December 24th, 2009 Alex
Derby Market place has been invaded by wooden sculptures for the festive period. Huge penguins, soldiers, cars, a train, a plane, even a bear. But these aren’t warriors from a strange dimension where people are made of wood, nor are they fiendish barbarians who attacked the city and were cursed to remain as statues by a wizard. No, these wooden sculptures are the boring kind of wooden sculpture, the sort that was hewn from wood by somebody’s hands to create four foot tall penguins for Christmas. And to think you thought you’d have to have a Peak District holiday to see wood near Derby.
Wait! That’s not boring at all! That’s actually a little bit awesome!
Andrew Frost, a sculptor, has designed and created the statues for around £60,000, a lot of which came from grants and donations. The idea was to liven up Derby’s market and give children something to do whilst their parents are Christmas shopping, and it seems to have been a huge success, with children clambering all over these works of art with their dirty hands and feet.
Each statue represents one of the partners involved in their building, and so the penguins represent Derby university, the plane represents Rolls-Royce, the car Toyota, the bear Royal Crown Derby, the soldier Derby City Council, and the train Bombardier.
If you fancy spending the festive period in Derby and taking in the fine woodworks, then why not consider a holiday cottage in Derbyshire.
And we all hope you’re all looking forward to tomorrow.
Posted in Destinations, Festivals, attractions | No Comments »
September 16th, 2009 Alex
Only this year, though.
The multi-award winning Bestival, one of the Isle of Wight’s many annual music festivals, has been going for five years now. You’ve missed it this year, but given its success there’s no reason that you couldn’t take the opportunity to visit next year.
The volume of festivals and carnivals are an excellent reason to consider Isle of Wight holidays, but with Bestival winding up last Sunday, let’s review that to see exactly what you were missing.
Headliners this year were Massive Attack, Kraftwerk and Elbow, each of which gave a spectacular performance to those near the stage, but sound problems on the Friday and Sunday meant that for those further back, Massive Attack and Elbow were lost amongst the sound drifting over from the other tents. Kraftwerk, on Saturday, avoided these problems, and gave a spectacular performance.
In addition to the mix of headliners, performances from Lily Alan, Florence and the Machine, the Fleet Foxes and Seasick Steve, as well as DJs Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Rob da Bank, meant that the variety of music available at Bestival was truly eclectic; something that the festival aspires to.
Every year there is also a theme, and punters are encouraged to dress up to match it. This year’s was space, and even the bands took part, with Elbow’s Guy Garvey telling the crowd they wouldn’t get an encore unless they hummed the Star Trek theme tune.
Although camping space is available, and the festival organisers provide a selection of gypsy caravans, yurts, squrts, cloudhouses, podpads and bellepads for visitors, there’re plenty of other options for Isle of Wight accommodation available. Hotels or Bed and Breakfasts guarantee you a degree more comfort and the opportunity to shower each day. It also means avoiding the festival toilets, at least some of the time.
Remember that Bestival isn’t the only music festival on the Isle of Wight either, and if you want something different you’ll probably be able to find it. If, on the other hand, it does sound like your type of thing, then I’m glad to have been of service.
Posted in Festivals, camping, isle of wight | 2 Comments »
