Sunday 27 March 2016

I've never been to a 'proper' festival.

I've been to the Godiva Festival which is 3 days/nights of lots of music, lots of food, lots of alcohol, lots of market stalls and either too much sun or too much rain but with no camping or other on site accommodation so it is back to your own bed every night.



You can, if you so wish, find out more information about The Godiva Festival here.  We have Sir Bob and The Boomtown Rats headlining for us this year.  It's a free festival so no entry fees.

I have also been attending the Queen Fan Club Convention every year since 1993.  This is pretty much a festival but indoors and with proper plumbing.  Three days and nights of music, albeit Queen and Queen related, games, market stalls, cough* lots of alcohol *cough but overnight accommodation, depending on the site, is either caravans or chalets, both of which contain proper bathrooms.

I will admit it, I am a snob.  I have camped in the past and will happily do so again once all tents have a fitted private toilet.  I have no need of a proper bed, I don't need a shower, but I do need my own toilet.

But festivals are so expensive to buy tickets for, and that is without accommodation, travel and spending money.  Attending a festival is very much on my bucket list, but I think I need to win the lottery first!






There needs to be more to do in Coventry

Having recently had to take my remaining annual leave in a block (I was off for 14 days in a row, I don't even take that much time off when I DO have plans) I have struggled to find places to visit locally.

We have the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, which is a fantastic space and a beautiful building, but I have never found the exhibits there as fascinating as I do the building they are housed in.


We have the Coventry Transport Museum, which has recently undergone building works and now has a larger floor area to house the exhibits.  As the museum has had free entry for many years now, I used to spend my lunch breaks in there, especially if it was raining, so I will have seen all the exhibits as they were rotated in and out of storage.


We have the Cathedrals, all three of them, but I worked in the new Cathedral for a time, so why pay to visit a place where I have already seen for free a lot of areas that the public don't?

On the outskirts of the city we have Coombe Country Park, great for young children as it has large areas where they can run about, there is pond dipping, holiday activities and play areas.  Not so good for single adults who are a bit too old for climbing frames.

We used to have a zoo and dolphinarium in Coventry, the entrance was guarded by a huge statue of a Zulu, it wasn't the best location for a zoo being pretty much in the city centre, but it was another place to visit.



There are currently works going on in the centre to open up the hidden Sherbourne River, There will be waterfront bars and restaurants so at least the students whom the City Council seem so desperate to hand the city centre over to will be happy.  Frankly I have no interest in getting all the way into and out of the centre to be Billy-No-Mates in the midst of all the beautiful people.

I like aquariums, but that means heading into Birmingham or out to the coast.

I like zoos but that means Dudley or Twycross.

I like big museums but that means London, Manchester or Liverpool.

I like outside spaces with more to do than just walk about, but that means going to places like High Lodge in Norfolk.

I like Ghost Hunts but they are rarely held locally.

I struggle to leave the house when I am not at work, and frankly, there is little around here that is worth leaving the house for.

Do you have interesting things to do where you live?