By the time it came to head for Hatfield I truly had started to wonder if I was bonkers as none of the journeys were happening as predicted. Cheltenham marathon road closures required an additional trip from Bristol to collect daughter the night before to avoid being trapped. Abandoning the car at the hotel we headed for Hatfield House to join the throngs all walking purposefully towards the arena. Tickets & covid passes at the ready to enjoy this day festival that predominantly features punk rock with dashes of rock & alternative music thrown into the mix. Gutted that Waterparks had to pull out due to a crew member testing positive & depriving us not only of their main set but the intimate acoustic set we were glad to learn that none of their team became seriously ill.

The definition of ‘resilience’ apparently is the capacity too ‘recover quickly from difficulties’ & 2020 certainly tested mine. Plans repeatedly having to be changed often at short notice it was hard to keep up at times. However as someone with a natural tendency towards contingency planning I was able to refer to my (if somewhat hastily cobbled together) list of alternative set options which kept us at the ‘Key Club Left & Right Hand’ Stages for most of the day.

First up was The Popes of Chillitown, a wild card recommend which proved a good one. Hot on there heels were The Hara who had undergone a dramatic metamorphosis since I watched one of their early music videos via Twitter. Still the set was for me the most entertaining of the day & I shall look out for them in the future as their sound was definitely my sort of listen. I also love a ‘front man’ who can engage with the crowd it makes such a good atmosphere & infinitely more memorable show.

Roaming around in the unseasonably warm sunshine drinking cold beer, eating & listening to al sort of bands that included Doll Skin & Boston Manor it was great be regaining that sense of freedom so savagely snatched by 2020.

Confession time I have never imbibed a Jaeger Bomb so I felt a tad guilty when beckoned to have a go on their 360 video thing. However in the spirit of my personal mantra “Feeling crazy lets not waste it” it would have felt rude to refuse so below is what they recorded.

With no desire to re live Boardmasters ‘sardines in a tent’ experience where at one point my feet were not actually touching the ground I had to forego the Trash Boat set in favour of the merch tent. It was tough resisting the temptation to buy any more tee shirts but I probably own more than I think I could now wear before I die. So I distracted my self by engaging in an interesting conversation with the manager of Normandie, a Swedish Band whom recently added to the growing list of new bands I like listening to.

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Anyone at a festival will send the average step counter off the scale & we were no exception so consequently felt no guilt over consuming vegan wraps & donuts! Mcfly drew a large crowd & lead singer egged the crowd on by creating a fun if slightly nostalgic atmosphere until all were heartily singing along.

As the sunset over the main stage & headliners played we made our way back to the hotel as neither of us are Don Bronco fan’s. I have tried but sadly their music just doesn’t do it for me. Guess it would be dull if we all liked the same things & it didn’t detract from what had been an awesome day.

Next morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading back to Bristol & YAMAS at the O2. Thankfully we cadged a lift into the city centre as the thought of driving any more miles that day was not appealing & it also meant we could have a drink or several.

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The queue was long so we missed the first support act which was a shame because the line up was great. YAMAS played a fabulous set list which enabled the crowd to really sing along and despite feeling a bit tired the evening was well worth it.

Back home with a day or two to repack the bag & wait to see if the trip to Glasgow was on or not.

Stay safe everyone & look out for part three.