Jodrell Bank Observatory
20th July 2019
£59.75

At the time of this show I'd attended zero concerts in 2019, yet as a festival review takes longer to write - and as this event was immediately followed by an incredibly busy extended weekend taking in four cathedrals - I just continually got sidetracked and never bothered to write up any notes. Any time I put aside to write this up I ended up doing something else, astonishingly managing to write up reviews for all seven of my 2019 concerts before any attempt to complete this. Similarly for my brief visit to the free WV1 Festival in 2018 I hadn't written up my notes for three months, and as this was a more involved event it has taken me a stonking six months to write this up, in the quiet days of January 2020! Certainly the fact I hadn't had time to make any proper notes has held me back, and I'm pretty much relying on my photos and videos for memory, in fact making me realise that the memories I retain only through my camera have partly replaced the purpose of these in-depth reviews, although I still feel that the process of writing them up and reflecting on the show enhances my enjoyment and ensures the memory stays with me for far longer. I'd never been to Jodrell Bank before, and I also thought I'd never be seeing Kraftwerk again after their near-perfect show at Birmingham Symphony Hall. There certainly was no need for me to go back for more, but I thought that the entire festival seemed a very pleasant idea, and also that it would be silly to turn down the chance to re-watch Germany's Beatles.

I'd also really enjoyed Wolfgang Flür's show in Birmingham, and if something that obscure can be a worthwhile day out, seeing the official band again was a no brainer! I got tickets immediately and I think that they sold out extremely fast, and I don't recall wasting much breath trying to recruit anyone, as encountering naysaying while trying to get someone along to pretty much the greatest experience of my life is too soul destroying. I believe I put a general feeler out on Facebook, but typically was ignored by the idiotic people I'm sometimes ashamed to call friends. I suspect I listened to much Kraftwerk to prepare for the moment, and on both the nights before the show and that very morning I was sorting out photos taken in the Netherlands and also went swimming twice, not letting this large show distract from my routine. I'd made it through the long winter period with embarrassingly little progress on sorting my photos out and watching TV, and given that I'd be away from home for three nights I wanted to have a breather first. I'd extended the weekend to take a lovely trip across the Peak District, before finally crossing Sheffield off my list, with a side helping of Rotherham thrown in as it was far more economical to stay in the smaller town. Also I had the freedom from driving down and suspect it would have been very difficult to attend this festival any other way, although I encountered a really bad rain shower on the motorway while travelling, but luckily it was otherwise pretty dry!

I got tickets for just the Saturday of this three day festival, and when the proper day split was announced I was sad to see that Gruff Rhys was on the Sunday, and also it would have been nice to see the other headliners Hot Chip and New Order. Jarvis Cocker was a so-so support act to Kraftwerk, and it's unusual that amid such wonderful headliners that the quality of popular music didn't filter very far down the line-up. This is kind of nice though as it gives more time for wandering and took the pressure off me to arrive early, and I certainly wasn't interested in arriving when the gates opened at 9am, and even less so by the prospect of camping. Given how muddy it turned out to be I fear camping would have been horrible! I think my delay was mainly because the hotel had a very late check-in time of 3pm or so, and that it seemed a waste of my time to arrive early and then not to be able to leave my things in the room, get my key and wander off to enjoy my day. I patted myself on the back for immediately ordering one night in a refundable hotel within short driving distance, which I thought of as being in Knutsford but in reality was in a tiny village called Marthall. There was a church nearby too but I missed the turning for it and couldn't figure out how to walk there easily, so after finding a member of staff I quickly checked in. I briefly got moaned at for parking my car too near the residential house but as I didn't have to wait to check-in I felt absolutely stoked, as it was a pleasant large room, albeit embarrassingly big as I had two single beds, but I felt some satisfaction in thinking that I'd have happily driven someone there and shared a room, and if people are too stupid to join me on such a glorious adventure then they are too dumb to deserve the experience.

