....Beards!

 

On Friday we headed off to Bearded Theory Festival 2013 for our first festival of  2013 and also the first festival with our campervan Ratty. It was also the first time we'd been to a festival without being connected to trading at all. 

The weather was dry, if quite chilly for the first two days, so we were really lucky.

Just arrived and about to put the awning up.

The festival was in the grounds of the stunning National Trust property Kedleston Hall.

Karine Polwart - lovely Scottish folk singer.

Discovered fruit jerky, yum!

Hat feathers! Wrapped up on the chilly Saturday afternoon.

On the Saturday afternoon the sun finally came out. Just in time for the folk sensation that is Seth Lakeman. I found out in the programme that Seth was doing a signing session before his set so of course I hotfooted it to the Merchandise tent to get my poster signed and of course have a photo taken with him. I've seen him live three times now before this weekend and have always tried to get a photo with him at the end of the show but never managed to wait around long enough. Naturally I was a bit of a wreck and lost all ability to speak like a normal human being but he was very sweet and gave me a good squeeze. 

Here are a few shots from his set. Featuring the super talented Lisbee Stainton who is playing with him on his tour. I managed to get a great place right at the front and had a great view, even if I did go a bit deaf! 

It's always amusing at Seth concerts as there are always a few slightly obsessed middle aged women shouting at him to, as in this case, take his pants off. Ha ha!

As is always the way at festivals some people take it to the extreme with the whole dressing up thing. We saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, obviously a lot of fake beards and my favourite had to be these guys in their Ghostbusters costumes. Complete with the theme tune playing! They kindly let me join in the fun to get a photo with them.  

On the Sunday the sun came back out in force and it finally felt like proper festival weather. The main arena was packed with people decked out in shorts and sun hats and the ground was covered with picnic blankets. I actually managed to get a bit sunburnt! 

The last band we saw before we headed home was The Lancashire Hotpots which were hilarious. If you imagine combining Peter Kay with a music band you would end up with these chaps. Great way to finish off a great weekend with a smile.

The Lancashire Hotpots.

The food selection was fantastic with choices from Italian and Mexican to crepes, chocolate covered strawberries and toasties. Definitely nice to have a change from the usual burger vans. The drink selection was also amazing and we both enjoyed the choice of real beers and ciders available at the two bar tents. I discovered Black Dragon cider which is brewed in Wales and am hoping to see again somewhere as it was delicious. Our favourite drink stall was this homemade soft drink stall selling elderflower and plum presse in both still and sparkling. I've had it before at previous festivals so it was lovely to find it again and it helped to keep us well hydrated over the weekend. 

As the festival was called Bearded Theory I decided to join in the fun and made myself a needle felted beard complete with tash! Here's me sporting it below. I didn't wear it for long though as it was baking! 

Here's Ratty in his sunny spot in the campsite. I secretly loved the tinted windows because you could spy on everyone arriving and also admire all the other pretty campers and caravans. 

While the sun was still shining on Sunday we decided to pack up and head home so we could get the awning taken down in the dry. It also meant we had time to pop into Sainsburys before it closed to get stocked up on burgers for a nice bbq at home before the sun disappeared.

All in all we had a great time and would definitely go back next year!