Festival
Reflections
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| This face was becasue of the sun - not the music. Honest! |
ABOUT LATITUDE
The Festival in its 10th year and welcomes
around 30,000 people so is about one-fifth the size of Glastonbury. It
deliberately aims for a wide audience as there are many strands alongside
music; poetry, comedy, performing arts, theatre, cinema, literature, workshops,
fringe, arts and crafts, healing…… Music is set to appeal to a wide range of
tastes. Edith Bowman has written a comprehensive guide to British Festivals
from the grunge-mud to genteel. She highlights the family-friendly nature of Latitude
and there were certainly lots of families around; children sleeping through the
loud music and being transported in wheel-along buggies. There is a packed
programme of activities for children of all ages.
The Festival is sometimes mocked for appealing to the ‘middle
class Guardian readers’ in fact two headline musicians used this term to poke
gentle fun at the audiences (Bob Geldof and Noel Gallagher– neither short of a
pound or two themselves I would imagine!) The Guardian's Festival review dubbed it dubbed ‘Latte-tude'
- not without justification; the key essentials of modern day holidays were to
be found in abundance; Wi-Fi, phone recharge facilities and yes, proper coffee!
So my reflections don’t aspire to speak for Festivals as
a whole but in keeping with my overall theme try to get a bit below the surface
of the Latitude festival experience and draw out some thoughts.
MY LATITUDE
In keeping with the Latte-tude theme I stayed in a pre-
erected tent which had access to hot showers and yes, its own café-bar! I also
invested in the use of ‘Seat of Luxury’ – proper toilets with hot running water
and a locker to recharge my phones. So I wasn’t really slumming it! My tent was
the most basic but the site facilities went up to full ‘glamping’ standard. The
majority of festival goers however did the right thing by bringing their own
tents and literally pitching in. There was no rain so we didn’t experience
trademark mud although the extreme dry and dusty conditions brought perils of their
own.
My festival began by giving a pre-arranged lift to two other
festival goers who like me were attending for the first time, although there
was 40 years between us. I was touched by their opening question: ‘did you sleep
last night or were you like us too excited’ (actually I didn’t and I was…) En route we had
informed conversations about some of the bands that we were looking forward to
seeing
My main aim was to see the live music and certainly saw
plenty of that – wherever possible I got as close to the front of the arena as
possible – why not! Just to experience being part of the crowd (and singing along
to Noel Gallagher, The Vaccines, Manic Street Preaches, Wolf Alice. Alt-J and
Boomtown Rats to name a few)
I also dipped into other things – theatre, film, ballet,
performance art, a classical quartet, comedy, book reading, poetry as well as
walking around and enjoying (in a nice
way) the assault on the senses - moving from one experience to the next. There
is far too much going on to get a taste of everything, perhaps that’s part if the
overall magic. Then of course there was street food and beer to sample – at a
price!
LATITUDE WORLD
VIEW
Following Ted Turneau, I wanted to have a stab at the world
view of Latitude (perhaps in common with other festivals?)
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| You can just about make out the neon words in the trees! |
‘Latitude’ is an interesting name in itself because it
carries an inherent contradiction. It means both a fixed point of reference (e.g.
on a map) and a degree of freedom of thought.
The underlying principles are emblazoned in neon light for
all to see in a woodland installation;
‘Purity, Truth. Peace, Harmony, Respect, Wisdom’ Who
could disagree with these but what words are omitted?
My jottings on world view arose from reflections across the
range of activities I attended which perhaps go a bit beyond these illuminated statements:
- Equality is the norm: between genders, ethnicities, between people of different sexual orientation, between humankind and nature (We're all 'Guys')
- Sexual freedom is the norm; faithfulness matters more than marriage
- ‘It’s all good’ – artistic freedom is to be encouraged; we must all find our own truths and celebrate the truths of others
- We must care for one another and the planet (there were a number of charities in evidence including Greenpeace, Action Aid, and Oxfam) – I should add the Festival Pastors and Samaritans also had a strong presence.
- Probably a left wing bias (literary events sponsored by New Statesman, headliners Portishead displaying an anti-Cameron graphic, and Owen Jones on the politics of hope etc.)
- A sometimes articulated but often sub conscious position that is ‘anti-establishment’ i.e. opposition to any institution that limits freedom of expression, equality and openness or promotes an exclusive version of the truth. (No guesses for which institutions might top that list!)
However alongside this list I noted some contradictions
and this is where I guess the inherent tension in ‘latitude’ (meaning both
a fixed point and a degree of freedom) comes in : - A left wing bias but an audience which is self-evidently made up of people who were not short of disposable income
- Anti-establishment but an audience of people working for various establishments
- Freedom of expression but a series of written and unwritten assumptions about what is and is not acceptable
- Freedom demonstrated by what people wear but conformity to a style which is often highly commercial (and conforming) bought at festival outlets
- A concern to save the planet and be charitable but a large scale commercial operation throughout.
GOD AT LATITUDE?
In preparing to attend I expected the emphasis to be on ‘new
age’ religion (although that term is a bit outmode now I think) and there were
certainly areas for holistic therapy (Vinyasa Flow Yang, Mindfulness etc.) but
I wondered if consumerism was more evident that spirituality here. I have
reflected elsewhere on the Worship experience at the Secular Sunday Assembly
and the Gospel singers. But for me God was definitely there;
- In the creativity all around
- In the beautiful setting, countryside, trees and magnificent sunsets
- In positive relationships in family and community
- In the euphoric singing and lyrics of songs (to be reflected on later)
- In seeing people, wearing devotional rather than decorative cross
- In the presence of festival pastors whose very popular cafe had a board on which festival goers were invited to write messages for God
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| The Festival Pastors Cafe was always popular - right on a main thoroughfare, opposite the loos and offering proper coffee! |
- In a group of young girls unexpectedly breaking out into ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ after a gig
- In a 3.00 am conversation outside my tent where one person was explaining her Christian faith to a sceptical friend.
- In the mass of bodies, earthiness and diversity of incarnation
- For me in the moment of silence at the Sunday Assembly when I could offer a prayer.
END
There will be more to come but I’ll stop here for now!
Just a final thought; on the first morning I remembered Penny’s
words ‘enjoy your adventure’ and it certainly was that. Also into my mind came
another reminder that I am ‘of this world but not present in it, you are
amongst foreigners’ For ‘many live as enemies of Christ with their minds set on
earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil 3: 18ff)
But Paul also said; (quoting Isaiah 28) ‘with other tongues
I will speak to the people’ (1 Corinthians 14:21) and again:
Rejoice in the Lord always, whatever is true, noble,
right, pure’ lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy’ (Philippians 4)
In enjoying myself thoroughly at Latitude I have tried to
listen to the voice of God in unexpected places, to hear what others are saying
and to look for what is indeed pure and lovely etc. May this be a way of being for all
God’s people as we encounter spirituality in the everyday world in which we
live!
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