Steve Tierney's Blog

Wisbech Rock Festival 2014

We all rolled up at the crack of dawn – or some unearthly time on a Sunday that felt like the crack of dawn – ready to set up the Rock Festival.  And when I say “we all” I obviously am not referring to any lazy, inept or just plain bone idle “never shows” whose idea of being a Councillor is getting their face in the paper quite often.  No, I am referring to the people who turn out, time after time, without fail, in any weather.  Sam Hoy, Garry Tibbs, David Oliver and his whole Family, Michelle Tanfield, Reg Mee, Stephen Brunton, Jonathan & Susannah Farmer, Hannah Campagna, Aigers Balsevics and his Eastern European Volunteer Team.

But disaster struck.  The rain was pounding down, the skies were black, we were all drenched and everybody was hoping that maybe, just maybe, all those dire weather forecasts were wrong and it might brighten up.  We set up the stage, the barriers, the PA guys were hard at work wiring the sound system.

Come Eleven-Thirty the rain had been joined by a powerful wind.  Most of the stalls hadn’t shown up and the fairground guys – who provide the power for us all – were concerned they were going to get stranded in the mud.  It wasn’t looking good and then the death knell sounded when the safety team advised that it was now too dangerous to proceed.  Although the P.A. was fairly waterproof, the band’s equipment would not be.  The wind was blowing the rain straight onto the stage leading to risks of electrocution and slippery surfaces.  Drenched and tired already, we had to face the fact that we could not proceed and would have to cancel.

A brief discussion led by Sam Hoy resulted in our deciding to try and move to an inside venue.  It was incredibly short notice and there were thousands of pounds worth of kit to be moved.  But cancelling meant losing the investment in the entire event and letting the music lovers of Wisbech down.  A number of major venues were complete wash-outs, no pun intended, their bureaucracy or risk aversion meaning we couldn’t move there.  (Their loss, I feel.)  We got a generous offer from The Woodmans, in Gorefield, who deserve praise for saying: “Bring it all here, we’ll make it happen.”  And we would have done, but it was a little far out to be sure the public would all get there.  Luckily, the Queen Mary Centre stepped up and offered their venue even at this incredible short notice.

Suddenly we were all rushing around, breaking down the equipment we’d already set up, loading things into cars and lorries and anything with wheels and an engine.  How on Earth we managed to shift everything from the Town Park to the QMC in an hour I will never know.  Unbelievable awesome volunteers, I think, were the solution – alongside the most professional, helpful and reasonable sound system guys it has ever been my pleasure to meet and work with.

Social Media came to life – with Facebook lighting up with news of the move.  All the forums and discussion boards were helpful, particularly “Wisbech Oh Dear” and the Wisbech Discussion Forum.   John Elworthy got the move publicised on the Wisbech Standard’s website which was excellent.  Twitter crackled and buzzed with the news.

And at about 2PM the opening power chords of Kamikaze Hotshots boomed from the mighty speakers through a busy and excited hall at the Queen Mary Centre.  It was time to rock.

*All pictures supplied by Cllr Garry Tibbs

  

I don’t think I have ever experienced quite such a positive vibe at a Wisbech event as was evident throughout the day.  The bands were really varied, from the slick rock n’ rollers of Gifford to the country folk rock of Rattleshack.  From the smooth delivery of The Merlins to the “in your face” rebel rock of Death Radio.  On the internet, the buzz was excellent with attendees saying how much they were enjoying the day.  The only sour note was a tiny handful of moaners – most of whom were not in attendance – the same people who can always be counted on to moan about everything everywhere.  Their grumpy grumbling was broadly drowned out, which I think is a good thing.  There are some folks who are just not happy until others are unhappy.

The free face-painting was much enjoyed by the young and older alike.  I even had my own face painted with a bolt of lightning over my eye and some letters and words that tickled me at the time.

The Mayor, Michael Hill, and his lovely wife Jane, both stayed for the entire day.  They were such good sports and later in the event both could be seen wearing the Wisbech Rock Festival T-Shirts with their chains over the top.  When the compère pointed this out they got a massive cheer from the audience.  Some other towns may have Mayors who wouldn’t be seen having fun at an event like this – but Wisbech has always been pretty good at finding Mayors who aren’t afraid to have a bit of fun with the people who live here.

 
That delightful pink dome with the rabbit painted on it is none other than the town beadle.  What a dude! :)

Cllr Sam Hoy with a tiger face.  You’d not realise she had been working her butt off for the entire day, but she had!

Suzannah Farmer, Cllr David Oliver and Jess Oliver.  Love these guys.  Champions one and all.

Cllr Stephen Brunton, our St. John’s Ambulance First Aider, who gives up his free time to keep people safe and well and can always be counted on to help at town events.  On this day he helped a young lady who was taken suddenly ill, several other minor abrasions – and a Staffy dog which ran in from the thunder after having apparently bolted in the storm.  (Dog was successfully returned to his owner after being calmed down and given a bowl of water.)

Drew Cameron, Compère extraordinaire.

  
Hannah Campagna with Drew Cameron.  Hannah, a newcomer to the Festivals Committee, handled the P.A. and sound people as well as so much more.  Her knowledge, experience and commitment to the town are second-to-none.

It is a shame I do not have a picture of Aigers Balsevics – proprietor of The Angel, the King’s Head and the Three Tuns.  Because he deserves to be recognised for doing so much to make the day a success.  Unfortunately, since he never stops moving and working long enough, nobody has a lens fast enough to catch him.  But trust me when I tell you that this man and his never-ending team of Eastern European volunteers are quite simply awesome.  We could not have made this happen without them.

What happened on this miserably wet Sunday was out of our hands.  We were already soaked and would have been happy to press on for whatever crowd braved the weather in wellies and macs but once the safety people said “no” that was that.  Except that from the ashes of potential disaster rose an off-the-cuff, last minute, scrabbled and rushed and thrown together replacement.  It wasn’t ideal, but we made the best of what we had and my goodness if it didn’t all work out rather well.  The day was a triumph and it was an absolutely thrill and a pleasure to have played some small part in it.  My hat goes off to all those wonderful volunteers who just would not give up, and to the organisers who rolled with the punches and came up swinging.  To the bands who played so well and entertained us so thoroughly.  And to the fine people of Wisbech who turned up, danced, sang and made merry until night fell.  More power to you!