Electric Picnic Sunday

Woke up to Sauna tent. Sunshine. Imagine! Bacon, tea and pork pie for breakfast. Yum. Off to the main arena for the traditional picnic Sunday Service, the totally uplifting Dublin Gospel Choir. Well worth getting up for.

Very chilled atmosphere with loads of happy kids.

Picked up this De Paul guy - promoting their work with the homeless with Life's no Picnic on the Streets.

 Then a total treat, the 55 piece RTE concert orchestra, in full evening dress and wellies with a 1:20 set of classics and film scores. Star Wars, Bach, Indiana Jones. Brilliant. Ending with Riverdance. This must have been one of the biggest audiences they've played to. The sound system could have been a bit louder to hear at the back.

Guest singers included Gerry Fish, Gemma Hayes and 2 cool London Jamaicans who said Respect to Laois when they found out where in Ireland they were.

Packed up the tent and lugged it to the car. Took ages...

Back to Mindfield. Poet Tom Matthews with a lovely plummy voice did a terrific Humpty Dumpty homage to Auden. Shades of Wendy Copy's Hickory Dickory Dock poem.

Then the fizzing, funny and anarchic Julian Gough in the Literary tent in unfortunate banana trousers. Giving out about the establishment and Arts Council and the Irish literary scene being all same-y and not pushing the boundaries.

Dropped in on Fat Freddy's Drop in the Electric Arena, more musical tourism. These are from Wellington and had another great brass section. Great audience rapport too.
Mad crowd in the main arena sharing Mac Makeup and other substances.

Then Mumford and Sons were a revelation on the main stage. Word perfect crowd left me speechless. Highly recommended. And terribly good looking too.

Left before the rain started. Missed The National. There a list of things I didn't get to do a mile long. Next year...

Saying Goodbye.