Summertime Picnic Treat at NNestival on the Waterfront

Wowsers, I am a busy bee! I've been so overloaded that the following blog post was begun last Monday. So get aboard the TARDIS and let's go back to the weekend before this one just gone...


The following images constitute about 50 per cent of my weekend. The initial part was spent cooped up in the house, feeling sad that I couldn't join my friends on a camping trip to Wales, and working like crazy on a book ahead of a weekend deadline. But I promised myself that if I hit my target I would take a little time out and go to the Waterfront festival.



We went out to watch the telly.

 We set up base camp with a prime view of the Wimbledon final. How posh we were with our Fortnum and Mason hamper, and our glasses of chilled Chardonnay with strawberries! And our cheese sarnies and homemade jam tarts... what, what.

Attempts at frugality were slightly undermined when OH spotted the zorba balls, and paid a fiver to look like a hamster in a ball in an oversized paddling pool.

Did I want a go too? Er... no.

Spot the conical bras - very Lost in Space

 There was also lots of games and amusements, and a marquee packed full of Most Marvellous vintage, crafts and lovely things to buy. I was hugely tempted by the cake-like soaps, which smelled divine. Apparently many small children had tried to eat them. Honestly, I'm trying to Google Saucy soaps for the link, but I just get back loads of stuff about Hollyoaks.

The lovely Sarah Spade performed a couple of sets. Click her link and give her a listen - a Bestival favourite, she sings vintage-style songs with a sweet and soulful voice, and is often backed by her band The Joyful Noise.

I just wanted a pic of the cushions.

Nanna's cafe corner - with a sheep.

Northampton's answer to 'Murray Mound'. I haven't thought of an alliterative name for it.

A lady being vintage. I think the dude in shades may have spotted me...

Ah - remember Madchester?

After the tennis - and how amazing was it to be watching that at a festival? Cool as.  - we decamped to a second festival in the next field, which had a bit of a different vibe. Fewer doilies; more dreadlocks. It took all my powers of persuasion to stop OH from buying a 'paint your own' TARDIS moneybox (reminding him that I bought him a TARDIS moneybox already... mmmm).

Some band, gigging on a truck.

Sadly, we'd missed The Mobbs.  I'm full of good music suggestions... They're jolly good, and have been on BBC 6 dontcherknow, and that's a free download link on their front page, there.

In no way is this the same as drinking in public. Adding a strawberry makes you look soffisteekatid. Plus I have a chair. See?

On the way home, we passed Beckets Well (where Thomas a Becket was reputed to have taken a much-needed drink whilst fleeing for his life from Northampton Castle). The Victorians made a shrine of it, but it's been barred off for years. However, with the ingenious use of a picnic wine glass and shoestring, OH got round the defences like a downmarket Indiana Jones.

His face doesn't melt off, either proving he's not an evil Nazi, or it's just river water.

So, that was last weekend's frugal fun, and this weekend we had some not so frugal fun with parties and a convention, but that's for another blog post, maybe.

My July-June book challenge is going, wow, better than I'd expected. The number of full-length books I have completed so far this month is 8. Okay, some of those were begun in June. Or earlier. I'm not recording the names of any I am Beta reading or working on, but I'll update my widget for the commercially available/accessible ones.

Oh and a big hello to Thrift Deluxe - lovely to have you on board the TARDIS. Help yourself to Jelly Babies from the cupboard.