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Plymouth Volksfest 2010 @ Newnham Park:

28th - 31st May...

Well it started off as every trip seems to, with me texting Joyuss the night before saying Ill be round at 6:30am and ready to go for 7. Only never in the history of me saying that have I ever actually made it there for that time and this was to be no exception! Granted I was only quarter of an hour late but seeing as we were being accompanied by a handful of the Marshall family I figured it didn’t really matter anyway as we wouldn’t realistically be leaving anytime before 8. Sure enough we get round to the meet point and Lisa, Kelly, Sam and Amy are still loading up cars and sitting round having a smoke. Fantastic! Me, Joy and Sam (Shaggy’s son) took Leo for a quick walk round the park, although truthfully he didn’t walk far before having to stop for what has to be the biggest crap to come out of a dog that’s no longer than a Yellow Pages.

Finally we get out on the road and the traffic really doesn’t seem to bad for a Friday before a bank holiday and the only real entertainment was watching Amy (Sam’s girlfriend, aka Shrinky Dink) pulling out in front of cars and struggling to get up hills! When we got to Eype for breakfast (as must if you’re ever heading down that way) we met up with Stu, Mel and their son Michael in their lovely Blue and White Bay Window and Esme with Freddie.

The rest of the journey up to Plympton was fairly boring, just miles munched away and Stu and Mel’s 1700 Auto Bay coped with the constant speed flawlessly and scaled the hills with impressive pace. Naturally the monotony was short lived and when we all peeled off of the A38 at the Plympton turning I watched in amazement from the back as everyone totally misread the roundabout and just ended up going back up the other side of the slipway back onto the A38! Joy and myself got caught at the lights, so figuring we were best off heading to the site decided to follow the signs for Newnham Industrial Estate followed (thankfully) by signs for the event. As we approached the entrance we saw Joy’s brothers, Gazza and Shaggy, sat in the industrial estate waiting for everyone so we could go in together as they don’t like you saving places at Plymfest. After texting the correct postcode to Mel the rest of the crew caught up with us about 15 minutes later.

Into the show we headed and instantly the sheer size of what is still a baby event hits you, made even more astounding by the fact its only the 3^rd year of Plymouth Volksfest. We passed by an impressive big top main tent, countless food vendors and trade stalls as well as plenty of chemical toilets and a shower truck. The camping area was set out in rows with a road pattern painted on the grass so people were easily able to move in and out (take note Bug Jam!) and we were guided down to our camping area by helpful and friendly stewards.

First matter of the day was to get the Gayzeebo up and secured as while we were in a valley as such with a hilly surrounding there was ample wind to fly our flags proud and possibly enough to make the gazebo fly too! Actually that’s a lie, the first matter of the day was getting to the cool box in my boot and dishing out some cold beers to keep us all going! Once we had the focal point of the campsite setup everyone quickly got their tents up and bedding sorted and before you knew it Gazza and Me were half way thru a bottle of Black Label Copper Pot Smirnoff… Well it would be rude not to get straight on the Double Vodka Red Bulls wouldn’t it?

Naturally after a few drinks the need for some food arose, so in stepped the official Chef of the Brown Stars, yours truly, and knocked up some bbq food while Esme and Lisa served up a lovely pre-made spagbol. After dinner and a few more drinks we all went out for a walk around the site to see what was what, and within minutes of being in the auto jumble bargains were being had!

The evening entertainment for us stated at 8pm with Dreadzone who were a vast improvement over their performance last year and got the crowd going ready for what I consider to be the main headliners of the weekend, Goldie Lookin Chain. Considering they haven’t had anything in the charts since “Your Mothers Got A Penis” they obviously have a really strong fan base as people were turning up just to see them and you literally couldn’t get anywhere near the main tent without a struggle! 2hours passed filled with laughter from a great stage show coupled with wicked rhymes and fat drum and bass beats making me dance and jump around nonstop. Granted I probably looked like the worlds biggest prick (no change there eh!) but I totally enjoyed the moment, though after they had finished I felt, for the want of a better word, FUCKED!  We all headed back to the Gayzeebo and finished off the night with a few drinks while I sat in the corner shivering and feeling sick from all the exertion Id put my small frame through the previous two hours!

Early on Saturday morning I arose and unzipped my tent to be greeted with the glorious view of a bight sunny sky and a light dew covering the crisp green grass. Not really, it was pissing down and had been since about 4am which was a shame BUT its all part and parcel of the ‘summer’ show season. I fired up the BBQ and slapped some bacon and sausages on and as if by magic people started appearing out of their tents and roaming around in need of food and tea. It was like some low budget version of 28 Days Later! I then wandered off to part with Two Queens in exchange for warm running water and a shower curtain for 5minutes, and do you know what, its possibly the best couple of quid I’ve ever spent at a show.

The atmosphere is more that of a small festival than a show and this was reflected in the Show and Shine set-up with only a small number of vehicles on display. It seemed that on the whole it was dubbers there for the music and to have a laugh with mates and not about who spent thousands getting their car ready to win a trophy. I for one really really REALLY like shows with that kind of mindset.

Saturday night bought with it The Undertones and Neville Staples of the Specials, and while I've never been a huge fan of either of them they did put on a fantastic show and certainly had the massive crowd jumping about and soaking up every second of it. After a few good hours back at the Gayzeebo talking about some really bizarre stuff (like seriously strange, I don’t think I can legally talk about some of the content on a publicly viewable webpage!) everyone headed off to bed. I got a good call from my mate Weener at about half two in the morning so rather than sleep I took a walk down the campsite to go say hello to him and another mate of mine, Pete, who were sat round drinking and watching Family Guy in his Caravelle.

Stumbling back up the campsite just before 7am it was a beautiful morning with a slight cool breeze and the ever annoying local peacocks chirping away down by the river. Granted I was even more drunk at this point and suffering from a lack of sleep, but it just felt like such a good event at that very point!

So as Sunday progressed it was a day filled mainly with laziness as we finished off the last of the food and alcohol. Joy made everyone some fantastic pizza breads and before our final night over at the main tent I knocked up some home made bbq kebabs that were pretty spectacular if I do say so myself.

Headlining the last night was Kid Creole and The Coconuts who Ive never heard of before but again that’s nothing new, however while he just looked like some kind of stereotypical pimp from a crap late 80s Hollywood Blockbuster, The Coconuts were well worth a look at! Rather than going inside we opted to sit down outside and watch everyone go by. There was a really nice feel and spirit to this show throughout the weekend and sitting there with a Snakebite and just soaking up every last second of the atmosphere was a fitting end to what has got to be one of the best shows of 2010.

Finally Monday came and in typical show fashion it was the nicest day of the whole weekend weather wise! We got all of our equipment packed quickly and made sure we got a good fairly early start, its all well and good going away for shows at the weekend and maybe its my age starting to show but I just wanted to be back home and not worry about driving. The route home seemed to be littered with St Georges flags that had liberated themselves from the recent surge of patriotic cars that have adorned all major roads in the build up to the world cup.

After a very quick stop at Eype for a burger we pushed on home and another show in 2010 was under the belt of the Brown Star faithful. All that was needed now was a nice warm shower, a comfy bed, a good home cooked meal and a cheeky Snakebite. Well, it would have been rude not to!

Our sight is now set towards Bug Jam 24, one of the old school shows that has changed so much over the last few years but still manages to draw in dubbers by the thousands.

Take it easy. Ryster

Attendees: (in no particular order) Ryster, Joyuss, Gazza, Shaggy, Sam, Amy, Lisa, Kelly, Esme, Freddie, Stu, Mel and Michael. Oh and not forgetting Leo and Chopper the dogs!

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