Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Presentation Review: House of BlueEyes

House of BlueEyes. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
House of BlueEyes. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Bumbling back towards the Freemasons’ Hall I recognised a familiar face standing out in the street, look looking not unlike a sexy Morris Dancer – that of Faye, order a stripper who featured in issue 01 of Amelia’s Magazine and pole-danced at my first ever launch party at the Seventeen Gallery in Shoreditch High Street.

Faye Marie at London Fashion Week.
Faye Marie at London Fashion Week.

Faye also taught me how to pole-dance at her studio in the Rochelle School in Arnold Circus, back when it was briefly trendy to take it up in the name of exercise. Or at least she tried, I being light in upper body strength and heavy in body weight – but I did enjoy wearing those ridiculously high see-through perspex stripper shoes and pretending to twirl around a pole sexily, usually collapsing in giggles as I failed to spin into the air once again. It’s hard work you know, and Faye always made it look so effortless; I was in awe of her lithe physique. She spoke of entering competitions and winning respect: for her pole-dancing was an art-form that just so happened to take place in front of grosse men in grotty pubs. In this Time Out article from 2006 she is quoted as saying “Pole dancing is an art and women appreciate the effort involved. Men just stare at your crotch and I want to shout ‘What are you looking down there for?? I’m doing GYMNASTICS!!’”

Faye Marie was always very down on men… but I’m thinking that her views may have changed now that she steps out with Joe Corre – making her step mum to none other than Vivienne Westwood‘s pouting (and very pretty) granddaughter. Joe Corre co-founded Agent Provocateur, owns menswear label A Child of the Jago, publishes The Daily Terror and has just become a shareholder in glamourous make up brand Illamasqua. I am guessing Faye no longer strips for pound coins in the White Horse to fulfil her pole-dancing desires. But I do hope she is still dancing because she was a joy to watch.

Cupcakes from Through the Looking Glass.
Cupcakes from Through the Looking Glass.

Turns out Faye was loitering outside because her latest venture is a bookshop cum teashop called Through the Looking Glass in Amwell Street, which thrives on the premise that it’s best to enjoy a good book with a nice cup of tea. (I must pop along there sometime and check it out.) And she had provided the pretty china and cupcakes for the House of BlueEyes presentation, which would shortly take place in the upstairs galleries.

JohnnyBlueEyes
JohnnyBlueEyes.

So I went on up to investigate and I found a man, large of bearing, parading through the corridor in a pink t-shirt, hot pants and thigh-high spray-painted boots, his face and legs smeared with blue paint and glitter. As I watched he stumbled to the floor and caressed a women with butterfly eyes. A cluster of bland-looking fashion week girlies watched from the sidelines, bemused and utterly unable to explain what was going on. I though to myself: this, THIS is why fashion week is so fun! Inside an oddball collection of painted live mannequins posed on windowsills, astride chairs and on a small stage beneath coloured lighting gels and studio lights. An elderly couple looked mildly uncomfortable as they sipped their tea, asking if they were in the way. Was it part of the performance? Who knows.

House of BlueEyes - is it part of the performance? Who knows!
House of BlueEyes – is it part of the performance? Who knows!

As the models pretended to paint, patted a small dog, gazed longingly or amusedly into my lens (pictures below) I smiled, for it was impossible not to, as the blue man, a stylist named JohnnyBlueEyes, intoned some guff about angels, love and revolutions. I cannot tell you a thing about these angels’ outfits other than they were colourful, glittery and totally unwearable – but the makeup was fabulous indeed.

House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera.
House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera.

House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera. Yup, not really working here.
House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera. Yup, not really working here.

House of BlueEyes.
House of BlueEyes. PEACE and lurve, all over your boobies.

House of BlueEyes.
House of BlueEyes. Check dose earrings!

House of BlueEyes. Angel painting!
House of BlueEyes. It’s an angel doing an artful bit of painting!

House of BlueEyes. Is it a chihuahua? Is it? Surely not at Fashion Week!
House of BlueEyes. Is it a chihuahua? Is it? Surely not. Not at Fashion Week!

House of BlueEyes. *what in god's name am I doing here?*
House of BlueEyes. *What in god’s name am I doing here?*

This was fashion as statement, even in its incoherence – it was fashion as spectacle, fashion for joy and fashion for the sheer fun of dressing up. It reminded me of raiding the dressing up box as a child, and of dressing in drag for our Merrymoot sketch shows on FSC youth camps.
I later encountered this mismatched gaggle marching the streets of Covent Garden, looking slightly more bedraggled and drab, but still calling for a love revolution, as promised. It was all thoroughly silly but it’s this kind of random event that makes London Fashion Week what it is.

