Folkestone Boxing Day Dip 2013

After the Deal event, quick blast round the coast for the Folkestone dip.  This one was considerably bigger.  Weather was surprisingly pleasant in the sunshine - certainly didn't feel much like Boxing Day, more like spring.  Large turnout of suitably attired loonies ;)  Great fun.  Even the mayor joined in, though hoping to see him in a mankini next time ;)

Folkestone Boxing Day Dip 2013 (141 pics)

Folkestone Zombie Walk 2013

Once again the undead hordes took the streets of Folkestone and ran amok (well...staggered and lurched amok lol).  Some great make up jobs on show.  Very popular event with snappers, and a decent turnout of zombies once more.



Folkestone Zombie Walk 2013 (170 pics)

What A Vintage Carry On 2013, Margate

The first of what the organisers hope will be an annual event.  I only managed the Sunday as I was elsewhere the previous day.  Carry On essentially celebrates the glory days of Margate's past and revels in nostalgia, with many shops around the old town taking part.

There was some decent music in Market Street, and also on the piazza from the Electric Beatles.  There seemed to be a decent turnout and the assorted vintage items to be seen all over the place certainly excited a fair bit of interest.



What A Vintage Carry On, Margate (148 pics)

Broadstairs Folk Week 2013

I say 'week' but I only put in a couple of hours over the weekend, on the Sunday.  Mostly because the place is so horribly packed that attempting to get shots of anything is a nightmare.  It's a shame because the Saturday always sees a huge number of morris sides dancing but this time round I decided to head to Hastings for the carnival.

The weekday entertainment was pretty good.  Various morris teams did the full stint, including Madcap, Dead Horse, Royal Liberty, the Rising Larks & the motley Allsorts Morris, which is comprised from various members of other sides.

After an absence of a year, Gap Theatre Company returned to Broadstairs with their Seaside Variety show, with a slightly different line up to last time.  As before, the shows were promoted in chalk at various points around the town.

The standard of entertainment on the bandstand was decent.  Always nice to see the naughty osses again.  Assorted bands and dancers appeared, including Tap & Sync, Tanglefoot and an excellent Welsh team whose name I constantly forget.

The weather was mostly fine.  Only a heavy downpour on the Friday put a dampener on a pleasant week, but the rain cleared for the dance finale on the bandstand.



Broadstairs Folk Week 2013 (471 pics)

Hastings Carnival 2013

The sun shone and once again there were lots of superb entries in the Hastings Carnival, one of the best in the south of England.



Hastings Carnival 2013 (204 pics)

Margate Carnival 2013

Someone had tipped me off that there were going to be some exotic entries in this year's Margate Carnival...though I must admit to being somewhat sceptical.  But to my surprise, the Great British Carnival group brought a touch of Rio, Egypt, Portugal, Notting Hill and who knows where else to the streets of sunny Margate.

Not sure who pulled it off but it was a major coup for a town most often in the news for its many negative aspects.  The only real down side was the fact that the parade travels from Westbrook to Cliftonville, meaning the sun is directly in your face.  Which makes getting half decent snaps difficult.

Due to the assorted GBC entries and their considerable popularity with the crowds, the parade took much longer than usual and I think this in turn delayed the Soul Weekend events on the piazza.  The couple of hours or so after the carnival passed by were all I caught of the music event but the place was packed and everyone was having a great time in the glorious sunshine.

Margate can still make it happen now and then.



Margate Carnival 2013 (203 pics)

RNLI Hastings Beach Concert 2013, Saturday

Normally I'd have been at Brighton Pride but that event has completely sold its soul now & is all about ripping off the punters, with very little of the original intent now remaining.  Not that I'd need much persuading to go to Hastings and listen to music on the beach, in the sunshine ;)

It was a lot cooler after the recent heatwave but still sunny pretty much all day.  The tug o' war comp went on for longer this time, so there was hardly any gap between it finishing and the music starting, which I liked.

Was another good line up this year.  The crowd was definitely not as up for it as last year's lot.  I suspect most of them hadn't drunk enough (lol).  Though a few had clearly over done it. Security once again did a good job of stopping things getting out of hand whilst maintaining a low profile.  Maybe the crowd just danced when my back was to them - that's possible ;)

As per 2012, only could make it on the Saturday, and also missed the final band on as it was freezing on the beach by then and the light was starting to go, so I called it a day.

