Endorset: Grass roots in a field

Arriving at Endorse It In Dorset, stressed out after a 50-mile journey that took more than three hours, I was relieved to be exchanging obscenely-gesturing white van men for hippies in campervans, asphalt for green fields, and Jon’s relentless Sixties compilation on the car stereo for some decent live music.

In fact, the magic of Endorset (as it’s known) worked on me immediately. I know I sound like a hippy myself, but I really did feel the festy spirit take over as I took in the surroundings and the stresses simply floated away. The mood was mellow, the sun was shining and the Strummerville campfire was still smouldering from the night before. It felt like home.

Incidentally and simultaneously: a couple of hundred miles to the North, some punky friends of mine were attending Rebellion, an indoor punk festival in Blackpool, where you have to find your own B&B and you are lucky to see the light of day over the course of the weekend. I can’t think of anything more hideous in August – give or take a few heavy showers, I’d prefer to enjoy my punk in a field with this crowd anytime.

Why does Endorset give off such an excellent vibe? The size, for one thing. Less than 5000 people are on site, and everything is within a few minutes walk, although there’s still plenty to take in and lots of music going on at any given time. The music certainly helps – heavy on the punk, ska, and rockabilly – and with a crowd to match, this was an all-ages fest down memory lane like the 21st century never happened.

The current millennium was evident in force though, in the shape of hundreds of face-painted festival tykes - primary school kids and younger - off the leash for the holidays and enjoying a pirate ship of their own and the opportunity for after-dark light saber battles with new-found friends. Their parents, and in many cases grandparents, could keep one eye on them and the other on the bands playing in nearby marquees (that explains why there were so many cross-eyed people about).

Our kids wanted to head straight for the kids’ area (naturally) and seemed more than happy with the basic entertainments on offer at the time – a pirate ship climbing frame that looked a bit dangerous but proved a magnet for all the school-age wannabe pirates, an empty circus tent that was turned into a Star Wars-style rebel base for a couple of hours while we relaxed with some other parents from our local school in Winchester, and a couple of snug tipis filled with all the toys a toddler could ever want. There was a ball pool, but most of the balls had been chucked around the area as fast as parents could refill it.  A small plastic slide and rickety playhouse also saw a lot of use, and there were the usual face painters, a trampoline and a wicker workshop yurt that we didn’t venture into, our children being more of the action sort. We did catch one organised activity – a Brainiac style science demonstration involving a large bottle of cheap cola and a mint imperial. As expected, the ensuing volcanic eruption raised squeals of delight among the small crowd, but unexpectedly, the bottle was then passed round the throng, and the children indulged in minty cola-y refreshment with gusto.

Our seven year old was desperate to assert some level of independence, and as the evening wore on, declared that he wanted a drink of the “best milk I’ve ever had” from a coffee stall we’d visited earlier – right across the other side of the site. I had my hands full with his little brother at the time, so, at his insistence, gave him a pound and let him go for the milk himself. There are festivals where I would most definitely NOT let a seven year-old out of my sight, but this wasn’t one of them.

When he returned five minutes later, empty-handed, I feared the worst. “Drunk it already Mama!” he replied, beaming. And he’d only been charged 15p more than I’d been charged for his earlier drink…

Later, we gave the tented stages a miss to check out an area I’d heard about but not yet seen, called “Pixie Chill”. It was accessed through a narrow passageway at between the arena and the entrance to the camping field, and after dark it was a very magical experience. Picture a circle of yurts (they might have been tipis, my memory fails me now), ambient piped music, UV light and several people with pixie ears twirling lit pois and neon juggling clubs in the centre. There was a little cafe, again staffed by a team of pixies, and I indulged in a brandy hot chocolate (it was getting a bit chilly outside). They also seemed to be doing a roaring trade in latex pixie ears at £4 a pair.

The most surprising thing about our experience (and indeed one of the most unexpected turns to our festival-going as a family) took place in one of the tents in Pixie Chill. A little boy was playing a game of chess with his dad. My son was totally enraptured by this game and was desperate to have a go himself. I felt bad that as a parent, I’d never tought him chess (or really learned the game myself), but he seemed to pick it up straight away. I needed to go and find our photographer at the mainstage to tell him where we’d moved to, and again, I was happy to leave the boy with strict instructions not to leave the tent.

A few minutes later, I returned to see him dutifully sat cross-legged at the chess table, this time playing with a five year old who also appeared to be learning as he went along…. both boys were absolutely into the game, even though they were chatting about ‘prawns’ instead of ’pawns’, and both seemed desperate to win. I don’t remember who ultimately came up trumps, but I have had constant requests for a chess set ever since. Makes a nice change from light sabers and bubble guns!

I have almost got to the end of this review without really mentioning the music… in all honesty I didn’t see very much. I caught half a dozen of the Damned’s greatest hits on the Desmond Dekker stage, and thoroughly enjoyed them as usual, and was pleasantly surprised that I could get right to the crash barrier without being mashed or pogoed on. Earlier, Pronghorn supplied outstanding cowpunk, loads of them onstage at one time, including teenagers and toddlers dancing and playing along. Other bands of interest were the old skool punk rock of the Peeping Toms and the dancealong new wave covers of Fat Drunk & Stupid. We missed Eat Static and the Subhumans on Friday night but heard rave reviews. Sunday night’s “surprise” special guests were Dreadzone with their sound system – great festival fare but hardly an earth shattering coup.

But Endorset isn’t about big names and special guests – it’s still got the feel of a DIY festival, rough at the edges, with no bullshit or corporate sponsorship, a brilliant atmosphere and very beloved by many. We have already circled the dates in our diary for the 2011 festival – you can too as Earlybird tickets are now available for a limited time.

More info: Endorse It In Dorset website