Categories ,A Child of the Jago, ,Agent Provocateur, ,cupcakes, ,Faye Marie, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,FSC, ,House of BlueEyes, ,Joe Corre, ,JohnnyBlueEyes, ,Make-up, ,Merrymoot, ,Pole-dancing, ,Rochelle School, ,Seventeen Gallery, ,Shoreditch High Street, ,The Daily Terror, ,Through the Looking Glass, ,Time Out, ,Vivienne Westwood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Snarfle is One: Celebrating Baby, Motherhood and Work

Snarfle by Kirbi Fagan
Snarfle by Kirbi Fagan.

A few weeks ago my baby Snarfle celebrated his first birthday, so now seems like a good opportunity to look back on my first year as a mum running this website: after all Amelia’s Magazine has always reflected what is happening in my life.

Snarfle Sheep Cake by Claire Kearns
Snarfle’s Sheep Cake modelled on one of his favourite fluffy toys, by Claire Kearns.

I know it’s the biggest cliche of all, but nothing, nothing, can prepare you for becoming a parent. So when I was pregnant I made a big effort to prepare only for the birth, imagining that I would follow my instincts like every other mother down the millennia and everything beyond would just fall into place somehow. Sink or swim, right? I read nothing about parenting and bought the bare minimum, instead making good with second hand offerings from relatives and friends. Then all my great birth plans were thwarted… and I was left with a baby.

Snarfle and me swimming
Snarfle was ripped out of my stomach covered in poop, whisked away for tests, prodded and poked, and for the first days kept apart from me in a plastic bed, a huge cannula held aloft in his tiny hand. For the first month breast milk was forced into him via various artificial methods, and yet I instinctively knew I wanted to be as close to him as possible, and soon discovered that the common parlance for this is ‘Attachment Parenting‘. I even started reading a book about it. The world of parenting is rife with differing opinions, but my approach has been to follow what feels instinctively right: I always think about what we might have done for many thousands of years before we had so many gadgets to help us out, believing this to best from an evolutionary perspective. This has meant that I breastfeed on demand and intend to continue until he wants to stop, I carry him wherever I can, we sleep together most nights, I have followed baby led weaning techniques, we are learning baby signing, he wears non-disposable nappies (most of the time) and I have made attempts at elimination communication…

First birthday by Bethany Wigmore
First birthday by Bethany Wigmore.

Those endless baby bits and bobs scared me so much before I gave birth that I could not even look in a brochure, never mind go into a store. So many buggies to chose from! We have a family hand me down but we rarely use it. I was determined to get by with as few purchases as possible, which was probably why we had no clothes small enough for Snarfle when he arrived. He was so tiny that the only sleepsuit that fit properly for the first few weeks was a tiny scrap of material that my mother found in a charity shop. Inevitably, our lives have since filled up with baby paraphernalia.

Snarfle One by Jane Young
Snarfle is One by Jane Young.

Before birth my baby could only ever be an abstract notion: in fact although I have always loved children (and have spent a lot of time being a leader on FSC children’s camps) I never much liked babies – that is, before my own arrived. I had imagined them boring so avoided time with them, and in more recent years they have made me feel a bit sad as I feared I would never have one of my own. So nothing prepared me for the visceral physicality of having a baby: falling in love with this tiny person who is all my own creation, who has remained so closely attached to me as he has woken up to the world. Breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping (sleeping in the same bed) and baby wearing have helped make motherhood an intoxicating physical experience that I will miss as he grows up and away from me: I now understand why some women are addicted to babies.

Baby Snarfle by Kim Jenkins
Baby Snarfle by Kim Jenkins.

And the love I feel for Snarfle is unquantifiable despite the many hard and tedious parts of being a new mum. Even when rocking him for hours every night (he is not an easy sleeper) I stand there and think: this, this, is amazing. He’s my greatest creative project, this little person who has somehow appeared in this world as though he was always meant to be, perfect, somehow, despite the flaws of his parents, despite his demanding ways. This time, it will be over so soon. I love every aspect of being a mother and feel I have to soak up every moment, for before I know it he will be 18.

Rainbow Cake by Christine Charnock
Rainbow Birthday Cake by Christine Charnock.

I started working again two weeks after Snarfle was born, with him sleeping against me as I typed. We didn’t leave the house until some time later: I was scared about how I would cope with him in the outside world when he seemed so precious and vulnerable. In the beginning getting on with work was relatively easy – he slept so much that I became very good at multi-tasking. But things change rapidly when you have a small baby and this year has passed ridiculously fast, routines constantly shifting to adapt to Snarfle‘s needs. Seen from afar it seems daunting, but you manage, there’s no alternative. Despite the constant tiredness and many small frustrations I have never been bored. I love learning a new skill and this is no exception – I have found the process of becoming a mother endlessly fascinating.

