Merriment at the New Day Festival

In the shot above, you can just about make out both stages at this year's A New Day Festival at Mount Ephraim Gardens near Faversham and Canterbury in Kent.

In the late 1990s/early 2000s, I attended a few of the Canterbury Fayre Festivals at Mount Ephraim Gardens, so I knew the beautiful setting well.

Below, my old friend Phil (right) is enjoying a drink with a lad from Birmingham or Wolverhampton who was down for the first day to see the Martin Barre Band:

They'd just enjoyed listening to humorous, expletive-filled anecdotes during the Jackie Lynton set:

Below, Phil (right again) is with another good old mate, Dave:

Many moons ago, we had an interesting garage band, we sounded something like a cross between The Fall and Hawkwind.

This was the first time Phil and Dave had seen each other in 30 years, and each day, they enjoyed having a few beers in a pub not far from the Festival gate before going inside the Festival itself:

Think that the two shots below of Phil and his friend Linda capture the great spirit at this year's New Day Festival:

Duff McKagan/Shooter Jennings at Warsaw Stodoła 22nd August 2019

My highlight from last week, seeing Duff McKagan and Shooter Jennings at Warsaw Stodoła.

Really like the McKagan/Jennings material, especially 'Feel' and 'Tenderness' which were brilliant live.

Glad I caught the Shooter Jennings opening set, as I enjoyed this just as much, especially 'Leave Those Memories Alone'.

How would I describe the music I saw this evening? Probably as a mix of Country, Bluegrass, Alternative, and light Southern Rock, with a hint of Gospel on top (a wonderful genre mix).

Can still remember seeing Duff McKagan in Guns N Roses at Donington in the late 1980s.

Dunlewey/Dún Lúiche: Sacred Heart Church

Had to have a look at the Sacred Heart Catholic church, as I passed into the Gaeltacht village of Dún Lúiche (Dunlewey):

Found the church incredibly picturesque as it faced Mount Eriggal:

And not being a post-Christian, I found some deeper meaning there:

Uli Jon Roth: A New Day Festival August 4th 2019

One of the main reasons for going to the New Day Festival was to see Uli Jon Roth:

Was a pleasure to hear old Scorpions' classics from the 1970s ('We'll Burn the Sky'; 'In Trance'; 'Pictured Life' etc.), it all reminded me of how much I'd played the great double live album, 'Tokyo Tapes', back in the day.

Also enjoyed other tunes such as 'Indian Dawn' (Electric Sun - seriously underrated band) and 'All Along the Warchtower' (Hendrix), of course.

Nice shot of the band taking well-deserved plaudits below:

Mischievous Mruczek

Here's a few shots of mischievous Mruczek from eastern Poland. Above, he's come round looking for breakfast, while below, he's having an afternoon kip in the gazebo.

And below, he simply looks up to mischief:

Entering Dún Lúíche Village

The road from Crolly to Mount Eriggal was long but pleasant, as, despite being on the road all the time, I followed the path of the river:

And the views became more beautiful, as Mount Eriggal got closer, of course:

Soon after entering the outskirts of the Gaeltacht village of Dún Lúíche, I saw a Catholic church set almost among the hills in the background:

Great Band Busking in Galway City

Really enjoyed this band busking in Galway City in late July, they were fantastic and the crowd loved them.

Have just discovered they're called Galway Street Club.

Focus: A New Day Festival 2nd August 2019

Finally got to see Dutch Prog legends, Focus, at the New Day Festival, near Faversham in Kent. For one reason or another, this band had eluded me over the years.

In basking sunshine, really enjoyed listening to 'Sylvia'; 'Eruption' etc.

Donegal: Setting out for Mount Eriggal

On the bus ride up from Galway to Donegal, the driver had advised me to visit Mount Eriggal on the following day as it was set to be a scorcher.

Not long after setting off from Crolly and passing a small horse, Mount Eriggal became visible in the distance:

During my walk, I passed several deserted dwelling-places:

And the signposts kept me on track:

Leading me closer to Mount Erigall in a sweltering 30 degrees celsius (ended up getting a big suntan):

Zal Cleminson's Sin Dogs: A New Day Festival 2nd August 2019

Zal Cleminson's Sin Dogs were one of the main reasons I went to this year's A New Day Festival, and they didn't disappoint.

Cleminson and his bandmates produced a wonderful balance of SAHB tunes and their own material, my favourite songs of the day being the SAHB classic, 'Isobel Goude', and 'Evolution Road' (what a cracking tune this is).

Just before seeing Zal Cleminson, we caught the last tune of Kangaroo Moon and wished we'd arrived earlier to have seen more:
 

Crolly, Gweedore: The River and Leo's Tavern

Just back from four weeks of travelling, first taking in Crolly in Gweedore, Donegal, where I stayed on a campsite a couple of hundred metres away from Leo's Tavern, the Clannad pub:

The helpful couple who ran the campsite advised me to have a look at the river nearby:

Which I'm glad I did.

It offered an uplift each morning as I made my way round to a Spar for breakfast, usually a sausage and salad roll.