A Weekend of Music

The last time I was at Weston Park in Stafford was for my 5K Race for Life. This time I was there for a different sort of endurance test - the Weekend V Music Festival.

In accordance with Sod's Law, the fact that I DIDN'T pack suncream, sunhat and shades meant that we were treated to some lovely periods of bright sunshine. My wellies were redundant but I didn't care because they are pink and gorgeous and I love then.

For me, one of the joys of an event like the V Festival is the opportunity for people watching. It was, as always, fascinating and entertaining observing the wonderful variety of human life in all it's glorious forms.

I have never seen so much fake tan. The San Tropez look was obviously the look for the fashion conscious festival goer. Tans ranged from expertly applied mahogany to oompa loompa orange - and worst of all, the badly applied streaky mess with matching orange palms.

The other fashion must-have seemed to be the tiniest shorts that can exist and still qualify as shorts rather than a belt. The maternal part of me was very glad that my own grown up girls do NOT go out in public with that amount of bum cheek on display.

The music aspect of the festival did not disappoint.

Eminem's headlining comeback performance was amazing and I will definitely be putting the Recovery album on my wish list. I loved seeing Bruno Mars, Ellie Goulding (although the mum part of me really wanted her to sort her hair out) and KT Tunstall. Also, newcomer Clare Maguire is someone I will be looking out for after her powerful performance.

Sort your hair out Ellie!

There were two highlights for me.

The first was accompanying Ivy to see Hard Fi.

Ever since Ivy found out that Hard Fi had confirmed that they would be in the line up, she has been almost unbearable with her uncontained excitement. They were playing in one of the tents which was very full by the time we got to it. We made our way towards the front so Ivy could get a proper good look at her idol - lead singer, Richard Archer. The excitement that had been bubbling up, completely exploded out of her. It was lovely to see her enjoy herself without inhibitions. It was totally worth enduring the many liquid filled projectiles that were flying around the audience (several of which managed to deposit unidentifiable wetness on me) and endure her high pitched squealing (which I think actually did more harm to my already compromised hearing than the uncomfortably amplified music).

My second highlight was discovering the band Bellowhead. They were an fantastically energetic folk band complete with brass section. The lead singer had a certain edginess approaching slightly mad that I find incredibly appealing. I will definitely be looking to see what albums are available by them for my wish list and if ever I need a dose of feel good music, I will have just what I need.

No blog post about a music festival would be complete without a quick mention of the dreaded toilets.

In actual fact, they were a pleasant surprise - as clean as you could expect and some even had toilet paper! There was the unmistakable smell of disinfectant masking something less sanitary but I have experienced SO MUCH WORSE.

You may wish to look away now because the last photo shows the inside of a festival toilet for the benefit of those who have never had the pleasure.

Racing for Life

Right at this moment I feel fantastic.

I have no doubt that later the aches and pains will start to make themselves felt to remind me that running 5K is not something I do every day.

Today was my Race for Life day.

I was up early and dressed in my official pink T Shirt. Ivy kindly put my hair up in a French plait to keep it out of the way and I was ready.

When we got to the Race venue at Weston Park it was hard not to be impressed. I knew that there would be 3750 women there all showing their support but nothing prepares you for that much PINK! Most participants wore dedications on the backs, proudly displaying the names of people that had lost their lives to cancer or who were battling the disease. It did make me feel quite emotional.

After a mass aerobic warm up, we were lead to the starting line. Serious runners went first followed by joggers then the walkers. Liberty and myself joined the joggers.

... And we're off!

Weston Park provided a glorious setting to run. The sun was shining but there was a cool breeze keeping it pleasant.  The route was marked with the Kilometre milestones so it was easy to keep track of how far you had come and hence how far left still to conquer. Passing the 3Km was a huge boost, knowing I was over half way and feeling as though I really could do this.

It actually wasn't possible to keep running the whole way round. There were some bottle necks on the course and everything slowed down to a walking pace. I didn't mind. It was good to catch my breath.

Liberty and I did not manage to stay together the whole time. It was great for me because I got to witness her epic finish and cheer her on (I wish I'd had my camera at that moment).

I have spoken before about my sister for whom I was running this race and how I firmly believe she can exert a cosmic influence on the lives of us mere mortals left behind. I had just reached the "500 metres left till the finish line" marker and was feeling as though it might just be 500 metres too far. As my spirits were flagging, my french plait mysteriously got completely tangled up in the safety pin holding my back sign bearing Carol's name giving my hair a very obvious tug. Coincidence? Maybe. But that hair tugging reminder that I had come so far and I was so nearly there put a big smile on my face and I ran. As that finish line came into view I ran faster than I think I've ever run before. It felt like flying. I was overtaking people and I was doing it for Carol.

The runner who crossed the line first did so in 20 minutes. It took me just under 40 minutes and Liberty was hot on my heels. As I had anticipated it taking me an hour, I was really pleased with that result. These are our before and after shots. Our complexions match our T Shirts in the 'after' shot, but we're still smiling!

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone. It is also a good feeling to have raised money through sponsorship (a big thank you those who sponsored me) for the Cancer Research charity in the hope that they can keep moving the treatments forward to beat this disease that affects so many lives.