Neopolitan birthday cake by Jo Ley
Neopolitan birthday cake by Jo Ley.

I started work as a lecturer at Middlesex University one day a week in January (I am lucky enough that Snarfle can stay with my parents, so we commute down to their house in South London). This means that work on Amelia’s Magazine is squashed into ever decreasing time slots: currently these include a two hour stretch in the morning (if he sleeps) and after he goes to sleep at night, until I am too knackered to continue. My creativity has gone into overdrive and I have big plans for the magazine yet little time to carry any of my ideas out, but my frustrations are tempered by the knowledge that this time is so short and so precious: even though my mind may drift it is more important for me to be present with Snarfle than building my business. I have at times been jealous of other mums revelling in maternity leave for a full year, but ultimately I feel blessed that I can carry on being a (nearly) full time mum for much longer. I could not have had a child and sent him straight into the care of others – I want to be with him, to watch him grow. To listen to the birds together, help him learn animal sounds and primary colours (his current interests), and tend to our little garden now the weather is warming up. Baby sessions are now full of other mothers who have their own businesses… and lots of childminders and nannies.

Snarfle Oh Baby London space invaders bodysuit
So Snarfle is one year old, and I will continue the juggling act that I have created for myself, for much as I love being a hands on mother I always knew I could not only be a mum; my work will always be important too. I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of home schooling (to the chagrin of my partner and family) but I don’t know how I would manage it. All I know is that I feel ridiculously blessed by my situation, and so thankful that Snarfle has entered my life.

Snarfle with elephant
I’ve already written about the joy of using real nappies, and over the coming weeks I will be blogging about other specific baby-related things such as baby wearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping and elimination communication. I’ll also be sharing with you the best lesser known clothing brands and makers of lovely unusual toys. I might even share my Quiet Book craft ideas, if I ever finish it. I’m writing about these things because there have been many times when I have scoured the internet, hoping to find more advice and information about my choices of parenting… so if this is a subject that is dear to your heart stay tuned, these writings will be popping up in between my other design focused blogs.

Categories ,Attachment Parenting, ,Baby, ,Bethany Wigmore, ,Breastfeeding, ,Christine Charnock, ,Claire Kearns, ,Co-sleeping, ,Elimination Communication, ,FSC, ,Jane Young, ,Jo Ley, ,Kim Jenkins, ,Kirbi Fagan, ,middlesex university, ,Parenting, ,Quiet Book, ,Real Nappies, ,Snarfle

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Amelia’s Magazine | Snarfle is One: Celebrating Baby, Motherhood and Work

Snarfle by Kirbi Fagan
Snarfle by Kirbi Fagan.

A few weeks ago my baby Snarfle celebrated his first birthday, so now seems like a good opportunity to look back on my first year as a mum running this website: after all Amelia’s Magazine has always reflected what is happening in my life.

Snarfle Sheep Cake by Claire Kearns
Snarfle’s Sheep Cake modelled on one of his favourite fluffy toys, by Claire Kearns.

I know it’s the biggest cliche of all, but nothing, nothing, can prepare you for becoming a parent. So when I was pregnant I made a big effort to prepare only for the birth, imagining that I would follow my instincts like every other mother down the millennia and everything beyond would just fall into place somehow. Sink or swim, right? I read nothing about parenting and bought the bare minimum, instead making good with second hand offerings from relatives and friends. Then all my great birth plans were thwarted… and I was left with a baby.

Snarfle and me swimming
Snarfle was ripped out of my stomach covered in poop, whisked away for tests, prodded and poked, and for the first days kept apart from me in a plastic bed, a huge cannula held aloft in his tiny hand. For the first month breast milk was forced into him via various artificial methods, and yet I instinctively knew I wanted to be as close to him as possible, and soon discovered that the common parlance for this is ‘Attachment Parenting‘. I even started reading a book about it. The world of parenting is rife with differing opinions, but my approach has been to follow what feels instinctively right: I always think about what we might have done for many thousands of years before we had so many gadgets to help us out, believing this to best from an evolutionary perspective. This has meant that I breastfeed on demand and intend to continue until he wants to stop, I carry him wherever I can, we sleep together most nights, I have followed baby led weaning techniques, we are learning baby signing, he wears non-disposable nappies (most of the time) and I have made attempts at elimination communication…

First birthday by Bethany Wigmore
First birthday by Bethany Wigmore.

