20 July - Latitude & Boredom

Instead of trying to write, it, am just going to paste here an email to a friend.

Hi, no, no rain there, or rather one huge but v. short downpour at 5ish just before Deus came on but at that point we were in their dressing room so not a drop on me.
Phones just didn’t work there, which was most annoying. It should just free you but you still keep trying to find whoever you said you'd hook up with. I never met up with D. in the end and her friends, though met with R. who works with me and was there with possee of similarly young (early 20’s) ozzie friends. Very sweet, they seemed happy to hang with me. Why? Who knows but I seemed to know everything they’d been to see so I must be cool.

The one person I’d have liked to see ie. ex major married lover of a decade ago or more, who lives nearby. I didn’t . I had gone backstage to wait for M. but she was out front to see Sea Sick Steve and there was C. with wife!!! Darn and double darn! I’d have so loved to meet him as wife described to me on this occasion as ‘dowdy’ and previously ‘hippy and you can tell she’s over 50 and has had two kids’, whilst vain moi was in fab summer dress, fetching hat AND gold wedgies which I managed to walk on all day despite er.. uneven terrain (had forgotten about that, thought it would be flat for some reason). The hat btw was an inspired choice, aside from the fact that I hate any sun on my face, it meant that geezers on the gate to backstage recognised me every time and just opened it. So would have just loved, loved to see ex lover again in these circumstances. But was not to be. I mean she won that war back then and I just cried for two years. Probably for the best. He wears a daliesque moustache these days and I'd have had to kill him. In the intervening years a few awful things seem to have befallen him, like son who’s had a nervous breakdown (was molested by teacher years ago?) and once run over mother accidentally whilst trying to ‘escape’ the house and she stood in his way. She was in hospital I think. Son now lives in a tree house. What would you say being that I’m not supposed to know and have clearly had no tragedies befall me yet? And if they do, well I’ve had a good run. But just as an aside, there was a time when he and I could have been in Calcutta and we'd just find each other a few paces apart, without any arrangement. We just gravitated. That pull no longer exists.

It seemed like a really nice festival, but when you’re only there for a day the 4 hour door to door drive there and back seems hardly worth it. Am sure D. will have had a fab time as went on Friday and returning Monday. Plus she loved the bands, like Sigur Ros which I am totally less than lukewarm about (flitted between them and the spawn of Led Zep Mars Volta just to have my opinion changed but alas no. Sad really as when they came off stage their horn section carried on playing in the dressing room and the girls in the string section were dancing, and had D. been there (fan!) she’d have just been in heaven. Or if I'd been a journalist, that would have provided plenty of colour for the piece. I and really didn’t care about the rest. The backstage was one of those with no atmosphere and bands in and out I think. I made no use of literary tents, comedy tents (apparently they were too full/couldn't easily get in anyway), other areas, I just didn’t have it in me. Just looking at the programme (the size of a novel) made me just hate this marketing overkill. Plus it’s like reading Time Out and only having a few hours to go see something and there’s a whole magazine worth. Makes you furious.

Our B&B was great but expensive, £50 each and these days you have to donate forcibly £20 if you get a guest ticket. Don’t mind too much but as my friend S. says, I’d like a choice as to where my money goes... Burgers and any food of course started at a fiver. Pimms was similar. There was some posh pizza stand. That was its name Posh Pizza, as in you know, you make it with truffle oil? Sea bass? What kind of shit idea is that to rip people off? Pizza is poor food and that's how it should stay.

Shame none of us had plans to spend Sunday that way as we were very close , like twenty mins prob. from great coast line in Suffolk, which god knows when I’ll go that way again. But wanted to come back for L.’s thing which started at 5pm in the end instead of 2ish so could have done. But got home to have reunion with BF before going out which was good.
Gave a lift to a band’s manager on the way and to two agent girls on way back. Nice people, didn’t know one. But we all agreed in 2 seconds flat to stop at a car boot in a field on way back so I gave us 20 mins to go find something and we did. Was most exciting interlude of 24 hours. That and my nice bed. So tired didn’t hear M. snore much. The best thing about the car boot was a van selling dog things and M. discovered that the prices she pays in Primrose hill/nNott hill for doggie treats, collars, bones, leads (her dog chews through one a week), toys are inflated by 80%. And sure I know that Mrs carboot is not paying exortionate shop rent, but still…. We bought so much stuff (R. has dogs too and so has my sister) , all this s hit for 80p, £ 1, £2, that’s costs so much more in posh London. We were like kids in sweet shop.

There was also a girl called M. I talked to (am trying to work out how many people I’d have talked to at a push) who is a dancer with Godlfrapp and got back to B&B at 7am and was back in London last night dancing on stage with the frapps at Lovebox in Victoria park. She’s 34? So not even that young to have that much energy. Didn’t appear to be on drugs but was Nordic. Er, maybe the drinks don’t kill them so much. Anyway, that was another sign.. I gave Lovebox a 5 second thought and then went ‘naaah’. Am sure she’d have sorted out a ticket.
Also met M’s friend married to lawyer for both sigur ros and…..coldplay (in fact chris martin godfather to their kids) but I don’t have much to say since I.. don’t care..

Festival was easy to get in and out. (well from guest car park at non rush hour times) Always a plus. And never felt crowded/hemmed in though was sold out so maybe they just keep the numbers down for that reason? Well 25,000 is nothing compared to Glastonbury, so you don’t trample children of which there were zillions? Guardian reader sort of festie? Sort of feels like a day out not really an opportunity to expand any boundaries.

But totally cannot get excited. In the car all I wanted to do was play Led Zeppelin as had bought 4 cd set for £15 (down from £50) in HMV previously. But was mindful of my poor passengers. My theory is that you only fall in love with bands when you’re young and stay in love with those. So no amount of fab new bands will ever get to you and if they’re Elbow, well, I had to run to the woods at that point so as not to hear that boring shit! It’s too depressing that that’s what people put at no. 1.

Next year I hereby solemnly vow to just say ‘no’.