Lambeth Country show - now run by the Council

[Bob]

There was something in the SLP this week about people complaining about increased charges for the fair - can't remember if it was just voluntary organisations though.

 

[Dan U]

if the Owl's aren't there i will be a sad panda

 

[William of Walworth]

Is anything more known about whether the main stage with reggae acts will still be there?

I can't make the LCS this year , but I am interested for future reference and because friends will be going ...

I may have to recruit a helpful local person to buy me some Chucklehead cider to store up for our trips to two festivals subsequent weekends... rewards will be offered!

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Incidenally, tt hasn't always been reggae on the main stage - they had hip-hop one year with Tim Westwood who got shot on the way home. The next year they changed it to reggae as the vibes were bound to be more peaceful, which makes sense.

That wasn't the Country Show. You've got your events muddled.
eta. It was an event in Brockwell Park though.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Mmm controversy about that last post of mine...some say it was country show, others say no, it was a hip-hop event with fireworks. My daughter wonders whether he's been shot twice and that might be where the confusion lies......

 

[lang rabbie]

It was the Sunday of the 1999 Country Show...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/1999/nov/07/featuresreview.review

... which oddly enough, I thought had less trouble from gangs than events in some previous and later years - possibly because Radio 1 had their own additional security around the main stage at Brockwell Park.

 

[mccliche]

only about 6 weeks away now

anyone heard anything about what music atcs they got on the go...or anything else?

website says nothing atm

 

[Bob]

I'm bringing my 89 year old granny to the show this year.

So if any of you see us remember to offer her a large G&T.

 

[honto]

I got my booklet of flower show regulations and schedule today.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

what about the alternative vegetable sculpture competition - I want to get practising

 

[Mr Moose]

It has everything to do with Lambeth in as such as it's packed out every year and a great success.

It's a great day out. Kids get to see farm animals close up, learn about country stuff, see owls, get excited by steam engines, watch bonkers medieval battles and see young boys and girls blasting around on motorbikes. And it may be inner-city Lambeth but guess what? People still grow vegetables, bake cakes and grow flowers.
Worst. idea. ever. Exactly what would you change? And exactly what would 'represent' Brixton?

It's one of the best weekend events in London by miles, it's crazy mix of old, new and rural is loved by Lambeth residents young and old, so why fuck about with it just to make it contemporary?

(I'm all for more local stuff/stalls/cafes, mind, although it's hardly over run with big brand corporates, is it?)

Completely agree - its the eclectic mix that makes it such a bonkers treat.

TBH if you want the kidz to hear some hip hop then there's no shortage of opportunities, but when else will they get to hear the Sheringham Shanty Men, or watch a joust?

 

[Mr Moose]

This tells me that a voluntary sector stall now costs £72 for the weekend

How much was it before then?

 

[lang rabbie]

How much was it before then?

In 2007 it was £42 for "bona fide Lambeth groups" for a 12ft x 15ft pitch.

Source

 

[knatchbull]

There was something in the SLP this week about people complaining about increased charges for the fair - can't remember if it was just voluntary organisations though.

Speaking to a friend the other day I got the impression it seems to be less organised so far and more expensive and whatsmore she said that all the voluntary groups are going to be in a marquee rather than each having a separate space - she fears that the group shes involved with wont get as many visitors as people will consciously have to go into the marquee rather than aimlessly wonder by and on a sunny day people wont bother. Shes also concerned that she wont have the opportunity to get a tan if they're all in the marquee!

 

[DJWrongspeed]

? I'm not sure what needs changing, the fact that it's a great success is the most important thing surely, for the council & borough in genereal

The music programming is a bit weird but then Lambeth is so culturally diverse it'd be hard to find something everyone agrees on. The youth stage last year was a well lively little place to have all that MCing as a complement to the Village Green music.

 

[wurlycurly]

What a ridiculous, inappropriate and truly irrelevant comparison.
It's a couple of days when the people of Brixton all get together to enjoy a unique event.

t's fun. It's family friendly. No-one's shoving anything in your face. People are chilled and it feels welcoming to all. The vibe there is fantastic and most Brixtonites I know are thoroughly proud of the country show.

There's always small improvements that can be made, but the last thing it needs is someone like you trying to 'modernise' it by forcing the show to fit your oh-so-worthy world view or fiddling about with things to somehow reflect "contemporary Lambeth" whatever the fuck that is. It would be shit. It doesn't need to reflect anything.

Spot-on. The country show is easily my favourite two days of the year and Steve Indigenou's half-baked 'modernisation' plan would totally spoil it. Take away the poor overheated owls and the army and it would be puyfect.

 

[teuchter]

I think the whole concept is flawed - out of date, mostly irrelevant to contemporary Lambeth and the money could be spent doing something much better and representative but at the same time still preserve the 'local' element. Keep the best bits, bin the rest.

The LCS is one of the best things in Brixton, as far as I am concerned, and pretty much everyone I've ever spoken to who has been to it, agrees.

