The English concept of up hill and down dale really comes to life when you follow the GPS directions in the south west of England. My trip from Bath to Butlin’s at Minehead for the House of Fun weekender saw me drive on more backroads than motorways, sometimes being relegated to laneways that only just fit the trusty Hyundai, and where on occasion I had to pull over to the side to let other cars pass in the other direction. Even in villages, where there are two lanes each way, you still need to be ready to wait on the side as people just park pretty much anywhere. There are lots of minis and other small cars in this part of the country. While the country lifestyle might lend itself to Landrovers, you wouldn’t be able to make it up many of the roads here.

I decided to take the pitstop on my trip in Glastonbury – home to the infamous yearly music festival, the village is a total hippy enclave – a bit like Byron before the celebrities took over or Nimbin before people started selling you drugs on the street.  I am sure there is money in the region but one of the things about British wealth, particularly in rural settings is it is largely tied up in the renovation of existing ancient buildings rather than the sprawling beach side mansions that have sprawled throughout Byron and its hinterland. And it is a rural village, far from the sea, picked for the initial hippy music festival because of it mystical roots sitting within the region that is home not only to Stonehenge but also the bigger stone circle of Avesbury and the myths and legends related to its own Glastonbury Tor. Also home to the ruins of one of Britain’s earliest Christian churches – the Glastonbury Abbey. I opted not to take the tour of the ruins but I did take a stroll halfway up to the Tor. It was getting late and my last day in Bath I had started getting a cough. I wanted to be able to enjoy the Madness show so I decided to be a bit conservative with my bushwalking, it was pretty muddy and slippery on the way up to the Tor. Yep – I had managed not to get COVID before the concert but I had managed to catch a cold. So annoying. And people look at you like a pariah if you cough these days.

After my little jaunt I wandered back down the main shopping strip in search of a coffee and some lunch. The street was much as you would expect, filled with shops selling hippy wares, festival outfits and cafes. There were of course vegan cafes aplenty and buskers. In a sure sign  that the left and right fringes of our society have become drawn together in one single cause during COVID, there was an anti-vax protest set up at the bottom of town which had a very hippy vibe to it. [Enter Sandman – Metallica – I was introduced to Metallica back in the Master of Puppets days. And while that album is still my fave and satisfies my punk sensibilities, this track, with its great storytelling, riffs and pretty close to orchestral sounds always makes me smile when I hear it. Coincidentally – any changes to COVID restrictions pending, I will be seeing the George Ellis Symphony Orchestra play Metallica at the Canberra Theatre.]

Eventually I found a café that looked busy enough to be good. I ordered a toastie (which came with salad) and a flat white. And here’s the telling question about my coffee – “is that with cow’s milk?” Yes – or as I refer to it, coming from an (extended) dairy farming family – real milk. I am not in any way anti-vegan or vegetarian and am acutely aware that a lot of people have allergies to milk products. But let’s be honest, calling the reduced liquid starch from soaking then grinding soya beans or oats, milk is just a better way to market it than soy juice, soy starch or soy water. It’s not really milk. The sandwich was tasty enough and the coffee was just what I needed.

I thought I would end up at Butlin’s earlier than my allotted 4pm check in slot but as I got closer to Minehead that turned out to be quite a misjudgement. The traffic got much heavier and they all seemed to be going to the same place I was – I think I underestimated quite how many people would attend this event and the level of dedication of some – I was staring to see Madness bumper stickers and other paraphernalia suggesting an unbridled dedication to ska and Madness in particular. The combination of the heavier traffic and roadworks just outside of Minehead (plus the wrong turn I took in one of the towns on the way) meant I arrived about half an hour after my check in rather than an hour before. The drive through check in process described on the website seemed to have been abandoned so it was just drive in and find a parking spot (with no idea where my accommodation was located). I did just that, ready to start my House of Fun Weekender journey.