playing
live at
2nd Bristol Cider Festival
at
Brunel Passenger Shed, Temple Meads
Friday 7th & Saturday 8th August 2009
review | pics
| info
 Bristol
Revelers Drink Up Thy Cider at Bristol Cider Festival!
Thousands
crammed in the Brunel Passenger Shed at the Empire &
Commonwealth Museum in Temple Meads for the 2nd Bristol
Cider Festival over the weekend.
Bristol,
UK August 10th 2009: While hot air balloons floated overhead,
over 2700 cider drinkers came through the doors to celebrate
the West Country’s best-known exports – traditional
farmhouse cider, and the music of Adge Cutler.
The
two day festival started on Friday evening; a sell-out with
almost 1000 cider drinkers quaffing from the range of over
100 real ciders and perries, and chomping their way through
hot pork rolls and Somerset cheese platters. And to help
them drink up thy ciders, local band The Mangledwurzels
serenaded them with a full show of Adge Cutler & The
Wurzels classics, as well as some new songs in the same
view from the band’s second album Wurz ‘Ee II
which they launched at the festival.
And
there was more to come – two more sessions in fact!
And some cider aficionados were happy to attend all three
sessions. One ex-pat Somerset couple had travelled from
London, spending the whole weekend at the festival. We were
unable to ascertain how many ciders they had sampled by
the end of the festival, but they left with smiles on their
faces – and rather wobbly legs!
The
so-called ‘quiet’ Saturday afternoon –
with an extended show from The Mangledwurzels - was a massive
success with more than twice the crowd of previous afternoon
sessions. In fact, they drank so much cider that Marc Lilley
of the festival organisers CiderFestivals.co.uk had to take
a quick drive around local cider farms to restock the shelves
for the evening session.
And
the Saturday evening was the highlight of the weekend. Sold
out in advance, with everyone ready for a cider-fuelled
party, the night was quite probably the best the organisers
have had to date – in more than a dozen cider festivals
across the country! Hundreds of people drinking gallons
of cider – and no sign of any trouble whatsoever.
As The Mangledwurzels sang – “Cider is good
for ‘ee!”
CiderFestivals.co.uk
have already confirmed three cider festivals for 2010. There
will be another Bristol Winter Cider Festival at the Brunel
Passenger Shed in late January with the 4th Bath Cider Festival
confirmed at Bath Pavilion over Valentine Day’s weekend
– and they will all be back at the Brunel Passenger
Shed next August for another weekend of sun, cider and song.
Tickets will go on sale in the autumn.
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A host of cider drinkers pack the Brunel Passenger
Shed. |
Everyone
having great fun at the Bristol Cider Festival |
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Cider on the dancefloor... |
A
Jethro Tool-eye view of the cider festival |
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more cider on the dancefloor...
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CiderFestivals.co.uk staff working hard at the bars... |
...and
the cider drinkers working equally hard |
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More cider drinkers enjoying themselves. |
'never
thought facial hair was that attractive on a lady
until tonight...!' |
Pictures
courtesy of Barry Hewitt of Pukka Pictures; barryweye@mac.com.
Copyright 2009. Used with permission.
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| The
Mangledwurzels with Mariana, Sophie and Darren, Lesley
and Maria |
Extreme
close-up for the band with Mike Ferguson |
thanks
to Maria, and Mike Ferguson for the photographs
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