WOMAD

...was really fun. It was bigger than I expected and full of world-music goodness, and also some African drumming (which was good, it was nice to confirm my expectations). We saw an Australian singer-songwriter called Lior (sic) who was very cool and from Sydney, so I intend to be #1 fan/groupie when I move there; some fun Cuban and Malian bands; a Sri Lankan puppet show; an Indian sitar player - no, not just a player, a master; lots of other stuff. We also got massages (15 minutes head and shoulder massage for $12, which is about 4 pounds, so we were loving it), ate Spanish food, and managed to meet up with Marie, who is a friend of a friend of Vic and is very nice. She and her boyfriend have moved to Singapore!! (He's got a job teaching English here). So altogether, very good fun, esp. as I got in for only $26 thanks to my misdated student card which is still valid! yay.

There were lots of parents with children sitting around being cool. I want to be a hippy mother who takes the kids to festivals.

However, we let ourselves down by being ridiculously tired by about 11:30 and having to leave and catch the last bus home - we just weren't cool enough for the "groove tunnel" experience that started after midnight. My cousins are very disappointed in us for not staggering in at sunrise.

Incidentally we worked out that the cousin we're staying with is in fact my 2nd cousin once removed - there's a tenuous connection.