Family Weekend: Tickets Going Fast
Come and join this celebration of our identity and help the next generation discover their roots. If you’ve got children or grandchildren, the Family Weekend starting this coming Friday is something you really can’t miss.
As everyone who attended the Summer School last weekend will tell you, the site is in truly beautiful countryside — on the English bank of the River Severn, looking out over the first hills of the Welsh border, the grassy fields of Haimwood at Llandrinio provide a very special place indeed for the celebration of our priceless British heritage and identity.Children from toddlers to teenagers will all find plenty to see and do. For the little ones there will be face-paints, trampolines, a ballpit, For the slightly older ones there are going to be lessons in lighting a campfire and cooking on it, and in country dancing (with the ‘BNP Ballerina’ Simone Clarke — learning on Saturday, performing on Sunday), dressing up, storytelling and a procession.
Activities in the Children’s Marquee will include painting and party games, and hopefully learning a play based on a traditional folk story to act out for everyone else later in the weekend.
Older ones and teenagers can use the kayaks on the gently flowing river (safety equipment and supervisors provided, but please note that this activity is strictly at your own risk) and meet up with others through the Crusaders youth group and its activities.
The Saturday will see a Children’s Sports Competition, with traditional competitive games including Sack Race and Egg & Spoon Races. On Sunday the adults will get their chance, and there will also be a Football Competition and Tug o War.
Experienced fishermen are welcome to bring their own rods and equipment, and if any have spares they can bring and use to let some of the youngsters try their hand at fishing that would be a great contribution.
Can you shoot well enough to finish off the House of Commons? The bottle of House of Commons Whisky that is! That’s the unique prize for the winner of the Clay Pigeon Competition. Bargain price of £5 for 10 shots on the neighbouring professional clay pigeon shoot site (Saturday afternoon).
There will be short and informal lectures on aspects of the history of Wales and the Borders. These will include an imaginary trip to some of the local places that have seen historical events — battles, miracles, plagues and all sorts — and a short life of the Welsh national resistance leader Owain Glyndwr.
One aspect of our heritage that will be celebrated is the great diversity of regional accents across Britain. Come and hear a Scot tell you about life in old Glasgow, listen to the Lambton Worm in broad Northumbrian, hear the Black Country dialect that was old at the time of William Shakespeare – and if you fancy bring your own short dialect poem or piece of history and get up and do a turn too.
Bring your well-behaved dog and try to win Best of Show, Best Behaved, Dog & Owner Most Alike or the Waggiest Tail competition. Bring some item that illustrates a special event in your family history and briefly tell people about it at the open mike heritage session. How about sharing some war-time memories? You don’t have to bring children if you’re coming with a willingness to take part and help make the event a great success. Perhaps you could bring along some dressing up items for the kiddies, or a few items for the Bring & Buy stall to sell to make money for the charity that will benefit from this event?
The whole point is for people to come and help to make the event by participating and using your initiative to entertain or inform others with and about any aspect of the traditional cultures, ways of life and pastimes of the peoples of the British Isles.
If you can bring any form of entertainment — child/family orientated stalls or shows especially — please email your offer straight away to events@bnp.org.uk
The Saturday evening will feature a hog roast and at other times there will be a catering tent serving a range of food, snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments. (You can bring your own beers and wines, but please don’t bring hard spirits or come if you just want to get drunk).
Several of our Liverpool ladies are cooking a large pan of ‘Scouse’, and from Wales we hope to have traditional griddle-cooked drop scones. So how about Peas and Bacon from the Black Country? Some samples of traditional cheeses? All the kinds of local delicacies and side-shows you’ve seen at and brought to the Red-White-and-Blue are very welcome.
Don’t go made on quantities, mind! We’re limited to 120 tents (by space) and 499 visitors (by the law) so this isn’t an RWB and there isn’t a bar and there aren’t amplified bands or rock music.
That won’t stop us having two great evenings on Friday and Saturday though! Come and listen to “Albion – the history of our land and people through words and song.” This is a full live show being put on by Arthur Kemp and Nick Griffin, and it’s sure to play to a packed and enthralled audience.
We should also be enjoying live music sessions from Tony Backhouse (whose Northern Rally album is proving popular with listeners to Radio Red-White-and-Blue), Dave Hannam and John Walker. Plus we hope very much for a special guest appearance by ‘Mad Mark’ the Morris Man – another firm favourite from past RWB festivals.
A definite already is William Milner with his version of some of Rudyard Kipling’s finest Barrack Room Ballads. William and Nick Griffin will be repeating the popular set they performed last Saturday night at the Summer School. If you saw it, you’ll want to come again, if you didn’t, this could well be your only chance to catch them.
The home-grown musical entertainment will be on both Friday and Saturday evening, but whatever you do make sure you’re there for the late evening session on Saturday, when we’re going to record a whole marquee full of people joining in the choruses of great folk songs from all over Britain.
Wild Rover, Tipperary, Leaving of Liverpool, Black Velvet Band, Haul Away Joe – you know far more than you think and, even if you don’t, with Nick Griffin and Friends leading and the words projected up you you’ll be joining in if the infectious fun and enthusiasm of last weekend is anything to go by. Come and help us raise the roof with Jerusalem and All Stand Together!
There will be one big camp fire each evening, well away from the tents and sleeping children. No separate cooking or campfires please.
This non-political event is organised by the Indigenous Forum to celebrate and promote the heritage and folk culture of the British Family of Nations. Any profits will go to a charity for services veterans. It will run from Friday afternoon, through Saturday and Sunday afternoon. People who wish to stay over simply to enjoy the site (and perhaps help out the Clean-Up and Take Down teams on Monday) will be asked to pay an extra £5 per tent/caravan for the Sunday night.
Site opens 12 noon Friday, so we look forward to seeing you and enjoying your company.
Ticket prices: On gate (if space permits) £10/adult, £5 per child for first 2, more and Under-5s free.
It is highly recommended that you book in advance. Guarantee your places and save money with our special offer: £20 total per full family. Book today on 0207 078 3269. Press option 2. Lines open 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Wednesday til 8 p.m. Advance booking closes Thursday 6 p.m.
