written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Thursday 24 July 2014

14 Things I Saw At Latitude 2014

Given that I have only been back from Suffolk a couple of days, and I'm still reluctant to let go of my festival spirit, I thought I'd use this week's post to recapture some of the things I saw (and loved).

1) The brightly painted Latitude sheep - always a classic Latitude moment - plus it offers a tenuous link to this week's blog theme.



2) A lightning storm as we danced to Damon Albarn on the Obelisk Stage - the sky navy - the rain warm - and our dancing criminal - but it was like no experience I'd ever had before.

3) Luke Wright reading Dad Reins - that last line is caught in my mind and almost has me in tears every time I hear it.

4) D.I.Y - Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott - beautiful sunny Friday afternoon - sing-a-long.

5) Jemima Foxtrot mesmerised me with her poetry - her excitement was refreshing and infectious.

6) A guy wearing a basset hound costume in thirty degree heat.

7) Mining The Meaning - "Introduced by Dr Katy Shaw, a leading authority on the mining strike, the event will consider the social, cultural and political legacy of the strike and ask what connections can be drawn to the here-and-now in a post-Thatcher, post-Labour, pro-protest world." - Jemima Foxtrot, Luke Wright, Attila the Stockbroker, Michael Rossen and Andy Bennett read a selection of poems written by miners and their wives at the time of the strikes.

8) On Thursday night we went to the theatre and saw Kate Tempest's Hopelessly Devoted - Thought-provoking and arresting - impossible not to be moved and inspired.

9) Goat - psychedelic, bizarre, unfathomable - Shaun dancing and whooping like something possessed.

10) Vegan food in a field - Peckish Peacock - Healthy Carrot - Churros - And vegan cake

11) Helen Mort - I'd heard Helen read at Latitude 2012, but this year she was even better -if you haven't read any of her poetry then it is a MUST.

12) Hula Hoop Girl - She performed a host of amazing tricks as The Black Keys played - we couldn't take our eyes off her - I think Shaun fell in love.

13) A moth flying to the ground carrying a wasp - squeezing into the grass - burrowing out of sight.


14) Scroobius Pip ending our festival with 'Thou Shalt Always Kill' - packed tent with people spilling outside.   

2 comments:

Christo said...

Thanks Lara (and the live version when I saw/heard Shaun on Tuesday.

Your summary explains in the clearest possible terms that only whoever Wordpool get to speak here in Blackpool or brave souls such as the Library Service pay to promote will give poetry writers physical contact with working poets of impact and currency.

If you really love poetry save up and get along to all the festivals you can afford between March and October each Spring, Summer and early Autumn (we seem to have begun to have seasons again here in the UK after years of drab dreariness).

There is nothing quite like the buzz that a festival gives you - Latitude is too Comedy Rock Concert Thingy for me at approaching 70 - I did all of that in the 60s, 70s and early 80s, and insist on hot water and comfy beds nowadays.

But Thank You For The Music to quote the terribly unhip Barry Manilow - Latitude clearly fizzed with bolts of lighting.

Damp incendiary device said...

So glad you had an amazing Latitude (again)! You should be on the payroll for promoting the festival. It sounds like a real soul-touching experience. Your enthusiasm is infectious :) x