Those endless baby bits and bobs scared me so much before I gave birth that I could not even look in a brochure, never mind go into a store. So many buggies to chose from! We have a family hand me down but we rarely use it. I was determined to get by with as few purchases as possible, which was probably why we had no clothes small enough for Snarfle when he arrived. He was so tiny that the only sleepsuit that fit properly for the first few weeks was a tiny scrap of material that my mother found in a charity shop. Inevitably, our lives have since filled up with baby paraphernalia.

Snarfle One by Jane Young
Snarfle is One by Jane Young.

Before birth my baby could only ever be an abstract notion: in fact although I have always loved children (and have spent a lot of time being a leader on FSC children’s camps) I never much liked babies – that is, before my own arrived. I had imagined them boring so avoided time with them, and in more recent years they have made me feel a bit sad as I feared I would never have one of my own. So nothing prepared me for the visceral physicality of having a baby: falling in love with this tiny person who is all my own creation, who has remained so closely attached to me as he has woken up to the world. Breastfeeding on demand, co-sleeping (sleeping in the same bed) and baby wearing have helped make motherhood an intoxicating physical experience that I will miss as he grows up and away from me: I now understand why some women are addicted to babies.

Baby Snarfle by Kim Jenkins
Baby Snarfle by Kim Jenkins.

And the love I feel for Snarfle is unquantifiable despite the many hard and tedious parts of being a new mum. Even when rocking him for hours every night (he is not an easy sleeper) I stand there and think: this, this, is amazing. He’s my greatest creative project, this little person who has somehow appeared in this world as though he was always meant to be, perfect, somehow, despite the flaws of his parents, despite his demanding ways. This time, it will be over so soon. I love every aspect of being a mother and feel I have to soak up every moment, for before I know it he will be 18.

Rainbow Cake by Christine Charnock
Rainbow Birthday Cake by Christine Charnock.

I started working again two weeks after Snarfle was born, with him sleeping against me as I typed. We didn’t leave the house until some time later: I was scared about how I would cope with him in the outside world when he seemed so precious and vulnerable. In the beginning getting on with work was relatively easy – he slept so much that I became very good at multi-tasking. But things change rapidly when you have a small baby and this year has passed ridiculously fast, routines constantly shifting to adapt to Snarfle‘s needs. Seen from afar it seems daunting, but you manage, there’s no alternative. Despite the constant tiredness and many small frustrations I have never been bored. I love learning a new skill and this is no exception – I have found the process of becoming a mother endlessly fascinating.

Neopolitan birthday cake by Jo Ley
Neopolitan birthday cake by Jo Ley.

I started work as a lecturer at Middlesex University one day a week in January (I am lucky enough that Snarfle can stay with my parents, so we commute down to their house in South London). This means that work on Amelia’s Magazine is squashed into ever decreasing time slots: currently these include a two hour stretch in the morning (if he sleeps) and after he goes to sleep at night, until I am too knackered to continue. My creativity has gone into overdrive and I have big plans for the magazine yet little time to carry any of my ideas out, but my frustrations are tempered by the knowledge that this time is so short and so precious: even though my mind may drift it is more important for me to be present with Snarfle than building my business. I have at times been jealous of other mums revelling in maternity leave for a full year, but ultimately I feel blessed that I can carry on being a (nearly) full time mum for much longer. I could not have had a child and sent him straight into the care of others – I want to be with him, to watch him grow. To listen to the birds together, help him learn animal sounds and primary colours (his current interests), and tend to our little garden now the weather is warming up. Baby sessions are now full of other mothers who have their own businesses… and lots of childminders and nannies.

Snarfle Oh Baby London space invaders bodysuit
So Snarfle is one year old, and I will continue the juggling act that I have created for myself, for much as I love being a hands on mother I always knew I could not only be a mum; my work will always be important too. I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of home schooling (to the chagrin of my partner and family) but I don’t know how I would manage it. All I know is that I feel ridiculously blessed by my situation, and so thankful that Snarfle has entered my life.

Snarfle with elephant
I’ve already written about the joy of using real nappies, and over the coming weeks I will be blogging about other specific baby-related things such as baby wearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping and elimination communication. I’ll also be sharing with you the best lesser known clothing brands and makers of lovely unusual toys. I might even share my Quiet Book craft ideas, if I ever finish it. I’m writing about these things because there have been many times when I have scoured the internet, hoping to find more advice and information about my choices of parenting… so if this is a subject that is dear to your heart stay tuned, these writings will be popping up in between my other design focused blogs.

