Sad to say that this evening’s REM gig at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, did nothing to improve my feelings about large soulless stadium concerts.
Still it was almost worth it simply for the experience of standing beside a group at the tram station who were discussing the band behind this week’s other big gig in Manchester, U2. They discussed the band’s success observing that: “it’s just a shame they never really went any further”.
I've just been topping up the oil and water in the van before a trip to Cornwall this weekend. (I have to use a funnel because of the positioning of the various hatches – it's a long story.)
It got me reflecting on the Greenbelt mailer we've just finished working on – and how that's a lot like a funnel. Really. In that a funnel is something you pour something big into a narrow opening; into something smaller. Representing the emerging Greenbelt programme in a printed mailer small enough to fit through someone's letter box is no small task. There's so much richness and variety, so much complexity and wonder, so much for all ages. How to fit it into 16 fold-out panels?
I think that's why the mailer causes the tensions it does. It's because we're all so determined to squeeze as much life out of it as we can. It's a bit like an exam when you’ve been preparing and revising for a period and then suddenly it's time to let it all out. Your one chance to do the business.
Well, the July mailer has gone to the printers today. And with that, we breathe a collective sigh of relief. Time will tell how effective the funnelling process was; just how effective will be seen as the mailers drop onto 14,000 or so doormats all over the country at the beginning of July. And then, how true to those four days in August it proves to be? Well, we'll see, won’t we?
On the last train back to Manchester on Monday night, I take a break from the spreadsheets and emails on the laptop, to flick through Virgin Train's Hotline Magazine.
Outside of listening guides for the audio channels and prices for the sandwiches I never expect to find too much of value in this publication. Occasionally however you stumble upon a pleasant surprise.
This time an article on The Caravan Gallery catches my eye.
It's a very British sort of project this; an art gallery contained in a touring caravan, on a mission to record the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of life in 21st century Britain.
A quick flick through of some of the postcards they have created to reflect the places they have visited, give you a flavour of what they're about.
As do the results from the surveys they ask visitors to the caravan to complete:
99% of people surveyed would rather die than arrange a pre-paid funeral.Hang on....17% of people surveyed have won meat in a raffle?!?!?
17% of people surveyed have won meat in a raffle.
30% of people surveyed have seen their parents naked.
18% of people surveyed avoid their neighbours when out shopping.
57% of people surveyed manage to kill houseplants without even trying.
Alan Titchmarsh is loved and loathed in equal measure.
Sitting in the Management Group meeting tonight the thing that strikes me most, is how much these people care about the festival.
From the passion people put into pulling a fabulous programme together (have you checked it out? It’s truly amazing this year), to making the money work it’s absolute hardest for us, to constructing a successful and imaginative site, to keeping us in tune with our aims and ethos.
Creating a festival for 20,000 people is no small matter. Keeping it fresh and exciting is an even bigger challenge.
If you’re coming to Cheltenham in August (and where on earth else would you possibly be?), then you can look forward to a site that’s been shaken up. Different shapes, different venues, more space, lots of surprises.
Well it wouldn’t be Greenbelt if we didn’t stir things up a bit…