oooo what fab viewing... i spent the whole time the festival was open dancing in the various gardens with my fellow dancers from Elliott Clarke School...cant belive its been left to decay...but so glad something is being done at last...who knows we may be able to dance the maypole there again for the opening!!!! some of us can still do the splits and perform the can can!!...suprising but true..
A great memory. I went to the festival with my parents. It is very sad seeing this now, not least because my dad is no longer here. Anything like this reminds me. I remember seeing Western Promise and Black at a free concert, footage of which is on You Tube. I rememberwhere I was stood but cannot make myself out for certain. The neglect of the site is a tragedy and I am surprised the festival only lasted for 6 months. The dereliction of the Japanese water garden is heartbreaking when you consider it was as good as anything outside Japan. The vandalism is not surprising but still disgraceful. I understand the jobs not trees argument although the plan was to provide jobs and housing too. I really enjoyed this programme as a piece of history but it made me sad at the same time to think that all the joy created by the festival evaporated in the decay that followed. Lack of civic pride and failure of politicians to secure the legacy of events like this seems to be a particular problem in the UK. I was 14 at the time of visiting the festival; it both seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago. Thanks for sharing your memory of it.
I was 9 when this was on and begged my mum to go but never went. glad to see something finally being done with the site. I've drove past for years when it was a dump hoping something would be done.