Categories ,Attachment Parenting, ,Baby, ,Bethany Wigmore, ,Breastfeeding, ,Christine Charnock, ,Claire Kearns, ,Co-sleeping, ,Elimination Communication, ,FSC, ,Jane Young, ,Jo Ley, ,Kim Jenkins, ,Kirbi Fagan, ,middlesex university, ,Parenting, ,Quiet Book, ,Real Nappies, ,Snarfle

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Amelia’s Magazine | Buddhafield Green Earth Awakening Camp 2014: Review

Green Earth Awakening Poster2014
I’ve never been to Buddhafield but this year my friend Helen of East End Prints persuaded me to join her and a few of her Bristol based friends, all travelling solo with little ones to this year’s much smaller offshoot, Green Earth Awakening Camp. Any reservation I had about attending a specifically Buddhist festival were mollified once it was established that we all consider ourselves ‘Buddhish’ in nature. No surprise then to bump into yet more friends from the world of activism and FSC childrens’ camps.

Green Earth Awakening 2014 weaving
Green Earth Awakening 2014 owl mobile
Green Earth Awakening 2014 friends
Held deep in the Somerset countryside, this was a tiny gathering of just a few hundred, with one main meal tent and workshop spaces around a central meeting area and the huge ‘mindfulness’ gong. Before long we were barefoot and enjoying the marvellous weather; glorious sunshine during the day giving way to the occasional shower at night time. One night a mild rainstorm was preceded by the most amazing lightening forks, which we watched move towards us across the valley as dusk fell.

Green Earth Awakening 2014 dancing
Green Earth Awakening 2014 felt fox
Green Earth Awakening 2014 woods
I was determined that this should be a child led experience, so we meandered between different parts of the gathering according to my toddler’s whims. In the past my naturally inquisitive and frenetic nature would have ensured that I attended as many workshops as possible, but being a mother has encouraged me to embrace a different pace of life.

Green Earth Awakening 2014 Green Tara
Green Earth Awakening 2014 Green Tara
Green Earth bubbles
So, we tried felt making (until Snarfle got bored), dressed up as Green Tara, joined in with impromptu group sing alongs, blew giant bubbles, caught bugs in nets in an adjoining field with Pupa Education, played in the paddling pool in Rupa’s sauna area… and danced gloriously naked to drums near the meditation tent (well, the boys did, we weren’t so brazen despite some of the fabled Buddhafield nudity on site). And I located the best friend of my acupuncturist: a monk turned shaman.

Green Earth Awakening cooking
Green Earth Awakening 2014 food
Green Earth Awakening 2014 sea buckthorn
We ate beautifully presented and delicious local produce for every meal; home made fermented pickles and potato cakes cooked on a rocket stove and washed down with Sea Buckthorn juice. All made by folks who have lived at Tinker’s Bubble and Embercombe.

Green Earth Awakening Qigong
Green Earth Awakening 2014 foraging
Us mothers half heartedly tried to take part in foraging, yoga, Qigong and dance classes (and mainly we failed). Sadly I did not catch up with the latest in Forest Gardening or learn the art of Focussing (a cross between mediation and counselling), but instead we rambled with the kids along an ancient track which bordered the field, made shady by gnarled trees.

Green Earth Awakening kids
Green Earth Awakening 2014 banjo
The children revelled in the wide open green space, and I marvelled at the easy freedom of the older (mainly home-schooled) kids, who swung from the trees or raced around with sticks and home made bows and arrows. Snarfle became obsessed with the banjo, so I made him one out of odds and ends in the craft area. I’m sure this is how all childhoods should be, all of the time, not just for a few days here and there.

Green Earth closing ceremony
The gathering closed with a ceremony, as it had begun – the whole camp dancing, chanting and offering devotions to the goddess Green Tara, representing compassion and an ecologically minded alternative to our sometimes selfish and greedy ways. It was a fitting end to a magical few days.

Categories ,2014, ,Blackdown Hills, ,Bubbles, ,Buddhafield, ,Buddhish, ,East End Prints, ,Embercombe, ,festival, ,Focussing, ,Foraging, ,Forest Gardening, ,FSC, ,Green Earth Awakening Camp, ,Green Tara, ,Mumlife, ,Pupa Education, ,Qigong, ,review, ,Rupa’s Sauna, ,Rupa’s sauna area, ,Sea Buckthorn, ,Snarfle, ,somerset, ,sustainability, ,Tinker’s Bubble, ,Toddler, ,Yoga

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Amelia’s Magazine | Wood Festival 2011 Review: Zeus, Treetop Flyers Eliza Carthy and printing with lino!

Wood Festival Samba Band and Tents by Sam Parr
Wood Festival Samba Band and Tents by Sam Parr.

