Monday Morning Spice: Ferris Wheel

Winter’s fast approaching in UK. Although temperatures started dropping quiet some time back, it’s the Christmas markets that have psychologically heralded in the winter season. Nottingham city centre has many food shops selling burgers and sausages and candies and many different rides – including a couple of merry-go-rounds and an interestingly named ‘North Star swing ride’ with a 60 metres high tower!

As I watched little kids (and some equally excited parents) enjoying these ride, I reminisced about the summer this year. I thought about the Ferris Wheel ride I went on when out at the V-Festival. I thought about how different the world looks from a slightly different altitude. I thought about how beautiful a Ferris Wheel looks in the evening sun..

Ferris Wheel at V-festival

Also, on a slightly related note, Ferris Wheel reminds me of the lovely awesome movie Before Sunrise, in which the lead actors share a beautiful moment on top of a Ferris wheel in Vienna. And there’s a great news on that front – Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke are working to produce the next sequel of the series! Waiting eagerly for it! 🙂

V is for VIP @ V-festival.

‘Look out for the VIP signs‘ – Mike’s dad had said. As we drove onwards towards the car-parking fields, to every fluorescent-coloured jacket wearing steward, we claimed – ‘VIP, VIP‘. ‘Which way to the VIP car park please?‘ With out wristbands and invitation letter in top pocket of our bags, ready to be taken out , we were ready to be checked, verified and plunged into the world of VIP festivalling. But noone asked for any proofs. They just directed us through. We were VIP, of course! – how could we be troubled with such trifle details as proofs of age and entry passes.

So, we walked on. Feeling special. The special few.

Until we reached the camping area. Hundreds and hundreds of tents pitched all over, sitting silently in the dark like brooding gorillas. And this was the state of guest and VIP camping! We didn’t even want to think about the ‘massive brothel’ (in Mike’s words) that was the other ‘Yellow’ camping area, which from miles away, reeked of liquor, hooliganism and absence of clothes, common sense and hygiene. 

I couldn’t help but feel out of place, walking through the narrow path between those uncountable number of tents – which were mostly silent, but some suddenly erupting with loud clamour from campers who had reached a bit before we did and had had the time to gulp down a couple of pints, I’d guess.

As I kept walking with measured slow steps through this sea of tents, Mike noticed the mixture of apprehension, surprise and excitement on my face and joked – ‘Are you feeling like you’ve reached a surreal place?‘. 

‘Not surreal. Just strange. Very strange.‘ 

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I went to V-festival at Chelmsford last weekend with my friends Mike, Ivan and Maryse. This was my first experience of a music festival in England. Oh, by the way, we later found out – we were not really VIP. We were really just ‘Red Camping’. But somehow, by chance and overlooked by the stewards, we had managed to park in VIP carpark and pitched tents in the VIP camping. Oh, well. 🙂

Ivan, Maryse, me and Mike at V-festival. p.s. Thanks for inviting me guys! 🙂