Also as per 2012, Ujenix were my favourite band.  Though everyone performing put on a good show.

Good to see this event reach its 25th anniversary, after the 2013 concert was in doubt due to lack of funding.  Hopefully it'll carry on for a good while yet.  This is a fantastic event and props go to everyone involved in making it happen.



Hastings Beach Concert 2013 (197 pics)

Create Music Festival 2013, Ashford

After a pretty grim & grey start, once again the sun appeared and blue skies graced a summer event.  Had never even heard of the Create Festival before, despite this being its 18th year.  Which just shows how many excellent events can happen without you knowing anything about them.

The standard of music was superb and eclectic.  I spent the whole day scurrying between the four stages.  I tried to see every act but missed a couple.  The problem, if such it can be called, is that most of the acts playing were of a standard that you really wanted to watch the whole set, but that was impossible if you wanted to take in as much as possible.

Band of the day, for me, was the fantastic Riskee & the Ridicule.  Definitely should have been the headline act.  To be blunt, they were head and shoulders above Dodgy.  The Riskees are a lot more relevant and should have got top billing, end of.

Also superb were the frankly barking Blacken the Name.  I was literally half deaf for an hour after listening to their particularly ear splitting brand of metal.  This is the kind of performance you want to see as a snapper.  Their fans provided security with a rare bit of activity by constantly knocking down the barriers but it was all in good spirits.

I didn't see one duff band.  Pretty remarkable achievement given the size of the bill.  The dance tent really livened up as the afternoon wore on and I found myself in among a load of (mostly) young ravers at one point.  It was like going back in time 25 years ;)  Good to see the 2013 ravers still throw the same shapes as the elderly used to in the late 80s/early 90s ;) Props to that older guy in the leather jacket with his repertoire of funky moves (lol)

Other notable performances among the many were Him & Her, Dulcie May & the Mystery Cats, Parachuting Monkeys, Adam White, Adam Dowling, Van Susans, Hey Joni and Mooli.

Down sides included the ridiculously small number of toilets for the size of the crowd, many of whom were obviously drinking plenty; and the ridiculously large number of security people.  Next time the organisers should have more bogs and less muscle ;)  But these are minor criticisms (I would be devastated if there was nothing to complain about ;).  Create 2013 was an outstanding event.

Create Music Festival 2013 (313 pics)

Hastings Pirate Day 2013

We had glorious weather and a huge turnout for the now annual Hastings Pirate Day.  No world record attempt this time as the previous year's total still stands.

The sheer volume of people made snapping quite a challenge, especially if you take pretty much only candid stuff.  All posed pics here are spontaneous.  You really don't know where to start and the task is actually pretty daunting, not helped by the fact that you're taking pictures of bloodthirsty cutthroats who won't hesitate to run you through if the fancy takes them ;)

It quickly became apparent that the Stade stage was the place to be from a people snapping point of view.  The folks there just let themselves go and partied.  Absolutely fantastic to be in amongst it.  Brilliant costumes abounded.

I ventured down to the new town a couple of times and caught the excellent Panash Steel Orchestra there.  I didn't see much of the Skyfall, or any of the theatrical stuff, as I decided to stick to what I know.

Atmosphere was fantastic.  Pirate Day is the most fun you can have in public without being arrested, for sure ;)  Snapped most of the time with my bodged 18-200, a lens with no longer functioning image stabilizer, which is held together with black tape - my close proximity to people made my favoured 70-200 2.8 out of the question in most instances. 



Hastings Pirate Day 2013 (435 pics)

Summer snaportage

Well, the miracle has happened.  For the first time in 7 years, we've actually had a decent prolonged bit of summer weather.  It's enough to make you want to wander about taking random snaps of assorted nonsense ;)



Summer snaportage (78 pics)

Tentertainment 2013, Sunday

Was off in Maidstone snapping the (massive!) Race For Life earlier in the day so missed some of the acts, including Him & Her, who are excellent and who I was hoping to catch.

The quality was generally high and the weather was perfect.  We don't often manage a proper hot summer's day now but we had one on Sunday.  The crowd was a little bit less lethargic but most seemed happy to loll about in the sunshine drinking Pimm's instead of getting up and dancing ;)

Loved Van Susans (I thought the lead singer was going to flake out in the heat at one point, but he managed to stay on his feet lol).  Was also some decent music in the yurt, but several acts struggled against the noise coming from the main stage.

