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And so into the office this morning for the 'Dress Rehearsal Briefing'. Never mind the dress rehearsal - the drama started a few minutes before the briefing began, when I was idly wandering across the floor of the telephone unit when Paul called me over. Again, he wanted to iron out some wrinkles resulting from my change of shift pattern and the resulting havoc it had wreaked with my arranged shift swaps. We'd just reached apparent agreement on exactly when I was going to work when he made a comment, and wrote a note, that referred to Wednesday September 10. That confused me as I thought we'd established yesterday that I don't have to work on that day. No time to talk about that just yet, as it was time to head down to the Map Room for the briefing.
A guy called William explained to us all the extra questions we'd have to ask when we do the Dress Rehearsal next month for the proposed new survey. William had a heavy African accent; I understood him OK but I think a few people had a little difficulty. While we were encouraged to ask questions about anything that wasn't clear, much of the time was taken up with interviewers simply pointing out clear flaws in the new survey questions. In the end William just told us all to fill in any thoughts on them, including suggestions for improvement, in our feedback books when we're actually doing the rehearsal.
Meanwhile, my shift change drama reached its bloody Shakespearean climax during the interval in the briefing. I popped up to the telephone unit to ask Paul to let me glance over his record of my shifts to be worked for the next few weeks, just to make sure the rosters were right and he hadn't sneaked a rogue September 10 shift on me. I had to wait a few minutes as both Paul and Kevin were busy, then Paul called me over and showed me the rosters on his VDU. It rapidly became clear that Paul had a right cob on, as he snappily barked at me to write everything down just to make sure there'd be no arguments (even though I have memorised all the shifts I'm due to work in that period). When I innocently said something about a Friday shift not being on the screen Paul shouted me down and said "Just wait, will you? I'm getting stressed with you." That particular Friday turned out to be on another sheet, but Paul continued to get steaming angry, and it didn't help that he'd put me down to work 10 September PM. In my confusion brought on by his rage, instead of remembering that I shouldn't be working that day at all, I told him I should be on AM shift that day. He made a note of the 'correction' and sent me away with a flea in my ear.
It was only back in the briefing hall that I realised not only that mistake, but also that the roster had no record of a shift I'm meant to work - Wednesday 27 August AM as make-up of Bank Holiday Monday. There is no way I'm going back to Paul to say so; the way things were going I'd be risking a punch in the face. I guess I'll be going over his head and e-mailing Sue #6.
Next week.
Got down to the Stokes Bay Festival in time for the second half of Dick Gaughan's set. He was superb, including a song 'Geronimo's Cadillac' (Geronimo was sent a Cadillac by the US government in return for surrendering New Mexico). Between verses Dick mentioned a T-shirt he'd seen, showing Geronimo and three other Comanches with the caption 'Homeland Security - Fighting terrorism since 1492'. Dick ended with a song about Anglo-Scottish relations (he's a Scot) which he introduced with "I've heard people saying they'll vote Tory because they're sick of the government being full of Scots. I've got news for you - Cameron is a Scottish name!" Big cheer. He added "In Gaelic it means 'twisted nose'." Guffaws all round. There was more to come : "It could be worse, you could be called Campbell - 'twisted mouth'." Pause. "As in Alastair." Huge roar.
I made straight for the olive stall and had a lovely tubful with a foccaccia. Later in the afternoon I'd sample a delicious Welsh rarebit (on toasted baguette with grilled tomato slices) with salad from Iechyd Da, a nice BBQ lamb steak burger from the other Welsh van, 'A Taste Of Wales' and some lovely strawberries and cream from the 'Strawberries' stall.
Chumbawamba were fantastic. They played mostly their own songs, with a couple of older political or social-comment numbers and one Victorian song adapted for today, 'Hard Times of Old England'. Boff Whalley, now frontman following Danbert's departure, reminisced about "the Tubthumping era, the two years of madness" and concluded "Selling out to EMI was worth it, we got free rides at Alton Towers." They did a couple of numbers a cappella, including The Day The Nazi Died, about British fascists today, and The Clash's 'Bankrobber' which Boff introduced "We hope in 100 years' time this is being sung at festivals like this as an old English folk song"! Louise and Jude still have beautiful voices. Being an acoustic set, and maybe because of Danbert's absence, there was no Tubthumping or Amnesia, but what songs they did do were so great those two weren't missed.
After the set they set up a merchandise table in the front corner. I went over and looked at the CDs. Both 'Get On With It (Live)' and 'English Rebel Songs 1381-1984' tempted me, but I only had enough dosh on me for one, so I picked Get On With It as that had two of the songs I'd loved from today's set on it. All the band were standing nearby, so I got them all to sign the inner sleeve. "Love the T-shirt. Respect," said Boff, seeing my FC St Pauli T-shirt.