The hotel felt like the Bates Motel, with a wide array of little rooms laid out in a residential/bungalow manner in a very pretty and quiet area adjoining a farm, but I had no intention of hanging around long, and I was just pleased with my trick of booking a refundable hotel at the first possible opportunity so I could enjoy a show in comfort. Along with a pretty admission ticket I'd also got a hanger to display in my car, which I waved to get admission to the site, and as there weren't any clear instructions I just left it on my dashboard. It was a really short drive to Jodrell Bank from my hotel and it wasn't hard to see, and most impressively the roads weren't clogged like they usually are at festivals, which is either a testament to my nicely timed arrival, or by virtue of excellent organisation and perhaps the smaller capacity, which I've just read was 21,000 people. I was using my sat nav to arrive and missed the red gate I was looking for, luckily encountering no major drama to turn around to gain access. It was also very easy to park and the car park was basically a field which was in reasonable state, although I did change my footwear after correctly anticipating that there'd be mud, feeling completely vindicated once I started walking towards the site and saw just how muddy everywhere was! It was still only 3pm so I wasn't in a particular hurry, and by the aid of temporary traffic lights to cross the main road and helpful stewards I reached the next area, which was a pleasant woodland path. At the end of this I walked alongside another car park which was in a far worse state, with one or two cars seemingly abandoned in the mud.

Fortunately there was a path covered in hard plastic to protect us from the worst of it, and as I approached it was impossible not to see Jodrell Bank, and the efficient organisation continued with no queue or hassle at the entrance, as I was presented with a pink fabric wristband joined together by a wooden toggle, which I quickly tightened only to realise that you couldn't then loosen it again! In the centre of the wristband was a plastic tab with a blue dot in it, and it was explained to me that this could be topped up and used to buy things, and that this was a cashless site! Now I'd read something about this but I thought it was just an option I could ignore and I didn't realise it was so forceful, and I felt rather annoyed as I'd filled my pockets with cash to avoid being caught short at the festival, and now I'd have to guard my money as it served no purpose. Most annoying! In actual fact it felt like the entire Bluedot concept was largely based around this contactless wristband system, and I don't think they'd made this very clear, and to me it was just a silly gimmick. Why not just accept regular contactless and be done with it? The first thing of note I saw inside was the Museum Of The Moon, which I've seen in several places but never outside before. In the bright sunlight it just looked like a cheap inflatable, slightly deformed by the slight bulges that it was hung up by. I'm not sure if the more permanent Moon installations are also inflatable, but this felt very low budget.

It was one of the main things I wanted to see crossed off my list though, and I then passed a small wooden pyramid which was sponsored by the Arts Council, which served no purpose but gave the site some class and culture, and something pretty for me to photograph. After this was what looked to be a hippie commune, with tents, a spa, meditation area and even a Buddha in the centre of a tent. Also there were phone charging stations - which must come in very useful if you are camping - plus some tents representing causes such as Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion. Extinction Rebellion no doubt are well-intentioned, but once their protests started to cause disruption I just thought what dickheads they were, as people are so inclined to ignore and ridicule climate change protesters already, and causing massive inconvenience is the worst possible way to behave. It's not rocket science - massive scale, positive, peaceful and non-disruptive protests are the way to go! Although it's interesting to see how activists such as Greta Thunberg attract such hatred and mockery, demonstrating a sad win for the negativity of the right-wing media who do this to undermine her arguments. Yes you could argue she is annoying, and yes we certainly shouldn't just blindly accept anything we are told, but it's pretty hard to deny that there are serious problems with the world, and the number of people who jump on the bandwagon to mock and ridicule people who are passionate about it is shameful, and a clear product of small-mindedness and negativity, stirred up by a hateful press.

The layout of the site was perhaps long-winded, requiring me to walk around the large telescope, although there could have been a shortcut which I didn't find! Nevertheless I welcomed the opportunity to see the amazing Jodrell Bank Observatory from all angles, although it was sad that it was completely fenced-off and I do wonder if access is possible if I'd visited on a normal sightseeing day? It also made me wonder if the crowds and loud music could damage the telescope or prevent it from working during the event, but I'd really like to think that the organisers had taken this into account beforehand. The site was impressive and there were also surrounding buildings with smaller telescopes attached, all of which was fenced off. Making us walk around the site helped to disperse the crowd nicely and encouraged us to explore all that was on offer, both permanent and temporary attractions. Perhaps the largest attraction was the Discovery Centre, which wasn't as busy or as muddy as I feared, but it was a small exhibition and I wondered again just how much there actually was to see here on a normal day? After the rain shower on my journey in it was nice that the sun had come out, although the concrete paths in the permanent areas were very helpful in keeping the masses of mud at bay. I admired how the telescope was mounted on rails to enable it to rotate, and also how it looked more impressive the further I walked around it, and the entire Bluedot Festival site felt safe and uncrowded, with a pleasant and positive vibe.