Sunday at Wood Festival began with a stint of harmony singing led by Katy, capsule the talented teacher of the Bennett family. It’s rare that I get to sing these days what with so much else going on in my life, price so I relished the opportunity to exercise my lungs with lots of (mainly) like-minded women.

Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
All photography by Amelia Gregory.

A noisy samba parade was the culmination of the morning’s activities, travelling the length of the site to entertain campers. At many points Wood Festival felt more like a family camp than a festival, which was no bad thing as it ensured that there was a real sense of friendliness which can often be missing at other festivals, and it felt like a safe place to leave children roaming wild in packs.

Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Polly and Billets Doux Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory

Polly and the Billets Doux kicked off proceedings on the Wood Stage with their double bass heavy blend of jazz, gospel, country and folk. I particularly loved their painted double bass, which was passed around the band.


To Be A Fighter by Polly and the Billets Doux.

Two Fingers of Firewater Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Two Fingers of Firewater Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Two Fingers of Firewater took the tented Tree Stage during the lazy post lunch hour for keyboard soaked country folk.

Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
During the afternoon my merry group of adults decided to join the kids in some lino printing: at Wood all ages muck in together which is something that happens rarely in our modern society. It was really wonderful to have the space and time to indulge in a bit of creativity.

Katy Rose Cavalry Parade Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Katy Rose Cavalry Parade Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Katy Rose Cavalry Parade Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Katy Rose Cavalry Parade Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Katy Rose and the Cavalry Parade is the newest venture for Katy B, who has renamed herself in the wake of the latest grime artist to crossover into the mainstream.

YouTube Preview Image

She had warned her morning singing group that we might be asked to join her on the stage for the final number but I was off visiting the compost loo and missed the callout. Woops! Katy Rose is a super singer and songwriter who you can hear on this old youtube recording since I currently refuse to link to myspace (they won’t let you hear anything unless you log in)

Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Kettle Making by Lorna Scobie
Kettle Making by Lorna Scobie. Lots of green workshops for the kids (and adults) to attend.

Sun Powered Kettle by Lorna Scobie
Sun Powered Kettle by Lorna Scobie.

Zeus Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Zeus Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory

Canadian rockers Zeus took to the Wood Stage during the mid afternoon lull, which meant that a large part of their audience consisted of excitable children wielding hand made fake fur snakes at the foot of the stage. I’m not really sure what they thought of it all (the band, or the kids).

Wood Festival by Rebecca Strickson
Wood Festival by Rebecca Strickson.

Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory

Zeus are on the very good Arts and Crafts label. Love this video:

YouTube Preview Image

Treetop Flyers by Fi Blog
Treetop Flyers by Fi Blog.

Treetop Flyers Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Treetop Flyers Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Treetop Flyers Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Treetop Flyers Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory

Treetop Flyers were a great evening time discovery: more tight boy harmonies in a bluesy country stylee. They won the 2011 Glastonbury Emerging Talent so expect to see a lot more of these boys. Super.

YouTube Preview Image

Eliza Carthy Band Wood Festival 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou
Eliza Carthy Band Wood Festival 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou.

Last up we caught folkstrel Eliza Carthy, who was predictably quite fantastic live – switching between fiddle, guitar and voice with perfect ease and chattering away about her dad’s 70th birthday celebrations. Eliza’s new album Neptune came out in May and it’s a rollicking narrative ride through her life.

Eliza Carthy Band Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory
Eliza Carthy Band Wood Festival 2011 - photography by Amelia Gregory

I was very sad to miss Robin and Joe Bennet’s band Dreaming Spires, who closed the festival as we sped back to London. By all accounts it was a perfect way to round off what was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable festivals I’ve been to in some time. After all, there aren’t many festivals where the people who run it get up on stage to remind everyone to put on suncream. Wood Festival was invented for and is undoubtedly best suited to families, but I for one hope to return, with or without children.

Eliza Carthy Band Wood Festival 2011

Don’t forget to read my reviews of Friday and Saturday at Wood Festival too. Read also this review by Matt Hanley of Green Wedge.

