Music and Beer Festival, June 13th 2009
Report by Alasdair Wheeler
The bar staff from left to right:
Joe May, Paul Gillespie, Alasdair Wheeler,
Jeffrey Wheeler, Rupert Hetherington,
Russell Wright
Having spent the past few weeks nervously perusing the weather websites every five minutes I became more and more confident that Saturday 13th June was to be a fine day. Nothing could have prepared me for the warm and glorious sunshine that ensued. This fine weather set the tone for what was a highly successful day. I awoke early on Friday morning and, after a quick breakfast laid on by Mr Dampney, felt full of enthusiasm for the tasks that lay ahead. Marquees were erected and a steady trickle of breweries arrived with their casks.
That evening I sat with a cool beer in hand, safe in the knowledge that everything was as ready as it could be for the following day’s activities. However, with 22 firkins settling on our racking five of us decided to spend the night baby-sitting them. This night was memorable for a few reasons, not least the lack of sleep or what seemed like sub-zero temperatures. One was the gravity with which some of my brothers-in-arms are capable of snoring—the other was the arrival of our esteemed skipper at a quarter-to-one in the morning, when we were all safely tucked up asleep in our sleeping bags, expecting to make a start on the following night’s beers.
Saturday started with bright sunshine and a Full English, laid on at Châteaux Moor, a fine start to the day. Soon the teams began to arrive for the day’s sixes tournament, a hugely successful event for which Sam and his team of helpers should rightly be applauded. In what seemed to me like the blink of an eye, the cricket came to an end—I rather think it nice that East Meon did not win their own tournament, but try telling a certain Mr Gillespie this—and the bands struck up.
As chief organiser I thought it my duty to be in the thick of things and thus spent the rest of the night behind the bar. For the following 4 to 5 hours the bar and barbeque area was deluged. Most of us have little to no experience of bar work and I can safely proclaim it to be the most stressful thing I have ever done in my life. Fortunately Joe May was on hand and his calming influence kept the ship afloat. Special mention should also go to Steffi Dampney, whose charming presence and hard work behind the bar was greatly appreciated.
The Ryder Cider proved ever popular as did the range of beers available. Dream Weaver playing their own material in the early slot, proved very popular, particularly with my daughter who had a good boogie, and firmly got the night off with a swing. They were followed by our very own local rock God, Mr Chris Warren, who, with his motley band of fellow musicians (namely Peter Suart on the funny drum things, Kit Warren on Bass Guitar and Marc Atkinson on Rhythm Guitar) proved a hit with their mix of Bluesy Guitar numbers. You play cricket with someone for many years and have no idea they hide such an incredible talent, and yet even this was eclipsed when the young upstart, Master Kit Warren, came on stage and played his Father in to the ground. Our headline act, The Unusual Suspects, were an unknown quantity but boy did they prove their worth, entertaining young and old with a fantastic mix of popular covers. By the time a few encores had been played it only remained for the gathered revellers to walk, or in the case of many, stagger their way towards tents, taxis or indeed home.
A fantastic night was had, and a substantial amount was raised towards the new pavilion fund. I have many people to thank for keeping the cogs turning. The committee of Richard Dampney, Chris Warren and Chris Hollis put in a huge effort to make the night happen. As did the extended team of Chris Moor, Jeff Wheeler, Russell Wright, Rupert Hetherington, Paul Gillespie, Melvyn Dowlen, Martin Cooke, Richard Trafford, Philippa Tyrwhitt Drake, Charlie Cane, Benj Skrzypczak, Ollie, Will and Wilson Atkinson, Ryan Morse, Lucy Hollis, Ruth and Marc Atkinson, the Dampney Clan and my Ma and Pa. Special mention must also go to Denys Ryder, who despite describing himself as ‘An Underutilised Vice President’ put in a colossal amount of work both in setting up and on the day. Thanks also to the Thomas Lord who provided us with regular advice in the run-up to the event and a ‘special price’ on the Indian Marquee. To anyone else I have not mentioned I am of course extremely grateful.
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