There was certainly plenty to see, including food stores, a Mars lander you could presumably control remotely, and a random inflatable telescope, and it's only thanks to the masses of photos I took that I am able to fill in these details! I walked past a small stage not even seeing what was happening there, making a difference from my usual festival reviews where I am able to meticulously document every act I'd seen. There also was a large Mission Control Exhibition in a tent full of exhibits and scientists, but I just took a few pictures and had the quickest of a look around as I didn't want to get roped into any long-winded explanations of the gadgets. One of the unusual things I've learned on my travels is that retaining information is near-impossible, so the photos are what matter as these form the memories, and anything I learn (unless it's exceptionally interesting) is usually unwanted information, and I do so hate being tricked into guided tours, as does happen from time to time. I then got my first glimpse of a very large tent with multiple interconnected modules, which was called Qodlumin Luminarium. I was delighted to see that it was an immersive light sculpture that you could go inside and appreciate, and surprised that the entire thing was completely deflated in the evening! I also passed a large tent full of seats with some horrendous mud around it, but as no-one was performing I just took some pics of the cool spacesuit and things on the stage, before quickly moving on.

I'd struggled to find much information for set times and so forth so was frustrated to see that Dallas Campbell had done a talk at 11am and Liz Bonnin at 2pm, which was ridiculously early as I thought they'd be the headliners on this conversational/lecture stage. It seemed that the sequencing was specifically designed to cram those big names earlier in the day so that the punters could focus on music later on, and it would have been nice to see these stars of TV science, although it wasn't hard to remember that Kraftwerk were far and away my priority for the day. Also it wasn't until the last minute that I discovered that Knightmare Live - a stage show recreating the second best TV show of all time (after Lost) - was on at 8pm, which was far too late as I wanted to be in position for Kraftwerk long before then! I never even got to find out what tent Knightmare Live was in, but luckily as I'd seen this show several times before I wasn't too upset to miss out. I'm also surprised to now read that 808 State were listed under my day, so I guess that they also were performing at an inconvenient time? I then passed a BBC stage, which was just a caravan with a few deckchairs and no action at all, and I passed a fancy vodka bar also. As I'd clocked that it was something I didn't want to miss out on I went back to Qodlumin Luminarium to join the queue, which didn't take quite as long as it could have done, understandably needing to remove my ludicrously muddy shoes to gain access. I can't imagine the nightmare if some fucker went and nicked my footwear! It was beautiful and relaxing inside, with some hippies lazing around and blocking some photos, plus a random couple in the centre doing some gymnastics.

The variations of light and design was lovely, and I could definitely see the Islamic influence in the design that had been referenced in the blurb outside. It was a smart move to restrict the numbers inside, and even the children running around couldn't stop me from grabbing some very nice photos of the areas. Once I thought I'd explored it all I headed back outside, joining the moderately long queue for craft beer that I'd resisted earlier. I think I chose Lagunitas, which is an excellent beer, and was presented with a strong plastic cup, which was so attractive that I carefully stowed it in my upper coat pocket and took it home. When I got a second pint I accidentally asked for a second cup, although it had a different design and perhaps the greater strength of two cups stacked together enabled me to get them home in one piece? After all this time I was still walking towards the main stage, past a ludicrously muddy section near a line of portaloos, struggling to find some grassy bits to the side I could walk on to avoid the worst of the quagmire. I knew I wanted to eat and once I saw a stall selling Argentine steaks I figured this was the one for me, and I got a Milanesa (breaded beef steak) and chips, which was pretty decent but obviously couldn't be as glorious as it would have been in a restaurant. I then caught my first glimpse of the main stage and KOKOKO! were on, all wearing fetching matching yellow jumpsuits, and it was now 5:15pm and towards the end of their set. I can't say I was listening though, I had no knowledge of them and was still happily exploring the site.

