Sort of Like Iron

Today, being a Bank Holiday, is officially a national day of Not Being Able To Go To The Bank.
So, deprived of the primary source of fun and frivolity in our lives, everyone has to think of other stuff to do.

Here in Ventnor, the locals have overcome an overwhelmingly cynical atmosphere to put together a 'Celebrate Ventnor' festival.
The idea is for there to be many local bands, theatre groups, tug o'war, morris dancing and the like, whilst the townspeople gather around to drink beer and take the piss in the May sunshine.

Now, Ventnor's own The Bees, with their new single entering the Top 40 this week, are suitably highly regarded round these parts. They are planning to headline the day, starting at 7pm, a time by which I, unfortunately, will be well on my way back to Hatfield.

(As an interesting aside, no one has ever mooted a 'Celebrate Hatfield' festival. If they have, they were probably silenced by a cloth dipped in ether seconds later, their car stolen and set fire to in the woods behind the playing fields. In a cheeky, lovable rogues' style, obviously.)

Anyway, I remember discovering 'Sunshine Hit Me', The Bees' first album, in the record library at RaW, my old student radio station, and playing 'This Town' on air. At the time it struck me as a richly poignant and apt song to sum up such a place as Ventnor. I haven't listened to the album in ages and I can't find the lyrics online, but generally, I think the gist of the lyrics was:

La la la la la
It's quite nice here really in the summer
la la la la la la
but it's a bit of a shithole
la la la la la la
there are too many junk shops
la la la la la la
everyone here is dead but no one has told them
la la la la la la-la.

I would pay good money to hear that song sung at a 'Celebrate Ventnor' festival.

But it is raining and everything's been called off.

Honesty: In the interests of accuracy, by the time I left Ventnor the sun was out, and the Esplanade was buzzing with people, music stalls, food stalls and a main stage. It looked really good. This will obviously take some getting used to.