I don't think you understand that the fact that it's a bit "out of date" is one of its main appeals. Many of the free festivals that are put on around London and other places during the summer can seem to feel rather the same, as if they all spring pretty much from the same formula. The fact that the LCS is a bit anachronistic and eccentric is exactly what makes it good. To try and bring it "up to date" would almost certainly mean it would lose its distinctiveness.

Also I don't really understand what you mean by "representative" - what should it "represent", and more to the point, why? It's not like it's a promotional fair run by the Lambeth Tourist Board to showcase what usually goes on in Lambeth. As I understand, and as others have mentioned, the idea is partly to bring stuff to Lambeth that a lot of people living here wouldn't usually see, whether that's owls or sheep shearing or steam tractors.

Your points about it not exactly being representative of the modern British countryside these days do have some merit, and I can't argue with that. But does it really need to be? Can't it just be a bit of fun in the middle of summer? Trying to turn it into some educational event about factory farming or supermarket economics would change the atmosphere, and I don't think it's the right place for that. Not that I don't think city kids should be educated about where their food comes from, and so forth, but I think this would be better dealt with at another time and place.

If Lambeth council need badgering to change stuff, it should be their attitude to allowing events in Brockwell Park in general. We ought to have several things going on there each summer, like we used to.

 

[Sunray]

Its great.

It reminds me of country fairs I went to when I was a kid.

Its missing all the Farm Machinery and animal husbandry stalls though. Not sure there would be a lot of call for an industrial muck spreader in Lambeth.

Have they every had the caterpillar display team? Those dinky diggers are brill.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

will there still be cider?

 

[dogmatique]

Thar'll be Chuckle'ead a plenty moi luvverly...

 

[William of Walworth]

Bump!

I've already put in my Zider-order even though sadly I can't make it to the Show this year

I think there was earlier talk in this thread** of them getting rid of the reggae stage this year. I may have missed something, but has this been confirmed or not? Great shame if so ...

**ETA : Including by me back in April, see previous page, but I posted that in response to a rumour posted earlier. Would be reggae-listeners at the Show need to know though!

 

[tarannau]

Not heard anything about the closure of the main stage.

Which is good, as the line-up dropped through the mailbox this morning, with an 8 page Country Show special in freesheet Lambeth Life

The Thirst, Thabani and Omar on Saturday. And Dubcats/U Brown, Natty and Alton Ellis on Sunday

 

[mccliche]

if they left out the reggae/main stage it would be ridiculous....seriously

it is one of the main draws for me and i'm sure loadsa other people juding by how many people are always sat down on the grass come the last few hours...and tbh the whole day

glad they didn't sack it off then

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I think the suggestion was that it wasn't going to be a 'reggae' stage any more, not that there wouldn't be a main stage.

 

[clandestino]

The LCS is one of the best things in Brixton, as far as I am concerned, and pretty much everyone I've ever spoken to who has been to it, agrees.

I don't think you understand that the fact that it's a bit "out of date" is one of its main appeals. Many of the free festivals that are put on around London and other places during the summer can seem to feel rather the same, as if they all spring pretty much from the same formula. The fact that the LCS is a bit anachronistic and eccentric is exactly what makes it good. To try and bring it "up to date" would almost certainly mean it would lose its distinctiveness.

Also I don't really understand what you mean by "representative" - what should it "represent", and more to the point, why? It's not like it's a promotional fair run by the Lambeth Tourist Board to showcase what usually goes on in Lambeth. As I understand, and as others have mentioned, the idea is partly to bring stuff to Lambeth that a lot of people living here wouldn't usually see, whether that's owls or sheep shearing or steam tractors.

Your points about it not exactly being representative of the modern British countryside these days do have some merit, and I can't argue with that. But does it really need to be? Can't it just be a bit of fun in the middle of summer? Trying to turn it into some educational event about factory farming or supermarket economics would change the atmosphere, and I don't think it's the right place for that. Not that I don't think city kids should be educated about where their food comes from, and so forth, but I think this would be better dealt with at another time and place.

If Lambeth council need badgering to change stuff, it should be their attitude to allowing events in Brockwell Park in general. We ought to have several things going on there each summer, like we used to.

Excellent post!

 

[Bob]

As far as I can see from the Lambeth Life that came through my door today there's only one music stage, instead of the two previously. So maybe this is where the rumours are coming from? The Alton Ellis etc. are still listed so maybe we've lost the smaller one.

Alternatively I've just misread it.

 

[William of Walworth]

Cheers for the clarification folks -- I was seriously out of date by the look of it

 

[Badger Kitten]

Who fancies it? 19 and 20 July

I am going with Mr BK and 2 other urbanites, will be my first one so what do I have to look forward to?

hope the weather holds

 

[Miss-Shelf]

have I missed the alternative vegetable sculpture thread?

last year I met my man through this and we want to get all sentimental and make a joint sculpture