We have been back from the Port Eliot Festival for four days and are already looking forward to next year. There is so much I could write about and so many photos I could post. Someone said of Port Eliot that “if you asked 1000 people for a story of their experience of Port Eliot, you would get 1000 different stories”, and hereby lies the problem. I can only say you need to go and experience this festival of ideas yourself.
Me and Don enjoying a Bloody Mary Elevensees
. What sets it out from others is I suppose the mix of literary talks with the mix of music, cinema, food, fashion, comedy, cabaret and of course the beautiful setting, which allows all the different aspects to be laid on without really being aware of the any of the rest of it.
Taking in the magnificence of the Round Room
One thing for sure is that it could be summed up as “London meets the Cornish”, where you see the “Beautiful people” strutting their stuff, the families whose children are called Tabitha, Henry, Hector and Aerial trying to organise themselves miserably alongside the often badly dressed cornish who always appear stouter and rounder and just love beer tent hopping. This of course is finding the extremes at both ends of the scale and in between there are the most lovely people who are genuinely there to soak up as much culture,and music as possible. One of our favourite parts is “Caught by the River”, the inspiration of three music producers who also have a love of nature, their ethos summed up by the words “An antidote to indifference” www.caughtbytheriver.net
Chris Yates, Jon Berry, John Andrews and Charles Rangley-Wilson talking Words on Water
My festival diary is written, full of memories of everything we saw, the chance meetings with new people, the inspiring talks we hear and the great music from Ahab, to banghra band RSVP, blues from Hat Fitz and Cara, theatre from Bellowhead, dance your heart out to Trance from The Egg and the mellow sound of Louis Eliot and many other great acoustic acts. It really is a smorgasbord of creativity and inspiring thought, washed down with some good ale and great cocktails.
Suggs (Madness) at the Boogie Round , 2 a.m all singing "Lets go fly a kite"
Another post on my new heroine to follow very shortly!!
