I should start this post by apologising for a lack of my festival photos but the best way to get feel for it is through Kerry’s reel right here.

It’s fair to say that the day we dropped Chloe off and made our way to the festival, we had a few of those middle-aged moments where we wondered whether our decision to see Supergrass back in October was really such a smart idea after six weeks of travel.  On the day it was all set to kick off, it all seemed like too much effort.

For us, the first day of the Great Estate Festival began with sunshine and a seat on the top deck of the Pimms bus.  It was a quirky festival, a rambunctious fete as they describe themselves and with all the fancy food and drink stalls, I soon realised that any hope of coming in under budget was lost.

We had a little nap on the Friday afternoon, which was an inspired idea to keep ourselves fresh for the evening’s headliners, the Happy Mondays.  The plan worked perfectly and if Bez can dance and shake the marracas with such vigour at sixty-one, then I could do my best to push on through for the weekend.

The sun was shining again on Saturday and we wandered the grounds and caught varied acts like the Double Dollys, opera and local rock bands.  And a day that was full of highlights got better as we went out for dinner. We’d prepaid for a fancy meal back in October all the vibes coming from the staff was nothing short of disorganised shambles but the hundred seat table was perfect for meeting new people, the food was superb and wine was brought to diners.

It was wonderful.

With dinner over we did a deep dive with our plastic cups of Rosé from the posh digs at the estate to the very front of the main stage for Supergrass.  Life would not be the same if it weren’t for music and the set was all I’d hoped for and then some.  Live music is just simply good for the soul.

Even we were surprised to find ourselves still dancing at the silent disco at two thirty in the morning.

Sunday was a bit more of a chilled affair but we justified it because we had an early start to pick up the dog and a lengthy journey from Cornwall to the North of England.

The pace of life hasn’t slowed since we got home, the loads of washing have been endless, the van needed cleaned to get it put up for sale and when we picked up our faithful little car, we found that a red warning was added to the handful of yellow lights we’ve lived with for a couple of years.

We’re back on a campsite as I write this for a weekend family gathering and off to London next week for the cricket at Lords.  Life is busy and as we put the final touches onto our move to Australia, I don’t see it quietening down any time soon.

Thank you everyone who has followed this extended, self-indulgent fiftieth celebration and I’ll do my best to and bring a few updates on our progress over the year.