Why? -- If none of this makes any sense, please re-read your Welcome Message, MV2800.
What? -- The annual get-together for Pete Atkin fans, with a special concert from Pete.
When? -- Saturday July 17th 1999, between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. (nominal start and finish times).
Where? -- Dale House Farm, Monyash, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1JJ.
Monyash is a limestone village in the White Peak region of the Derbyshire Dales, lying near the
centre of the rhombus defined by the cities of Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Stoke on Trent.
The nearest towns are Bakewell, 4½ miles to the east, and Buxton, 8 miles north-west.
How to find it? -- Ignore references to "Monyash Festival" and "car park" but otherwise follow:
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Programme? -- It's evolved somewhat since first mooted, but provisionally we have:
| 2.15 - 2.50 | The MV homage band (working title "The Beautiful Changers") - set 1.
| 2.55 - 3.25 | Pete Atkin conducts a workshop on guitar and piano techniques. | 3.25 - 4.10 | Pete performs a unique set of non-Atkin/James songs. Hear him boogie! | 4.15 - 5.15 | Mel Powell chairs a panel discussion on the content, inspiration, | derivation, interpretation and significance of Clive's lyrics. 5.20 - 6.00 | "The Beautiful Changers" - set 2. | 6.00 - 8.00 | Supper break (lyrics discussion continues, if interest warrants). | 8.00 - 11.00 | Pete entertains us with a set of his classics, some seldom-performed songs | requested by members (indeed some never-performed!), plus a few surprises. There will be a 20-minute interval. |
Gates will open at 1 p.m., to give everyone plenty of time for parking and introductions
before the start of the festivities. I've built in 5-minute breaks for stage change-overs.
Some slippage of the afternoon schedule is to be expected, but we should be able to
break for supper by 6.30 at the latest.
Please note there will be an area acoustically remote from the main stage where guests may gather should they not wish to attend all of the listed attractions.
Requests? -- Pete's generous offer to play at least one song from everyone's three requests (see MV2826 as amended by MV2888 (was MV2887)) presents an unprecedented opportunity to have your most obscure favourites performed. Please give him sufficient notice of this -- I suggest you try to post your requests (via MV, not to me) by June 30th at the latest.
Drinks? -- There will be a fully-equipped bar on site. Please do not bring your own drinks -- we have persuaded the licensee to provide the bar despite not meeting his normal minimum-numbers criterion. It's your solemn duty to drink him into profit! For the same reason we do not encourage you to decamp to The Bulls Head or other hostelries. We may also offer tea and coffee on site (to be decided).
Food? -- The Bulls Head in Monyash (half a mile from the site) will be serving meals from 7 p.m., perhaps earlier if there's sufficient demand. Telephone 01629 812372 to reserve your table. The Smithy, (01629 814510) next to the pub, should be open all day serving hot and cold snacks. Or you may bring your own picnic.
Status? -- The Garden Party is a private event - it is open only to Midnight Voices members and their guests, and strictly by invitation in response to an advance booking which must include a minimum donation of £10 per adult to help defray our expenses. Under the terms of the public entertainment licensing laws, if you turn up on the day without an invitation you will not be admitted -- we will have to turn you away.
Size? -- The intention to stage a summer concert was stated last November via Midnight Voices (MV1871); the date was announced on February 1st (MV2227). Due to a very poor response after booking opened on May 2nd (MV2681), we reluctantly closed bookings on June 5th (MV2702) (after three weeks' notice of our intention to do so and a number of reminders (MV2710), since it had become clear that many members hadn't even been reading our announcements), in order to down-size the event from the originally-anticipated 200 to the number of bookings received by that date (67), plus a small margin. We couldn't afford to scale things for a larger number in the possibly misguided hope the others would eventually get around to booking.
Am I too late? -- We closed the guest list on June 5th (see above) due to utter frustration at the dribble of messages we were getting asking "When is it?", "How do I book?" and so on, from members who apparently hadn't even taken the trouble to read the posts we'd been sending out to them over a period of six months. (One even had the nerve to ask us recently to fill him in on details of the event because he "hadn't had time to read the digest"! What does he think we do for a living?)