The extremely popular local stars, The Tuesdays, were the final act.  As with last year, tech gremlins with the sound gave them a headache or two but I don't think the crowd were too bothered.



Tentertainment 2013, Sunday (93 pics)

Tentertainment 2013, Saturday

Decent weather, though with some annoying cloud early on.  Saturday's line up was quite hit & miss.  Charlotte Rose Ellis wasn't able to perform for some reason.  Other acts that were supposed to be playing either didn't, or did so in a different order to that billed.  Coco & the Butterfields were a no show for their yurt spot but made it for their main stage performance later (I missed that, the heat had taken its toll by then).

Phase 5 were great and the only act to spark a bit of life in the generally listless crowd.  So few people got up and danced!  Dancing people who have had a bit too much to drink are the life blood of snappers (lol).

Also superb were Daniel Jeanrenaud & the Standard Lamps.  Personally, I would reserve the yurt for acoustic acts and the main stage for the foot stomping bands.  But what do I know ;)



Tentertainment 2013, Saturday (101 pics)

Rochester Dickens Festival 2013, Sunday

First time I've been to the Rochester Dickens.  Nice day and good fun.


Rochester Dickens Festival 2013 (170 pics)

Ace Cafe: Margate Meltdown 2013

For once, this event failed to live up to its nickname, Margate Pissdown ;)  Sun shone throughout the day and a huge crowd of bikers and spectators flocked to Margate.



Margate Meltdown 2013 (144 pics)

Love Music Hate Racism 2013, Chatham, Medway

The gusty wind, frequent grey skies and occasional rain did little to deter the revellers at Medway's 7th LMHR event.



LMHR 2013, Chatham (117 pics)

Hastings Jack in the Green Festival 2013, Sunday

Decided to chase the sun after a day of gloom and chilly winds in Rochester at the Sweeps.  Hastings didn't disappoint and was sunny and very warm most of the day.  Things were fairly low key, with mostly just morris dancing and a bit of drumming.  The big procession takes place on the Monday but I knew it would be packed solid for that, with the added presence in Hastings of thousands of bikes for the May Day Run.



Hastings Jack in the Green (175 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013, Monday

After spending the Sunday in Hastings, I returned on bank holiday Monday to the Sweeps.  Despite the forecast of unbroken sunshine, it managed to be cloudy a fair bit of the day, but at least it was nice and warm.  The parade was bigger than the previous year.  The high street was absolutely packed to the point where you could barely move at times.



Rochester Sweeps Festival (122 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2013, Saturday

It's that time again when dozens of morris dancers and folkies descend on Rochester for the annual Sweeps Festival.  It was certainly a bit warmer than last year.



Rochester Sweeps Festival pt1 (130 pics)

Taihg & Hugo Tribute - Canterbury Alumni - Sunday 3 February 2013

I arrived later on the Sunday but still caught a good bit of music.  The BBC turned up, shot a bit of footage and interviewed some of the friends & family of Taihg, which was nice.  It was grey and extremely cold, which wasn't so nice.  Some excellent performances from various Canterbury Alumni - a few of which I caught on video.

Taihg & Hugo Tribute, Sunday (68 pics)

Some vids:

The Four Roads
Vince Herron & Jules Madjar
Canterbury Buskers Collective - The Way It Is
Jules Madjar on acoustic guitar
Canterbury Buskers Collective - Guiding Stars
Canterbury Buskers Collective
Canterbury Buskers Collective - Voodoo Chile/Hey Joe medley
Canterbury Buskers Collective - assorted men with beards
Vince Herron AKA Captain Birdseye's nephew
Lloyds Corner
Canterbury Buskers Collective - Wagon Wheel
Canterbury Buskers Collective - I Chase The Devil
Canterbury Buskers Collective - Atlantic City (incomplete)

Taihg & Hugo Tribute - Canterbury Alumni - Saturday 2 February 2013

Rocking Lloyds Corner in memory of Daniel 'Taihg' Lloyd & Hugo Wenn.

Taihg & Hugo Tribute, Canterbury (56 pics)

Couple of vids:
I Chase the Devil
Bez makes a guest appearance
Get Up, Stand up