Categories ,art, ,Arts and Crafts, ,children, ,country, ,Dreaming Spires, ,eliza carthy, ,Fi Blog, ,folk, ,gospel, ,Green Wedge, ,jazz, ,Joe Bennett, ,Katy Rose, ,Katy Rose and the Cavalry Parade, ,Lino Cutting, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Matt Hanley, ,Michalis Christodoulou, ,Neptune, ,Polly and the Billets Doux, ,Rebecca Strickson, ,review, ,Robin Bennett, ,Sam Parr, ,Singing, ,Solar Cooking, ,Sun Powered Kettle, ,Sunday, ,Treetop Flyers, ,Two Fingers of Firewater, ,Wood Festival, ,Zeus

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Amelia’s Magazine | Larmer Tree Festival 2011 Review, Friday: Bellowhead, Russell Kane, Yoga, Bane

russell-kane-by-finn-obrien
Russell Kane by Finn O’Brien.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review tom leadbetter
We woke up early on Friday at Larmer Tree Festival, order baked out of our tent by the brilliant sunshine… and turned up to witness the very end of the traditional morning yoga session on the main lawn… hundreds of people sat on mats in front of the Garden Stage in what has apparently become a Larmer Tree ritual. That was swiftly followed by Tai Chi… see if you can spot Tom Leadbetter. I’m gutted I didn’t get to sample these classes, viagra but rain was to blight Larmer for the rest of the weekend.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Polly and the Billets Doux, <a target=hospital ” title=”Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Polly and the Billets Doux,” width=”480″ height=”480″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-45956″ />Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Polly and the Billets Doux,
Polly and the Billets Doux by Claire Kearns
Polly and the Billets Doux by Claire Kearns.

First act of the day for me was Polly and the Billets Doux, first encountered at Wood Festival a few months back.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 reviewLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review
Their laid back bluesy folk was the perfect accompaniment to a lazy morning with the Guardian (rather amusingly the locally run general store had heaps and heaps of the Grauniad and, for variety’s sake, about three copies each of every other paper…they know their market alright).

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 reviewLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review colour garden
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review colour garden
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review colour garden
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review colour garden
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review crochet
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review crochet
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review dish
During our daily walk through the woods we discovered more interesting stuff… natural dye techniques from foraged plants with Francesca Owen, a bell tent devoted to knitting and crochet, a lovely little cake parlour called Dish.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review HEALING
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review HEALING
Of course I looked longingly inside all the healing tents…mmmm….massage. Didn’t have one though.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review cutashineLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review cutashine
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review cutashine
Cut A Shine Barndance by Hollie McManus
Cut A Shine Barndance by Hollie McManus.

Then we popped over to see my old band Cutashine teach barndancing in the Big Top.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review the spreeLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review the spree
Outside I was intrigued by indie anthems from Devon based The Spree. Searching for them online proved a major problem though!

YouTube Preview Image
Turns out Spree is a popular band name… when I did finally locate them I rather handily found this video of them playing the ARC, which I missed

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review arts tentLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review arts tentLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review arts tentLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review arts tent
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review arts tent
A quick scout around the arts tent revealed a wealth of grassroots creativity.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review circus
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review circus
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review circusLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review circus
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review circus
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review circus
The fine weather continued as children learnt circus skills alongside parents. But we had another destination: Bane, in the Daytime Club Larmer.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Bane Joe BoneLarmer Tree Festival 2011 review Bane Joe Bone
Performed as a one man show by Joe Bone (with a little atmospheric help from guitarist Ben Roe) this was an outstanding blend of fill noir, graphic novel, mime and comedy, as narrated by fictional hit man Bruce Bane. An absolute must see if you get the chance.


Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review The Joker & The Thief,
Back on the stage we listened to The Joker & The Thief, with some excellent sax driven blues tunes… but why the American accent? You’re from London! Someone has been listening to just a bit too much Kings of Leon

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Goodnight Lenin
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Goodnight Lenin
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Goodnight Lenin
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Goodnight Lenin
Goodnight Lenin by Sumi Senthi
Goodnight Lenin by Sumi Senthi.

Then to visit our friends Goodnight Lenin, with whom I’ve been conversing since I first heard them at Wood. They were as charming as ever ‘We never used to be a cabaret act but we’re branching out…‘ They gave away a signed Bookcrossing book… by Jeffrey Archer, and totally wowed the relatively laid back daytime audience: I had to part the crowds when I went to say hi to them in the Songlines signing tent afterwards.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Mama Rosin
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Mama Rosin
Mama Rosin must be one of those rare French speaking bands to appeal to Brit audiences. The Larmer Tree crowd thoroughly enjoyed the folky accordion driven tunes of this three piece.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Kidnap Alice
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Kidnap Alice
We missed My First Tooth for tea (there was a generally very high standard of food on offer at Larmer Tree) but I could hear some beautiful boisterous sounds wafting out of the ARC. Then it was time to see friends in Kidnap Alice, fronted by (unsurprisingly) a girl called Alice – whom I have known for sometime, but had absolutely no idea could sing so amazingly fiercely well. Also in the band are banjo player Joe Buirski, double bassist Felix and other assorted old time musicians who make up the current version of Cutashine. My friend Dan (also known as Danimal for reasons best not mentioned here) was present on accordion – which he seems to have taught himself in the blink of an eye. Well well impressed… particularly by their own Appalachian inspired foot stomping anthems. ‘How come no one’s dancing… are you dead?‘ importuned their dungaree clad mandolinist. I can see his point. Definitely worth checking out live.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Bellowhead
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Bellowhead
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Bellowhead
Bellowhead by Amy Rogers
Bellowhead by Amy Rogers.

