{"id":665,"date":"2005-08-08T21:51:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-08T21:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/u75blog\/?p=665"},"modified":"2010-04-20T23:49:29","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T22:49:29","slug":"665","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/665\/","title":{"rendered":"My Big Chill 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Big Chill 2005<\/strong><\/p>\n

With forty minutes between connections at Great Malvern from our London train to Ledbury, we decided to take a spin on our new folding bikes around the town.<\/p>\n

Sadly, a few minutes into the ride and I realised that my pedal was seriously knackered, hanging off at a weird angle with the thread screwed.<\/p>\n

The attentions of three taxi drivers and one pair of pliars failed to fix it, so we lobbed the bikes in the boot and took a cab ride to a self-proclaimed “specialist” bike shop.<\/p>\n

I carried in my pedal-bereft bike, confident that their specialist expertise would have me back on the road in minutes.<\/p>\n

Me: “Hi. Disaster! I’m miles from home and away for the weekend and the pedal’s broken on my bike – so I need your help, please!”
\nTotally disinterested bloke: “it’s fucked mate”.
\n“What? is there nothing you can do? No replacement? No bodge?”
\n“No.”
\n“Shit. Is there a cab office around here?!
\n“No”
\n“Have you a phone number of a taxi firm in the town?”
\n“No”.<\/p>\n

Suitably pissed off, I embarked on a high-speed uni-pedal hurtle back into town (reaching 20mph!) down a monster hill and then followed a lucky impulse to ask a a motorbike garage to have a go at repairing the bike. And the top fella did the business! Phew!<\/p>\n

Suitably duo-pedalled, we propelled ourselves back to the station, got a train to Ledbury and then took on some challenging, thigh-straining hills en route to the site.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Delighted to find our tent already put up for us (thanks han and jan!), we quickly gorged on a heady cocktail of drink and drugs and headed into the beautiful valley below, ignoring the clink of the Pimms.<\/p>\n

Drank some beers, watched the dying embers of the sun and relaxed into the dullness of St Etienne got us moving elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Came back – suitably ‘confused’ – for Alex Petterson and Jim Cauty’s (KLF) new project, Transit Kings.<\/p>\n

Shook a leg to the Mad Professor Dub Show and then got a bit, err, lost for a few hours.<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/strong>, chilled out at our big camp o’chums and enjoyed the glorious sunshine.<\/p>\n

Hit the arena for some food mid-afternoon and heard some awful bland disco band who manage to stretch one piss weak idea of a song into a twenty minute drone-a-thon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In eve watched the excellent The Beat, bumped into PK, shuffled about to Burt Latino, got pissed, did the Art Trail (which was great – the huge video of the dying wasp was strangely compulsive), felt a fucking awful cold coming on and retired to bed.<\/p>\n

This morning:<\/strong> woke up feeling shit with a gnarly cold and minumum sleep after some tossers were bellowing their gobs off all night at the camp site.<\/p>\n

Packed up, cycled into the delightful market of town of Ledbury and scoffed scones and tea before getting the train back to the grime of London.<\/p>\n

The good bits of Big Chill: hearing some dub for a change, some decent bands, the weather, the location, the great crew of chums, the lazy chilled out day time vibe, Son Of Dave – what a star!<\/p>\n

The bad bits: more corporate sponsorship appearing everywhere, the stifling air of middle class smugness, the feeling that – unlike Glastonbury – everyone’s just pretending to be crayzee and wackeee <\/em>for the weekend, the toilets that were absolutely fucking disgusting<\/em>, more tent theft, more people and more massive gas-guzzling 4×4 and palatial motor homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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