There have been six Krankenhaus festivals to date and Jen and I are fortunate enough to have been to them all. The capacity has risen from four hundred in 2019 to fifteen hundred these days.
There have been changes in the layout too and this year saw more use of the secondary Glade stage as well as additional food trucks. The catering had been moved to create more covered areas near to the barn and this worked well during the frequent downpours.
The highlights were the two Sea Power sets. The first was a general festival set, with Clari from Mary in the Junkyard guesting on Lovely Day Tomorrow. On the Sunday night Sea Power played Decline in full with former member Eamon making an appearance and reliving his forays into the crowd with a drum. The bear was back too.
Whilst I’d be happy enough even if the line up went no deeper than Sea Power, Mary in the Junkyard, Bill Ryder-Jones and BC Camplight were also well worth seeing.
On the Saturday afternoon I nipped out to watch a game in the fourteenth-tier Furness Premier Division. It was taking place at Wilson Park in Haverigg which is around a twenty-five minute drive from Muncaster Castle. Wilson Park is also the home of Millom Rugby Union Club and has pitches for rugby, football and touring caravans. The park has a great backdrop of some hills. There weren’t any stands, but one corner had a rail that I was able to lean against.
Haverigg have had a mixed start to the season and went into the game in the lower half of the table, whilst visitors Vickerstown sat at the top with three wins and a draw from their opening five fixtures.
As you might expect at this level, there weren’t many spectators. I counted a total of sixteen that watched some part of the game, but most of those paid a fleeting visit, often as part of a dog walk. Only six of us were there to watch the game in full and all apart from me were well-known to the players.
The ref looked well into his sixties, but had a good game. He took no lip from anyone and was quick to highlight that he was more than happy to sin bin anyone questioning his decisions.
Most of the meaningful action took place in the first half. Vickerstown took the lead a quarter of an hour in with a well-placed shot just inside the post. Haverigg levelled five minutes later when a long-range free kick was palmed up in the air by the Vickerstown keeper, only for it to drop behind him into the net.
The biggest talking point, between the players at least, was a Haverigg shot a minute from half-time that hit the underside of the bar and may, or may not, have crossed the line. Like so many of those commenting, I was too far away to have a worthwhile opinion.
With two minutes of the second half remaining a Vickerstown shot was parried by the Haverigg keeper and the rebound was tucked away to clinch the three points. It was hard luck on the home goalie who had kept his side in the game with some top notch saves. That’s how it goes sometimes. I made the short drive back to Muncaster for the teatime sets.
Trail of the Lion King 