Hastings Jack in the Green 2014 - Monday

I decided to head off to Hastings for the Jack in the Green procession for the first time.  Last year I did the much quieter Sunday.  Was taken aback by the sheer volume of people thronging the streets during the parade. 

I wasn't able to get down to Hastings as early as I'd have like and arrived with the procession in full flow.  Fortunately it stopped regularly for various performers to do their thing.

This is a great fun event and I loved it.  Will certainly be back next year.



Hastings Jack in the Green 2014 (475 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2014

Despite the weather forecast of white cloud, the sun shone almost unbroken throughout the May Day weekend.  Snapping conditions were poor as a result, with lots of harsh glare and deep shadow.

There seemed to be fewer morris sides than usual this time.  Normally you see some on the Sunday that weren't there the previous day, but that wasn't the case this time round.  Am guessing the tricky current climate has meant many no longer travel from a long way off, what with the costs involved.

Even so, was an excellent event, as ever.  Didn't get up to the castle stage as much as I'd have liked - and I know I missed a few good bands, such as Sur Les Docks, but you can't be everywhere at once, sadly.




Rochester Sweeps Festival 2014 - Saturday (266 pics)

Rochester Sweeps Festival 2014 - Sunday (334 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)

Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival 2013, Sunday

Was even hotter on Sunday.  Real scorcher, something we've been lacking for so long.  Another excellent day at the F&A Festival.  The crowds gradually built up and Guildhall was packed for the headline act, Coco & the Butterfields, who were fantastic.  Nice to see folk up and dancing, though attempting to get pictures in the melee was somewhat tricky.



Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival pt2 (305 pics)

Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival 2013, Saturday

What a difference to last year.  I didn't need a canoe to get around Sandwich this time ;)  Sun shone gloriously pretty much from the word go and remained for the whole weekend.  It was packed on the Saturday.  The sheer volume of people made it difficult to get shots with the constant walkthroughs but I did what I could, as ever.

Was wrong footed a little by the fact that things kicked off earlier than they usually do at folk events, with the morris dancing in full swing when I arrived at about 11.30.  Unfortunately managed to miss Rough Musicke on the stage and Hannah's Cat dancing completely.  I blame the heat for slowing me down ;)



Sandwich Folk & Ale Festival pt1 (254 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)

Tenterden Folk Festival 2012

Again, decent bit of luck with the weather, some sun on both days.  Didn't stop long on either the Saturday or the Sunday but the standard of entertainment seemed good.  Think I was a bit morrised out by this stage of the season, having snapped morri seemingly endlessly for five months ;)

Tenterden Folk Festival 2012 (110 pics)

Hop hoodening 2012, Canterbury

Heralding the start of autumn...not that we actually had a summer in 2012...


Hop hoodening 2012 (77 pics)

Faversham Hop Festival 2012, Sunday

I made it to Faversham for the second day of the 2012 Hop Festival.  It stayed dry, which was a big achievement. There was the usual decent mix of morris dancers, singers and street entertainment.

Faversham Hop Festival 2012 (161 pics)

Herne Bay Festival 2012

I was in Hernia Bay on the hottest day of the year.  The opening Saturday of the festival provided the one (and, I think, only!) instance of the temperature hitting 30C in what was mostly an abysmal summer of cold winds and rain.

Once again, HB put on an excellent series of free events over the course of 10 days.  Highlight for me was the manic rock band, The Eyes, who put on an amazing balls out (not literally) performance.

Herne Bay Festival pt 1 (90 pics)

Herne Bay Festival pt 2 (90 pics)

Herne Bay Festival pt 3 (95 pics)

Broadstairs Folk Week 2012

After a dreadful summer, the sun mostly shone for Folk Week, though numbers appeared to be down this time round and there were certainly fewer morris sides and musicians out on the street than in previous years.  Nevertheless, those who turned out were enthusiastic, as ever.  Here are a few snaps from the week.

 

Folk Week - Saturday (102 pics) 

 

Folk Week - Sunday (59 pics) 

 Folk Week - Monday (90 pics)

Folk Week - Tuesday (71 pics)

 Folk Week - Wednesday (69 pics)

 

 

Folk Week - Thursday (42 pics) 

 

Folk Week - Friday (57 pics)