Friday’s big band was Bellowhead… fronted by Jon Boden, with whom I used to attend folk singing Glee camps (well before the term Glee became fashionable) It’s funny because back then he was a right stickler for sticking to prescribed folk techniques, but Bellowhead takes trad folk and blows it right out of the water with a high octane jump up and dance hoedown of a show. I think that for many festival goers this was an absolute highlight of Larmer Tree this year – it was certainly one of mine. Bellowhead have gone out on a limb with something completely unique and different and it works amazingly well. I suppose I should have known where Jon would eventually go when he turned up on camp one year and played a superb fiddle version of Hit Me Baby (One More Time) by Britney Spears.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review Kidnap Alice
Kidnap Alice by Claire Kearns
Kidnap Alice by Claire Kearns.

There’s a certain beauty in the way that both Bellowhead and Kidnap Alice have grown in part out of a love of fireside singing on FSC camps – Joe and Dan of Kidnap Alice have taken traditional American tunes of the type we sing and turned them into something totally new, whilst Jon Boden has played around with traditional British songs for Bellowhead. And at Larmer Tree they were programmed up against each other…

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Ozomatli
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Ozomatli
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Ozomatli
Ozomatli were something of a let down straight after Bellowhead, but then I’m not the biggest world music fan.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -James Acaster
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Tom Wrigglesworth
Comedy was compered by a double hatted James AcasterTom Wrigglesworth was on first and I’m ashamed to say I can’t remember much of it… probably because I was sat squished into a small blob on the floor with no view of the stage: the tent was absolutely rammed.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Russell Kane
Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review -Russell Kane
Luckily I found a boyfriend’s lap in time for Russell Kane, who was my unreserved comedy highlight of the festival. He leapt on stage with a brand new look clearly prompted by a break up that formed the backbone of much of his material… a spinning whirlwind of peroxide blonde quiff and tight jeans. There were many ‘postmodern’ digressions into some hilarious anecdotal stories about the middle class Jemimas whom he had overheard at the festival and I’ve honestly not laughed so much in ages. His hyper energetic set was totally up my street, probably in part because it reminded me of my own manic presenting style (ask anyone who’s seen me talk or call a ceilidh) but also because I could relate so closely to his material… I’ve had my heart totally and utterly broken, and I recognise so many of his traits in other men who would never so honestly admit to their feelings. Want. To see. Again.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review
Overheard the next day: a group of posh Devonshire teenagers (pretending they knew how to hold a fag) discussing what Russell Kane meant by the word ‘totes’ peppered liberally through his set – they were convinced he meant Tilly or Antonia. ‘Definitely, yar.’ Hilar.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review poetry Polly Malone
Polly Malone performing in Lyrical Lostwood.

Larmer Tree Festival 2011 review tunnel vision
Before bed we took a last minute walk through a ghostly installation in the woods… bubbles of light floating past us as we negotiated the laurel tunnel to the sounds of Brian Eno. Tunnel Vision was put together by Ulf Mark Pedersen.

Categories ,Amy Rogers, ,Appalachian, ,ARC, ,Bane, ,Bellowhead, ,Ben Roe, ,Big Top, ,Bookcrossing, ,brian eno, ,Camps, ,Claire Kearns, ,Cutashine, ,Daytime Club Larmer, ,Dish, ,Finn O’Brien, ,folk, ,Francesca Owen, ,FSC, ,Garden Stage, ,Glee, ,Goodnight Lenin, ,Guardian, ,Healing, ,Hit Me Baby (One More Time), ,Hollie McManus, ,James Acaster, ,Jeffrey Archer, ,Joe Bone, ,Joe Buirski, ,Jon Boden, ,Kidnap Alice, ,Kings of Leon, ,Lyrical Lostwood, ,Mama Rosin, ,My First Tooth, ,Ozomatli, ,poetry, ,Polly Malone, ,Russell Kane, ,Songlines, ,Sumi Senthi, ,Tai Chi, ,The Joker & The Thief, ,The Spree, ,Tom Leadbetter, ,Tom Wrigglesworth, ,Tunnel Vision, ,woodland, ,World Music, ,Yoga

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