Richard Hawley

Not touring probably means one off dates here and there are still on the cards - he says hopefully...

Bloody hell, I hope so - I was really hoping to see him this year for the first time.

I'm still hoping for the Minnack...

that isn't happening either i tried but it was impossible to do the gig without loosing loads of money which is a shame but it will happen one day we got so close this time

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now,then!

Looks like I chose the right year to get a passport then

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

Never mind Richard - maybe next year.

to be honest i am rather looking forward to a quiet year

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now,then!

Good. Already am pissed off because Stevie Wonder is playing on the last night and poor old me, who has loved his bones since I was ten, won't get to see him. And all because I didn't register months in advance, despite not knowing who was going to play, only to be squashed into a field with a load of drunk middle class people, throwing up everywhere, and talking really loudly about their jobs in the "med-uh". Very rock and roll.

I don't like it much either to be honest but horses for courses so they say i've never been a festival lover,some i love very much,i got offered some of the forest tour dates but couldn't do them as the lads are busy those dates which is a shame,i did them with Pulp many years ago and loved it,in fact it was Pulps idea in the first place.

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now,then!

Yes, I like a festival – used to go the Cambridge Folk Festival every year and still go to festivals for the day (mostly if I can get the Tube there and back). The smaller ones are OK because there's plenty of space and not too many pissheads. But have two boys and it's not much fun for them – they'd much rather be on a beach or in the woods or ferreting around in the mud somewhere. Am thinking I'll get a second wind when they don't want to hang out with me anymore which, if my ten year old's pre-teen grumpiness goes on for much longer, might be sooner than I think!

my boys love end of the road(the festival not the end of our street although there are bloody times )they're younger than ten and they loved it,i let them wander around on their own(they think that but either me or my mate would discreetly follow them so we didn't show them up)thats a boss festival that is,its about much more than money

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now,then!

Where's that then? My eldest is ten and my youngest is five and they love being outside. It's probably one of my regrets about living in London, that they don't have the freedom to go play out like I did when I was a kid. It's too full of boy racers.
We do a bit of camping (there are some brilliant Forestry Commission campsites in the New Forest where you can just open the flaps and let them go) but we went to Wales last summer and it was a disaster. There was a massive storm and we were all out in our pants, in the rain, at 3 in the morning trying to keep the tent up. In the end, the poles snapped and we had to go home. So much for getting back to nature!
Mine are dying for a bit of independence, especially the older one. Wants to walk to school on his own, to go out on his bike without me puffing away behind him, has his own secrets, little things he doesn't want me to know about himself. Don't think whatever festival I take him to he'll be that keen on the music – in his project for Black History Month, he said that the artist who'd made the biggest contribution to the black entertainment industry was Tinchy Stryder! He thinks you sound like a grandad but at least you're alive, unlike most of the boring dead people on my i-pod. I love kids, but I couldn't eat a whole one! x

End of the Road is at Larmer Tree Gardens, on the Dorset/Wiltshire border, and it's fab. Highly recommended even for anyone who thinks they're not a festival person. I was a 50something festival virgin when I went in 2008 – I had such a great time that I went again last year and i've got tickets for this year. The music is ace, the setting is beautiful, it's not too crowded (5000 people) and there are lots of activities for kids.
Bands announced so far for this year include Wilco, the Low Anthem , Felice Brothers, the Unthanks, Iron and Wine.

http://www.endoftheroadfestival.com/

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...wasn't born to follow

Latitude is supposed to be very good for kids. Which is why we booked. Now there's Mr H and the National on the same day(I think), who's going to join us then?

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I'm not scared of robots


http://www.soundsxp.com

That does sound good - I may be tempted if I can raise the dosh. I'm already booked for Trowbridge and Croissant Neuf (and hopefully Green Man - again if I can get the money). I too am fairly virginy with regards to festivals - only been going for the last few years (well, not since Reading in the late 70's) , but now I can't get enough - and the kids love 'em!

Thanks for that. It's the weekend after they go back to school – always good to squeeze one last lazy weekend of the summer. I had friends who went to the Latitude with their kids last year and it was awful. But to be fair, that was nothing to do with the festival, it was the shitty weather and trying to keep kids amused in a wet tent with a force nine gale a blowing. Thanks for the advice.