Next up was an American alt-country singer-songwriter called Gretchen Peters. She had a lovely voice. Later she passed by me on her way to the VIP area so I said 'Superb set' to her and she shook my hand.
I joined the queue for Roy Bailey and Tony Benn in the Big Top a quarter of an hour before they were due to start, but when I was five away from the front the stewards pulled away the fences, closed the Big Top flap-door and announced it was full. Moseying back over to the main tent I passed Peter, the festival organiser, whom I know. After a quick hello I remarked "It's full over there." Peter was surprised at that. He offered to get me in, but as I would have had to sneak out early to see all the Saw Doctors' set, which would have been ungrateful, I politely declined.
10 minutes before the Saw Doctors were due on Carol, Aussie and their daughter Anna came up and said hello. They said they'd first arrived half an hour earlier, then realised they'd left their cheque book behind so had to go back home and fetch that to pay to get in! Carol proudly opened her denim jacket to reveal her Saw Doctors T-shirt. "It's mine," said Anna pertly. Carol explained "Anna's too big for it now so I got it." It was very tight on Carol, but apart from the glimpse she gave me she kept her jacket done up, revealing only the words 'Saw Doctors', so she still looked ladylike :) Then they rushed off to get some chips before the Saw Doctors came on.
Just before the band were due to start, two young women, strangers, wearing fairy wings, approached me and said "Cheers!" touching my plastic glass with theirs. I thought maybe they knew of me from somewhere, but their next words were "Are you important? Are you a VIP?"
"No."
"Oh, we thought you were! We thought you might be the head honcho of the whole Festival." I might bear about a 1% resemblance to Peter.
"You could have pretended you were, for us." Then they told me what big Saw Doctors fans they were. "We stalk them," said one, and the other added "I'm going to sleep with one of them tonight." They then went on about how they were going to fling their knickers at the band on stage. They tried to persuade me to throw my underpants, but I declined. That didn't stop them christening me '[malmo58] the pant-flinger'. The first girl toyed with the idea of throwing their fairy wings as well, but decided against. "Knickers, yes, but we mustn't throw our fairy wings. Fairy wings are more important than knickers, aren't they?" she asked me for confirmation.
"Yes," I agreed. Mad as hatters, the pair of them.
As we lined up ready for the band to come on, I saw the second girl with a young man who was apparently her partner, and she talked about 'my kids' and put her hand on a small boy's head. They looked like a family group : it occurred to me that the first girl was the second girl's teenage daughter! I guess insanity could be hereditary.
The Saw Doctors opened up with my favourite song of theirs - N17 - that had the whole place roaring. They delivered a great set, of all their own songs except for one brief snatch of, bizarrely, The Shirelles' Will You Love Me Tomorrow and one of The Beatles' The Ballad of John and Yoko. No undergarments were thrown as far as I could make out :)
A guy called William explained to us all the extra questions we'd have to ask when we do the Dress Rehearsal next month for the proposed new survey. William had a heavy African accent; I understood him OK but I think a few people had a little difficulty. While we were encouraged to ask questions about anything that wasn't clear, much of the time was taken up with interviewers simply pointing out clear flaws in the new survey questions. In the end William just told us all to fill in any thoughts on them, including suggestions for improvement, in our feedback books when we're actually doing the rehearsal.
Meanwhile, my shift change drama reached its bloody Shakespearean climax during the interval in the briefing. I popped up to the telephone unit to ask Paul to let me glance over his record of my shifts to be worked for the next few weeks, just to make sure the rosters were right and he hadn't sneaked a rogue September 10 shift on me. I had to wait a few minutes as both Paul and Kevin were busy, then Paul called me over and showed me the rosters on his VDU. It rapidly became clear that Paul had a right cob on, as he snappily barked at me to write everything down just to make sure there'd be no arguments (even though I have memorised all the shifts I'm due to work in that period). When I innocently said something about a Friday shift not being on the screen Paul shouted me down and said "Just wait, will you? I'm getting stressed with you." That particular Friday turned out to be on another sheet, but Paul continued to get steaming angry, and it didn't help that he'd put me down to work 10 September PM. In my confusion brought on by his rage, instead of remembering that I shouldn't be working that day at all, I told him I should be on AM shift that day. He made a note of the 'correction' and sent me away with a flea in my ear.
It was only back in the briefing hall that I realised not only that mistake, but also that the roster had no record of a shift I'm meant to work - Wednesday 27 August AM as make-up of Bank Holiday Monday. There is no way I'm going back to Paul to say so; the way things were going I'd be risking a punch in the face. I guess I'll be going over his head and e-mailing Sue #6.
Next week.