I am only able to recall stage timings as I took a picture of my running order that I'd printed at work the day before, and there was still plenty of space to move around, and some people had even chosen to bring inflatables with them. The view of the main stage was wonderful, with the telescope peaking up to our left, but the mud was annoying and made me wonder why they didn't just sawdust or cover the ground and sort that shit out? They must have known this would happen, so why didn't they take pro-active steps to solve the problem? I passed the Deep Space Disco stage which had some random hippies onstage, including a guy who looked like Roy Wood with a lady wearing a silver spacesuit and with yellow hair. I also glimpsed an indoor stage and took a couple of pics of a guy wearing a black cap and with pictures of clouds on his t-shirt, but I don't even remember now if he was an artist or just a roadie! To use the unwanted Bluedot payment method I'd had to go online and top up my wristband, and as I fancied a second pint and some loaded Cajun chips I needed to increase my balance again. I was getting rather pissed off to see that the top up tents which were supposedly all around the site were unmanned, and I struggled to do it on my phone due to lack of internet connection. And once I finally topped up the fucking thing didn't even work, and it was only at this point that I was told that I can use cash anyway! For fucks sake guys, drop this shitty gimmick and use contactless, and leave the option of cash there for anyone who likes to have the CHOICE! After this drama though the loaded Cajun chips were delicious if unnecessary, but I was conscious that I probably wouldn't be eating again and would be standing up for a good few hours more, and so I was keen to fill myself up.

I got into a proper position in front of the main stage for my first proper viewing of the day, Omar Souleyman, who was performing from 5:55pm to 6:35pm. I have no idea who he was but he showed up wearing black Islamic clothes and a headdress and performed interesting electronic music, perhaps a little like Iranian Europop if such a thing existed! For the most part the backdrop was dark but graced with swirling patterns, but it later moved to feature some space effects. I enjoyed Omar but he was ludicrously obscure for the third headliner. I shot three videos, capturing people dancing, some vocals and some great-sounding tunes, and if I'd been further to the front and had some knowledge of his music I could have absolutely loved this! I saw a head on a stick which was no doubt in tribute to the Kraftwerk Robots, and after Omar Souleyman finished was some footage of the Moon landings, which were literally happening fifty years ago to this day, and it felt great to be at such an important site for British astronomy on this occasion. Next up though was Jarvis Cocker, who was introducing himself as JARV IS, and I've made a note that Heart Of Glass was played at some point before he appeared. The band took to the stage and started playing a cool instrumental that turned out to be a very old Pulp song called Space, and we could hear some vocals and wondered where Jarvis was. I couldn't help noticing people turning around so I turned myself only to see the man Jarvis himself - he was actually walking through the middle of the crowd to the stage, mic in hand and performing as he went!

I shot a few photos of this astonishing interactive moment and gave Jarv an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He was wearing a cool suit and his darkened large specs, still looking every inch the Britpop icon of old. Evolve was being flashed on the screen as Jarvis clambered onstage, and the show started for real! I shot a first video at the end of Space, as Jarvis introduced himself to the "people of Jodrell"! It is sad that I never saw Pulp playing properly (and even more so that at Leeds 2000 they'd disgustingly not played Disco 2000, and perhaps even more disgustingly I hadn't prioritised watching them in any case!) But Jarvis was a wonder to behold, engaging in witty banter, lots of dancing, posing and hand gestures, plus standing seductively with his legs apart at points. Sometimes he picked up a guitar too, in particular during Must I Evolve?, which is a totally stonking tune that had been played on repeat via 6Music. He compared The Moon to Sheffield, saying that neither had any atmosphere, but our Jarvis was clearly joking, and it felt pretty special to be seeing one of the greatest ambassadors of the city shortly before I'd be finally visiting there myself. I shot a second video during the intro of Evolve, firstly with the quiet introduction and backing vocals of "yes yes yes yes", as the song gradually built up. I nicely zoomed in on Jarvis, then out again to admire the telescope before zooming back in again and cutting it off just before the song really got going. Strangely most of the vocals came out muffled on my video footage, which was a shame because the sound quality seemed excellent on the day!

