck and sort out our show. Mr Motivator, meanwhile is accosted by the Skinny Sisters, threatened with all sorts of Skinny Sister shenanigans and ends up giving the girls a good work out.

Mr Motivator motivates the Skinny Sisters

The gig gets off to a great start, there’s a nice crowd. We warm up good and proper. Finally the moment comes to invite our dear friend Chris Smith on to the stage. It all feels great and he does an amazing job at declaring his love and asking his ‘fair maiden’ for her hand in marriage. She looks overjoyed and screams into the microphone…everyone on stage and off are jubilant, the stage crew come on stage and dance in their kilts with Skinny Sisters as we all launch into the final song ‘Lets get wasted/Wild as the Wind Blows’, Amazing fun. Obviously champagne is waiting for us backstage. Congratulations to a beautiful couple!!

Proposal

Needless to say things start getting hazy here. I do know we had a short gig at the pirate press dinner where we danced on tables and climbed the rafters, Sisters get caught trying to steal booze and despite all this.. we were given a delicious dinner of cockles and pasta. After trying to kidnap one of the waitresses next we head to the Sunday Best shop for our final smaller gig….I try a spot of crowd surfing again, we open another bottle of champers and then following that everything really is EXTREMELY patchy. I remember New Order, I remember dancing in a wedding disco, a vague memory of meeting friends in the cinema, and then dancing to a great DJ Yoda set before finally reaching the tent at around 5 or 6 in the morning.

Dancing on the table for UK music press lunch!

The next day is a battle for one and all. Unfortunately we had to head home before Stevie Wonder but we were lucky enough to catch the soundcheck which we enjoyed thoroughly! Getting off site was a headache and one I’d like to forget. When we hit the ferry the rain started and we felt a little relieved being without any wells or coats…another great weekend though and one we’ll enjoy for a long time through Bestival TV!