Got down to the Stokes Bay Festival in time for the second half of Dick Gaughan's set. He was superb, including a song 'Geronimo's Cadillac' (Geronimo was sent a Cadillac by the US government in return for surrendering New Mexico). Between verses Dick mentioned a T-shirt he'd seen, showing Geronimo and three other Comanches with the caption 'Homeland Security - Fighting terrorism since 1492'. Dick ended with a song about Anglo-Scottish relations (he's a Scot) which he introduced with "I've heard people saying they'll vote Tory because they're sick of the government being full of Scots. I've got news for you - Cameron is a Scottish name!" Big cheer. He added "In Gaelic it means 'twisted nose'." Guffaws all round. There was more to come : "It could be worse, you could be called Campbell - 'twisted mouth'." Pause. "As in Alastair." Huge roar.
I made straight for the olive stall and had a lovely tubful with a foccaccia. Later in the afternoon I'd sample a delicious Welsh rarebit (on toasted baguette with grilled tomato slices) with salad from Iechyd Da, a nice BBQ lamb steak burger from the other Welsh van, 'A Taste Of Wales' and some lovely strawberries and cream from the 'Strawberries' stall.
Chumbawamba were fantastic. They played mostly their own songs, with a couple of older political or social-comment numbers and one Victorian song adapted for today, 'Hard Times of Old England'. Boff Whalley, now frontman following Danbert's departure, reminisced about "the Tubthumping era, the two years of madness" and concluded "Selling out to EMI was worth it, we got free rides at Alton Towers." They did a couple of numbers a cappella, including The Day The Nazi Died, about British fascists today, and The Clash's 'Bankrobber' which Boff introduced "We hope in 100 years' time this is being sung at festivals like this as an old English folk song"! Louise and Jude still have beautiful voices. Being an acoustic set, and maybe because of Danbert's absence, there was no Tubthumping or Amnesia, but what songs they did do were so great those two weren't missed.
After the set they set up a merchandise table in the front corner. I went over and looked at the CDs. Both 'Get On With It (Live)' and 'English Rebel Songs 1381-1984' tempted me, but I only had enough dosh on me for one, so I picked Get On With It as that had two of the songs I'd loved from today's set on it. All the band were standing nearby, so I got them all to sign the inner sleeve. "Love the T-shirt. Respect," said Boff, seeing my FC St Pauli T-shirt.
Next up was an American alt-country singer-songwriter called Gretchen Peters. She had a lovely voice. Later she passed by me on her way to the VIP area so I said 'Superb set' to her and she shook my hand.
I joined the queue for Roy Bailey and Tony Benn in the Big Top a quarter of an hour before they were due to start, but when I was five away from the front the stewards pulled away the fences, closed the Big Top flap-door and announced it was full. Moseying back over to the main tent I passed Peter, the festival organiser, whom I know. After a quick hello I remarked "It's full over there." Peter was surprised at that. He offered to get me in, but as I would have had to sneak out early to see all the Saw Doctors' set, which would have been ungrateful, I politely declined.
10 minutes before the Saw Doctors were due on Carol, Aussie and their daughter Anna came up and said hello. They said they'd first arrived half an hour earlier, then realised they'd left their cheque book behind so had to go back home and fetch that to pay to get in! Carol proudly opened her denim jacket to reveal her Saw Doctors T-shirt. "It's mine," said Anna pertly. Carol explained "Anna's too big for it now so I got it." It was very tight on Carol, but apart from the glimpse she gave me she kept her jacket done up, revealing only the words 'Saw Doctors', so she still looked ladylike :) Then they rushed off to get some chips before the Saw Doctors came on.
Just before the band were due to start, two young women, strangers, wearing fairy wings, approached me and said "Cheers!" touching my plastic glass with theirs. I thought maybe they knew of me from somewhere, but their next words were "Are you important? Are you a VIP?"
"No."
"Oh, we thought you were! We thought you might be the head honcho of the whole Festival." I might bear about a 1% resemblance to Peter.
"You could have pretended you were, for us." Then they told me what big Saw Doctors fans they were. "We stalk them," said one, and the other added "I'm going to sleep with one of them tonight." They then went on about how they were going to fling their knickers at the band on stage. They tried to persuade me to throw my underpants, but I declined. That didn't stop them christening me '[malmo58] the pant-flinger'. The first girl toyed with the idea of throwing their fairy wings as well, but decided against. "Knickers, yes, but we mustn't throw our fairy wings. Fairy wings are more important than knickers, aren't they?" she asked me for confirmation.
"Yes," I agreed. Mad as hatters, the pair of them.
As we lined up ready for the band to come on, I saw the second girl with a young man who was apparently her partner, and she talked about 'my kids' and put her hand on a small boy's head. They looked like a family group : it occurred to me that the first girl was the second girl's teenage daughter! I guess insanity could be hereditary.
The Saw Doctors opened up with my favourite song of theirs - N17 - that had the whole place roaring. They delivered a great set, of all their own songs except for one brief snatch of, bizarrely, The Shirelles' Will You Love Me Tomorrow and one of The Beatles' The Ballad of John and Yoko. No undergarments were thrown as far as I could make out :)