Sunday 26 July 2009

A feast of a fest!

Crossing the county border, into Cornwall, can be a bit of a stressful time for me...I truly hate heights!

Having overcome this and been fully assured that no train has ever fallen into the River Tamar (LOL), we quickly found ourselves at St Germans and soon realised that the day which lay ahead, was going to be a cracker!





The Port Eliot Festival (which was born out of the famous Elephant Fair ) has to be the most colourful festival I've ever attended! We booked a day ticket but I could have gladly done the three days, it was like an escape into another world ...and we all need that from time to time, don't we?



The setting for the festival is stunning!
As well as the beautiful house and church,you can stray off the beaten track and walk through glorious woodland, the shade of which was very welcome at times! Without a doubt, it's the setting that brings out the creativity in everyone and it's a setting where you can let your imagination roam freely . I am all for that!


This caravan houses the Museum of British Folklore...artefacts, ephemera, costumes,witchcraft, legends...you name it..all in that little van!




Take along a tepee and you were set for the three days.
How I'd love one of those! (To alter!! Mine would never stay plain white,would it?!)




There were plenty of places to take a refreshment, some whacky, naturally.







This is the Boat house, where various art/music events were taking place, although sadly we did not reach this part, there were so many things to pack in.


But we did spend a long while in the cabaret tent, listening to a band called 'Black Friday'..a local group with a tin whistle, fiddle, guitars and drums. Their finale of, 'What shall we do with the Drunken Sailor' whipped up the audience good and proper, as it was played faster and faster until the sailor didn't really care what was done with him and neither did we. ;-)


Live music...you can't beat it and I firmly believe that the local talent, out there, is so much better than that rubbish in the charts! ;-)






I loved the way that children were made to feel part of the whole experience.
There was plenty for the them to get stuck into.

The House of Fairy Tales was a place where you could escape into a magical world.

Enchantment was the name of the game here and whether you were young or older, you could take part. So many eager little faces were here, there and everywhere...creating!
That's how it should be!




Costume making..ah now that was fascinating and querky!



In the walled garden, I found..


Persephone books !

My favourite books. Such class. Enough said.

We listened to a number of talks and interviews, the best for me was Mick Brown (from the Telegraph) interviewing Sean Langan, journalist and filmmaker,who talked about his experiences in some of the most dangerous place in the world.


But this (above) was the one that I really wanted to listen to and see :

Barbara Hulanicki

'Who?' you might well ask..but if you are like me and frequented Biba in your student days,then you'll know exactly her impact on the fashion industry.

She was interviewed by Emma Soames and seated to her left is a famous hat designer, Steven Jones.


I also had a brief chat with this lady.. Kit Berry



And...



I earmarked one like this (above) for my garden!

(But need to consult with dear Mr S... about planning permission!)



So that's it...The Port Eliot Festival ...ah well almost but not quite!

You see there was one stall there which caught my eye!

And it was so deliciously colourful that

it caught everyone's eye...even the BBC, who took some of Amanda's goodies to use in their programme on Weds...WOW! How about that?!
***

On Weds 29 July The Culture Show comes from The Port Eliot Festival!
***
Meanwhile, I'm saving Amanda until tomorrow...when her goodies will be on show on this blog...but there's a sneak preview on the header! ;-)
(And I have never seen her stall look so good as it did yesterday!)
;-)

14 comments:

  1. Hi! Can't wait to see more pictures of Amanda's stall!!!
    Great festival, Sal! Glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was going to ask if that was Amanda's goodies at the top, looks fab! I love the basket & the mugs..ohh just about everything really!
    Looks like you had a great day, I was watching something on the news about that. I think your tipee would be very bright! I sold some furniture to the man who owns that house & our catalogue was shot there, it's beautiful. I may try & blag a ticket next year..lol! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. All these years I have wanted to go to the Elephant Fair and finally it comes to me via Sal's blog..
    A wonderful eclectic mix..

    Michele x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, it looks wonderful. My uncle went to the elephant fair one year and came back with tales of drug dealers spending the night on top of their cars with rifles, which kind of put us all off! This successor looks a bit more mellow...

    I had a Barbara Hulanici jacket (from a charity shop) when I was in my teens. She moved from the Biba label to using her own name later on. It was still a great jacket, though!

    I'm glad you got through to my blog. Have you any idea what's causing the problem most of the time? Is it something to do with security?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, how wonderful it all looks, what a gorgeous day you had too. Persephone Books, Barbara Hulanicki, Fairy Glades, live music, tepees and all in such lovely surroundings - you couldn't ask for much more! Glad you had a great day:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Biba..... now that takes me back. . . Love the decorated caravan and also the fairy tale house. Very inspiring place you visited. Thanks, as always, for sharing. x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow loving the header update......cant wait for tommorrow's installment, Love Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like you had a great time. I'd love to go to a festival like that :) Kit Berry's books are amazing, I love the Stonewylde series and can't wait for the next book to come out :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Did you happen to ask her when the next Stonewylde book is out cause i am waiting for it! :) Helen x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like you had a fabulous day... I must put a note in the diary to get there next year... can't wait for the next installment.

    Yvonne xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad you had a great time Sal. Looks like a brilliant festival. Look forward to the next set of pics.

    Cal x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad you had a lovely time, it sounds like a great festival. I've also been following it on Dovegreyreaders blog and will have to try and sync a holiday down to Cornwall with it sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a fabulous festival it looks. I have never heard of it before but want to go next year. The tee pee's look just too white to me would love to have seen what you would have done to one of them.xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. That looks like a supre day out! Love the pictures. x

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)