We realise this cut-off date is unfair to new members, so if you've joined MV on or after June 1st we are prepared to take your booking up to 7 days before the event (i.e. July 10th), safe in the knowledge we'll not be overwhelmed. Members and guests only, £10 per person (under-16s free), cheques payable to "Monyash Festival", at Dale House Farm, Monyash, Bakewell, Derbyshire. DE45 1JJ. Letter with payment only please, we can't accept reservations by e-mail.
Invitations? will be sent out, and guests' cheques cashed, only when we are certain our costs will be covered. Due to bookings being less than 50% of our original estimate, we are currently topping up funds by taking advance orders for a limited edition of CD recordings of the show, see Carole's personal message sent out direct to all members on June 13th. Only if the shortfall is made up by June 28th will the show go on. If it doesn't, we will stand the lost deposits and return your cheques. Any surplus after expenses will go to Pete.
Brent Mason? -- Brent is the Canadian singer/songwriter who received a tremendous reception when he supported Pete at our 1997 show. We planned for him to guest this year too, but his spot was an early casualty of the relative apathy which greeted our announcement of this year's Garden Party.
Field of Dreams? -- This is an unofficial tag many have attached to the Garden Party, although strictly it should be applied only to our Monyash Folk Festival held on this site in August 1997: on the evening of the festival we built a concert for Pete Atkin, and he came. No-one really thought he was dead, or in prison, or sleeping under Hungerford Bridge, yet his appearance was near-miraculous for those of us who were lucky enough to be here. And it was the start of Midnight Voices. Those who attended our concert at Buxton Opera House last September may recall the theme from the film Field of Dreams being played as the audience took their seats.
Accommodation? -- There's a list here of hotels, guest houses, camping and caravan sites, which we generated for the festival in 1997. Most of these details will still be valid. We also circulated a supplementary list in MV2710, with some lesser hotels and a recommended guest house, not included on the festival accommodation page. This is repeated below, augmented by the major hotels (but not guest houses or campsites) from the original list, roughly in order of proximity to the site:
| Sheldon House, (Guest Ho.) Monyash | 01629 813067 | Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Longnor | 01298 83218
| Bulls Head, Monyash | 01629 812372 | Grapes Hotel, Longnor | 01298 83891
| The Plough Inn, Flagg | 01298 85336 | Biggin Hall, Hartington | 01298 84451
| Bull i' th' Thorn Inn, Hurdlow (A515) | 01298 83348 | Charles Cotton Hotel, Hartington | 01298 84229
| Duke of York Inn, Pomeroy (A515) | 01298 83345 | Minton House Hotel, Hartington | 01298 84368
| Lathkill Hotel, Over Haddon | 01629 812501 | Old Hall Hotel, Buxton | 01298 22841
| Ashford Hotel, Ashford in the Water | 01629 812725 | Grosvenor House Hotel, Buxton | 01298 724439
| Rutland Arms, Bakewell | 01629 812812 | Palace Hotel, Buxton | 01298 22001
| Milford House, Bakewell | 01629 812130 | Staden Grange, Buxton | 01298 24965
| Manners Hotel, Bakewell | 01629 812756 | Lee Wood Hotel, Buxton | 01298 23002
| Castle Cliffe, Monsal Head | 01629 640258 | East Lodge Hotel, Rowsley | 01629 734474
| Hassop Hall, Hassop | 01629 640488 | Cavendish Hotel, Baslow | 01246 582311
| The Croft, Great Longstone | 01629 640278 | The Red House, Darley Dale | 01629 734854
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Parking? -- Provided on site at no charge. You will receive a car pass along with your invitation(s).
Camping? -- See list. Also, limited (very basic) facilities on site. Contact Carole to reserve/confirm.
I look forward to seeing you here. It should be a remarkable event.
Steve Birkill
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