Well I finally got on to the net here at the festival. Two days in and I've just about seen round the whole site. I havent seen half the things I intended to, but thats always the way at festivals. I did manage to see Emilliana Torrini last night who was brilliant and we went along to the folk club this afternoon and I plucked up the courage to play a tune on the tin whistle. My daughter and I have been having lessons together since January, and every time I hear proper folk musicians it inspires me to learn more. I dont know why I left it till I was approaching middle age till I learnt an instrument but I reckon your never too old to do these things. The learning process seems to be quite similar to when I learnt to juggle and unicycle - you struggle along for months not getting very far, then suddenly something clicks and your brain understands what you are trying to do. Learning new skills is a real buzz, especially when it involves a bit of interaction with fellow human beings rather than machines ( he says typing in to a computer )i'm doing a bit of fire juggling tommorow morning, then in the afternoon going to listen to Leo Hickmans talk - all the talks from the festival are going to be available as downloads, i'll put a link when I get back.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Greenbelt Folk Club
Well I finally got on to the net here at the festival. Two days in and I've just about seen round the whole site. I havent seen half the things I intended to, but thats always the way at festivals. I did manage to see Emilliana Torrini last night who was brilliant and we went along to the folk club this afternoon and I plucked up the courage to play a tune on the tin whistle. My daughter and I have been having lessons together since January, and every time I hear proper folk musicians it inspires me to learn more. I dont know why I left it till I was approaching middle age till I learnt an instrument but I reckon your never too old to do these things. The learning process seems to be quite similar to when I learnt to juggle and unicycle - you struggle along for months not getting very far, then suddenly something clicks and your brain understands what you are trying to do. Learning new skills is a real buzz, especially when it involves a bit of interaction with fellow human beings rather than machines ( he says typing in to a computer )i'm doing a bit of fire juggling tommorow morning, then in the afternoon going to listen to Leo Hickmans talk - all the talks from the festival are going to be available as downloads, i'll put a link when I get back.
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2 comments:
No longer young,
She makes her way
To the Greenbelt Festival
At Cheltenham Racecourse.
It is a sacred site;
Full of Celtic ghosts
And the sense of
Abiding loss.
In her mind
Is the hope
That she may be able
To rediscover
Something of the energy
Of spiritual fascism
Which so excited
Her internal juices
All those years ago
At university.
She is disappointed.
Plenty is happening
At Greenbelt,
But none of it has to do with
Energy,
Spiritual fascism,
Or internal fluidity.
What is happening
At Greenbelt
Is the spiritual self-congratulation
Of materialistic Middle England
As it tries to remember
What all the fuss was about
In the olden days
When angels seemed closer,
And churchianity seemed more
Than just gender-posing,
And God existed
As a vital,
Immanent
And cosmetically expedient
Fashion accessory.
To be a survivor
At Greenbelt,
You have to be
An out-of-date
Post-evangelical.
And to be
An out-of-date
Post-evangelical,
You have to be
A card-carrying
Associate member
Of the human race
With a half-finished,
Unpublished
Thesis
On "God as Dolphin Mother."
It is all rather disappointing.
But, this year,
The intense quality
Of the disappointment
Is somehow
More gratifying
Than usual.
I'm not sure about this stream of consciousness commenting, but I suppose it makes a change. I'm not a christian, nor am I interested in god as a vital,Immanent and cosmetically expedient
Fashion accessory, or as a dolphin mother for that matter.
But what I would say is that Greenbelt does have energy. I found the talks inspiring and the idea of living more generously a rallying call for those of us fed up with consumerism.
I've probably missed your point somewhere along the line, but that wouldnt be hard would it.
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