I didn't know most of the tunes, not even Pulp's His 'N' Hers, although I shot a video here and it certainly seemed to be a catchy number that I really should seek out! The set finished perhaps inevitably with the epic Cunts Are Still Running The World, as I shot another video featuring static on the video screen and some slow-burning power as it built up to the chorus. I'd first heard the tune introduced by Jarvis emerging from a shed on a video screen at Reading 2006, and months after this show it regained prominence amid a completely failed campaign to get it to Christmas Number One. It's sad that despite all the fuss and promise that it didn't even dent the Top 40, and I can't quite fathom that there were forty more tunes that people went out and purchased in greater quantity! Jarvis rightfully pointed out before playing it that cunts were most certainly still running the world, although given that this song was released at a time when Tony Blair was in power and things were generally much brighter, I hope very much that the tune was aimed at George W Bush in America, rather than being yet another lefty whinging about our most successful leader in history. I've read that Jarvis's Mum is a Tory councillor, so there must be a fun atmosphere in his house! I certainly would have appreciated some more Pulp songs, but I was here to watch Kraftwerk, and I hadn't expected Jarvis to play anything from his former band in any case. I was delighted to hear Cunts and Evolve, and JARV IS proffered a pleasing build-up to the event that had motivated me to travel up north - Kraftwerk!

SETLIST

Space/Further Complications/Children Of The Echo/Must I Evolve?/House Music/Homewrecker!/Am I Missing Something?/His 'N' Hers/Cunts Are Still Running The World

The video screen declared that Kraftwerk 3D were next, and there was also some more footage from the Moon landing, but I had a long 75-minute wait before Kraftwerk, who of course arrived with typical German efficiency at the promised time of 9:20pm for their 90-minute set. I had wondered for a while how to get hold of 3D glasses and saw some people had magically procured them, but I'm still absolutely none the wiser, and something so essential should have been clearly publicised, or surely stewards should have walked through the crowd to give out thousands of pairs, or just given them out upon arrival? I'd already got the beautifully presented Kraftwerk 3D specs and luckily a guy whose friend hadn't bothered showing up to our nice position in the middle of the crowd gave me his spare pair, which weren't branded but seemed reasonable quality. I was happy to stay a bit back so I could see the Jodrell Bank telescope in my frame, although I half-remember that they were distributing cups of water further forward, and I don't believe that they made it back as far as me. For the most part the festival and organisation were excellent, but failing to distribute the 3D glasses and the useless payment system demonstrated that they were still far from perfect. The stage was cleared and the four iconic yet simple decks were placed onstage, with roadies testing them, one of whom I suspect was in the band. There also were some brief tests of the video screen, but for the most part we had very little to look at until the screen went red and the four pixelated members of Kraftwerk at their keyboards were displayed!

It was still reasonably light by the time Kraftwerk took to the stage. The band appeared with a blast of Numbers, and I shot videos for the vast majority of the songs. There were gasps of amazement at the 3D and I felt sorry for those who hadn't procured the glasses, and the band were wearing their black bodysuits covered with lights, which initially were glowing green. Now as I'd got the wonderful 3-D The Catalogue DVD I was pretty familiar with the video footage, but seeing it for real in this beautiful setting and amid an appreciative crowd was something else. Also the sound seemed immaculate, although for whatever reason the vocals were still quite muffled in much of my video footage. Next up was Computer World as the suits went yellow, before It's More Fun To Compute led into Home Computer, as I shot a video capturing the intro and build-up, nicely zooming in on Ralf for the vocals. The setlist was clearly very regimented and the computing segment concluded with Computer Love, which has never been my favourite Kraftwerk number but it is still perfectly decent. I was much more excited by The Man-Machine though, which featured the iconic backing video, although sadly a few twat heads were in front of me and blocking my view a little bit. A space album would really suit Kraftwerk and I guess that Spacelab is as close as they ever got, with some nice footage of a satellite zooming in on the UK, eventually homing in on the Jodrell Bank telescope. I also enjoyed The Model, although I prefer listening to the German version, but its status as their shortest and most conventional pop song makes it very welcome in any set.

