Foxwood and East Steel at Otley Carnival

Well, Debs, I guess you don't want to know how good Otley Carnival was.

After the glowering skies of Cross Flatts and St Barts, the downpours that were Adel, Berkhampstead and Beckett Park, and the ex-gazebo that was Donovan's Allsorts, we had just decided to fashion mini rain shields to attach to the front of our pans. Karen and co made theirs out of laminating pouches; I left mine uncut at home, and when I tried to saw the perspex up later it cracked. Back to the workbench for me.

I have however been working away at this idea for a couple of years now. Every so often Andy A and I have a design discussion, and this flaming June [so to speak], this raining June has focused my mind to see this idea properly realised.


Meanwhile the rain held off . . . .  and off . . . .  and off. Obviously Daisy, Charlotte and Georgia aren't wearing these shades against the bright sun!


As we turned into the lower fields, we overtook the Djembe truck and for a while we jammed along with each other. Ace.

 The crowds, as ever, wonderful, but, sadly no Jimmy Savile hanging out by the bridge this year. In honour of Whitney and Robin we calypsoed I Will Always Love You and Words. Banana! I threatenned them with Gary and Andrew's  Sing, but luckily for the increasingly restless bands,  I ran out of time working it out. [Since then I have met Sophie J and the sheet music, and in fact it never was that straight-forward.] I forgot the ladders - again, but luckily Jacky and Kenny live in Otley. Here we are below celebrating the borrowed ladder. 


[Jacky and I were in a rock of rock band together back in the day. We were rubbish, but it was better than hanging round while the boys took centre stage, and we even had articles written about us in the NME, one by my friend, Ziyad, and one by Swells [Seething Wells]. Both somewhat exagerated our importance upon the Leeds and Bradford punk rock scene i.e. gave us any, but we didn't care. In fact we were quite proud.] 

In one or both bands, playing Otley Carnival 2012 were Alli, Karen, Peter, Jeanette, Ruth, Lynn, Anne, Adele, Wendy, Vicky, Katie, Amy, Lizzie, Daisy, Charlotte, Natalie, Georgia, Joe, Bex and me.