Pinch me... did this all actually happen?

I don't really know where to start with trying to write up Samstock.

A field… a big tent… lights, sounds and lots and lots of lovely friends. That kind of sets the scene, I guess.

I had THE most amazing 24 hours of birthday partying… gorgeous, gorgeous people and lots and lots of fun. It just doesn't get much better than that! I'm glad that everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves, too… although I'm sure no-one had as big a smile on their faces as I did!

It's hard to choose highlights - so many little moments of joy… but the pyjama disco was certainly worthy of an honourable mention!


A few thank yous…

So first things first… Alan-at-Vavoom… you're an absolute superstar for not just letting us (ab)use your land, but for being so accommodating… the marquee, the wall of hay behind us to stop the noise from rolling down the hill, the water, the picnic tables, the electricity… basically we couldn't have wanted for a better set up over at the farm. You're an absolute star.

And then there's Lil'Alex who coordinated the sound and light hire and provided lots of love for the event over the last few months… and then sat in with the lovely Nick Plain (who came up with the name 'Samstock' at a random dinner six months or so ago) and Lee(roy) (who trailed all the way over to Samstock after finishing his set at Charles Street at 3am) to bring us the finest tunes throughout our mini festival. It would have been a very different day without you all!

James - thank you for the cash-and-carry day and for cooking up a storm with Huw on Saturday evening - the burgers and sausages went down a treat and everyone was very grateful... I think it was the last thing most people ate for about 3 days!

Willian - thank you for beautifully decorating lots of faces during the afternoon (some of the kids even had their faces painted too!)... things like that really help make the day special!

Everyone's photos are now drifting onto Facebook and are a joy to behold - but thank's particularly due to the lovely Doug and Simon for ensuring that we got such amazing photos of the whole event (and thanks, too, for the photos that didn't make it up/have since been taken down!).

Bill and your minibus of joy helping cart things to-and-fro and helping get things set up… Carl - and everyone who chipped in for my fantastic bike (aaaaargh - the perfect present!) …everyone for cards and bottles and for just turning up to help me celebrate!

Thank you all! xxxxx