Folk Ale. Does what it says on the tin...

So this weekend I switched off my laptop on the Friday afternoon, caught a train to god-knows-where, met my my mate Mr Ed at East Croydon (who'd brought his bike in rush-hour which made us very popular indeed) and then walked up a hill from Nowhere; heading towards the middle.

It was a pub. Behind which was a field where I put my tent. There were Folk.

Folk with fiddles, bagpipes, melodeons, guitars, accordions, barbeques, spiced rum, dogs, camper vans, brightly-coloured clothing, juggling toys and children.

There was Folk Music in a marquee. There was Ale...

The first night I drank too much Ale. Not a quantity I'd normally assume to be too much, but after walking up a hill with a heavy backpack and tent in the sunshine it was too much for my poor addled body to cope with. The night was fun, lively and ended early - I was laughed at in the morning for my grumpy response to the suggestion I should wake up and drink Rum and Coke at 2.30 am...

The next morning dawned bright and baking hot in my tent. Friends tried to fire me up with instant cappuccino and offered (to me) stomach-turning bacon and sausage rolls. But as I pottered painfully amongst the revellers I had my mind on a harder, and more urgent mission. To combat the painful effects of horrific dehydration and make my way to the station and back before my friend's band played at 1pm.

A mission I succeeded in! Past the interested cows on the way down the hill, meeting Marie and my dog Sally at the bottom of the hill, being handed (yet another) heavy backpack and ascending the uphill mile once again in the blazing heat.

Marie met the Folk. I retired to my tent to combat the effects of the Ale.

By early evening I was once again able to move and we had an evening of music, fun and old pals. Sally was fractious - her normally chilled out demeanour stressed by the people and, more specifically, the two ferrets who were wandering about on leads. She also had a good bark at the bagpiper - which seems only fair.

The night passed, and the next day wandered cheerfully in the sun as people packed their cars and slowly said goodbyes. Music was still drifting in a lively fashion from the marquee as we picked up our bags and strolled happily down the hill...