Two top 5s of Towersey Festival 2018

I thought I would share our experience of the August bank holiday in a field in Oxfordshire! We have been going to Towersey Festival since I was a child - I've been with my parents, I volunteered as a steward with my best mate during our uni years and now I'm taking my own children (with extended family and best mate!). At the moment it is up there as one of the boys' favourite weekends of the year, rivalled only by Christmas and any trips to Center Parcs. We have managed to go every year since W was one, including last year when A was only six weeks old.

As usual, we had a great weekend. The weather wasn't quite as good as time round - last year I sent Mark home on Saturday morning to pick up more summer clothes for everyone as we were roasting, this year we were very glad we had invested in a posh gazebo that everyone could huddle under, particularly in the pouring rain on Sunday. There are always a few niggly things that go on our feedback form each year but everyone is already talking about buying tickets for next year. I have spent a lot of time since we got back explaining to the boys that they really didn't want to be having tea/spending the day/sleeping at Towersey as it is now an empty field.

So I was going to write our 'top 10 of Towersey' but I realised that my highlights are probably not the same as the boys and I have split the list into two. 'Two top 5s of Towersey' is not quite as catchy but here we go:

Boys' highlights

1) Frumptarn Guggenband, all 7 or 8 times the boys saw them! Often referred to as 'the skeleton band', they were very bright and loud and W was particularly taken with them. He kept spotting where they were on and asking to go and see them long after the rest of us had had our fill. Despite the volume, T managed to fall asleep in front of them a couple of times but that is definitely a reflection of his levels of tiredness rather than how entertaining they were.

2) Anything captured by the word 'show'. Musical acts were less interesting to the boys but anything with dancing/comedy/juggling was very popular.

3) The whole camping experience, particularly with the constant entertainment provided by aunts and uncles, cousins and friends.

4) Their headphones and Towersey blankets (2 for £20 from one of the stalls on the coldest night of the festival!)

5) Jake in the storytelling tent - 'What can I do with my long bony finger and my wibbly, wobbly lips?' - need I say more?!

My highlights

1) Having enough people for a set (or more) in the Festival Dance House. I don't think we set foot in the ceilidh tent last year but definitely made up for it this year. The challenge of having nearly everyone in the set dancing with a child attached to them was a little much for our addled brains by the last day!

2) The Chipolatas (despite the fact that they reduce me and my dad to tears!) - lots of memories from my childhood trips to Towersey and I really enjoyed the mix of easy comedy and quieter moments. It wasn't as loud or brash as some of the other acts that we saw but the boys keep coming out with snippets from 'the Chitolatas' so I think it struck a chord with them as well.

3) Fisherman's Friends - I think they were the only act I managed to properly listen to and they were great (despite feeling so ill I had to sit on the floor and was sick shortly afterwards!)

4) Ice-creams - after nearly 9 months off dairy I very much enjoyed my rhubarb and custard ice cream.

5) Walking back to the tent one evening in the dark with the boys, looking at the massive orange moon and T asking what stars are! As much as I love being at the festival with family and friends, it is nice when we grab 5 minutes as our family of five as normally the boys are far too interested in everyone else to spend time with us!