Well, we had a great time at In The Pines; two days of fun, frolics and fabulous music courtesy of the lovely guys from The Doghouse ,the Halifax-based music promoters of the event.
The weather stayed well-behaved on the whole (apart from the rain getting in to a couple of the tents) and the scenery was stunning. The Saturday saw us getting settled in and enjoying the relaxed and friendly vibe. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, and the lights twinkled along the shore of Lake Windermere, the company gathered fire wood and had a collective meal around the campfire. Not only the kids got high on toasted marshmallows and woodsmoke.
Despite a rainy night (and soggy sleeping bags for some of us) the Sunday brightened up and at 2.30pm the 'children of the Forest of Dean' began to emerge from the trees and make their way down to the stage.
Some of the audience had not expected to see live theatre at a music festival, and were perhaps a little bemused by seven grown adults playing cowboys and indians. But soon they were engrossed in Dennis Potter's tale of children coming to terms with war.
Although we had not had chance for a full run-through of the play in the space, and we had to think on our feet at times, the show worked really well in the rural woodland setting. The fab technical team managed to appropriate some lights and the smoke machine from the main event which made the barn fire at the end of the play especially effective.
We had lots of very positive comments about the show, and hope that we can do something similar again next year.
In a weekend of great music it is, perhaps, unfair to single out any one band, but everyone of the Zoo creatures agreed that the fantastic Hope and Social were the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend. Please check out the band's website here.
