Open-air concert in the park

Above: looking towards the stage (we didn’t have a good view, but I think my friends preferred to be near the beer tent).

Record temperatures in England and Wales at the moment. The heat in the office is unbearable. One of the Marketing Executives stood in front of a big fan (on the floor) so that her dress billowed out (I told her she resembled Marylyn Monroe, which seemed to please her).

Last Saturday there was an open-air concert in the park in the middle of the small market town near to where I live. I went along with some neighbours (not really neighbours – they live in a row of bungalows about half a mile away down the lane). Because I didn’t know them all that well, we were just being polite to each other all afternoon.

The park is in the centre of the town, a big square of grass and trees. It had been cordoned off with three entry points, police and stewards guarding each entrance even though admission was free. At the far end a stage had been set up, with a giant screen on the right to relay and magnify the performances. Around the perimeter of the park were marquees and tents, most of them bars (one selling a selection of “real” ales, the rest being temporary outposts of local pubs). The remainder of the tents were a bizarre assortment of good causes including a council demonstration on the efficacy and desirability of worm-bins. The big central area of the park was completely filled by several thousand people sitting on the grass (mostly young families), drinking and watching the music acts.

It was two o’clock by the time we got to the concert, and it was clear that a tremendous amount of drinking had already taken place (people staggering, lots of empty plastic cups on the ground, police “advising” some individuals they ought to go home). The sun blazed down. We went into one of the bars and got some drinks and went out to stand at the edge of the park – there wasn’t any room to sit down in the central area.

After four pints my head began to ache (not sure if it was the beer or standing in the full sun). The act on stage was a very amateur local hip-hop band, repetitive and loud (most of the acts were “tribute” performances). I felt tired from standing, but there wasn’t really anywhere to sit on the grass – no room in the middle of the park, and round the edges people were constantly walking backwards and forwards. Three hours of this was enough for me, and I wanted to go home, but because I had come into town with my neighbours I didn’t have any means of getting back (my house is quite remote). I felt my clothes sticking to my skin. Another pint was put into my hands and my vision began to…

Anyway, the thing that struck me about the event was just how homogenous the crowd was. Especially how many young families there were – family groups easily formed the majority. We are supposed to have an aging population, increasingly single households, diverse and multi-cultural, but there was no evidence of any of that.