Paul's Woodford. Day One

Thursday 27 Dec

So, the big day.

I'm up at 5.30am, after driving back from Christmas up north the evening before. Packed, restrung, washed, shaved, plucked, powdered and ready for Mannie to pick me up in the van at 6.30.

At 6.45 the phone rings. It's a sleepy-sounding Irishman on the other end.
".... I schlep in"
Me: "Who is this?"
"I schlep in"
"Mannie?"
"I'm sorry.... I schlep in."
"You slept in?"
"That's what i said. I schlep in."
I'm quiet, silently seething that I could have had another hour in bed myself.
"I'll be there in minutes," he says.
"Yeah right."
"I'm so sorry...I schlep in."

7.50, we're on the road. Of course Sarah and I constantly take the piss out of him for the first half of the journey, then it's my turn to be mocked as I was too busy singing 'Bird of Prey' at Mannie to remember to tell him to turn. So we have to continue north for ages before swinging back.

The campsite is still set up, though someone has decided to pull up the stakes that mark where Mannie's Mobile Mando Pleasure Van is supposed to be deployed and put a plumber truck there. A couple of stern phone calls later and the Inflatable Sultan's Palace that will be Mannie's home for the new few days is rocked out and waiting. My tent has puddles inside it. Not a good sign. Of course the girls are all snug, dry and gloaty. I'll have to keep an eye on this if the weather stays wet.

We haven't got a gig today, so we just mooch around, getting used to the new layout and marvelling at how the site has transformed in just a few years. To call this a folk festival is really a misnomer. During the week, this place will have a more of population than any of the local towns right up to the city of Gympie to the north. First things first, we locate the nearest good coffee vendor, and it's the gypsies in their wagon right next to the entrance to the Performer's Camp. These guys also look like they serve a mean organic brekkie, so that's all noted. We check out all the venue tents, which seem huge this year, and munched on treats like Byron Bay Doughnuts and more coffee.

We find the session a little later in the evening, hosted by an old friend (and former Sunas member) Brendan, and sit in until the wee hours. Great fun, and nice to see that the Guinness tent serves cider, the preferred Sunas beverage. It's still raining, and starting to get quite gloopy around. The girls both have Wellies (gum boots), but Mannie and I didn't bother. I have my old Faithful Caterpillar YellowBoots, but they're nearly 15 years old now and not all that waterproof. Still, it's usually as hot as arse up here rather than wet, so I should be ok.

First gig tomorrow is at 10am, and it's in the Concert Tent, which is one of the main venues. Should be a corker.