The crowd all love Autobahn though and it had been perfectly timed to be played just when it was getting dark, and I love the motorway sign being displayed at the start, giving way to the old computer graphics of that legendary video. From what I can gather Kraftwerk arrived at much of their imagery during The Mix album in 1991, and still to this day these are the versions of the songs that make up much of the live set. They could update but I reckon that the 3D technology is a pretty special innovation, and it's a real treat to watch the classics performed in this way, and it doesn't seem dated in the slightest. Radioactivity is another favourite and opens with some lovely old footage of Ralf singing the opening line, and at this point I even saw a few balloons in the air. What a tune! By comparison the Tour De France suite seems an over-long and unnecessary part of the set that for some reason is greeted by much enthusiasm. I guess that as Kraftwerk play most of the hits I can forgive them this, but I'd be happy with a 4/5 minute blast through the main tune rather than the extended segment it becomes. By now the Observatory was beautifully lit up, and I was much happier to enjoy the sleek black and white train animations that accompanied Trans-Europe Express. Meanwhile The Robots lacked the actual robots from last time around, although there was plenty of robotic footage on the video screen, and I felt privileged to have seen the song performed in two very distinct styles. Some twat had got his arms in the way for some of my video footage as I recorded it to the end of the first chorus, although I didn't come close to a photograph as awesome as the one I got the last time I'd seen the guys perform this. Two years later it was still my Facebook banner pic, and I'm very proud to have captured that iconic shot of Kraftwerk onstage.

I guess that without the ability to draw curtains and set up the robots that they kind of had to do it differently, and it was still a stone cold classic and highlight of the set. I was enthused but also sad to hear Boing Boom Tschak, knowing that this would segue into Techno Pop and then the finale of Musique Non Stop. It all featured the classic video footage which was actually from the original video to accompany Musique Non Stop when it came out in 1986, and I have warmed to this as a fitting finale, and the band received a rapturous reception as they left the stage one at a time, before Ralf thanked us and left last to a fitting ovation. Wow wow wow! Neon Lights was the only tune played last time around of note that was missed, although also there other obscure numbers I don't really know that had fleshed out the set in Birmingham. Amazingly Kraftwerk had played the same songs I'd enjoyed last time and in the same order, but just with some more obscure moments missed out. The only notable difference was the absence of the robots. I was honoured to have witnessed such perfection for a second time, although it is sad that Pocket Calculator, Showroom Dummies and Europe Endless didn't make the set. But when you pay to see Kraftwerk you expect consistency and perfection, and as much as I like those tunes perhaps they aren't quite on the same level? I actually saw some fuckwit on social media complaining that Kraftwerk were shit because they didn't move around, but it's hard to express sufficient contempt for someone who would say that - do we really want to see the guys dancing around onstage? What a stupid and ridiculous idea!

SETLIST

Numbers/Computer World/It's More Fun To Compute/Home Computer/Computer Love/The Man-Machine/Spacelab/The Model/Autobahn/Geiger Counter/Radioactivity/Tour De France/Prologue/Étape 1/Chrono/Étape 2/Trans-Europe Express/Abzug/Metal On Metal/The Robots/Boing Boom Tschak/Techno Pop/Musique Non Stop

I made my way out, taking the long way past Jodrell Bank Observatory again and noting that it was beautifully lit up with a light show being projected on it. I shot a short video and there was some loud speech on it also which presumably was related to the projections? Also the pyramid I'd passed on the way in was fetchingly illuminated in pink, but the real revelation was the Museum Of The Moon, which now was illuminated and looked amazing in full darkness, and also I could now walk underneath it as the pathway was no longer fenced off. I had to tread gingerly amid all the mud but the contrast to its lacklustre appearance in the daylight was staggering, and I felt sorry for those who'd have to stay overnight and camp, while I returned to my elaborate hotel room! The crowd management was excellent and it didn't take too long to get off the car park, as I managed to avoid getting stuck in the mud and really appreciated my clean change of footwear! I was pleased to zoom offsite and drive back to the hotel, getting into bed for around midnight. I had a slight lie-in to make up for going to bed a little later than normal and to get some moneys worth out of my hotel room, but apart from some mud on my car I'd escaped without incident. My car was making some unusual noises initially as it hit the road with tyres covered in wet mud, but I'm pleased to report that it continued my epic trek across the north without further incident.

After checking out the next day I drove over the Peak District to Buxton and Bakewell, greedily enjoying a pudding and tart at the latter. I spent much of the day enjoying these lovely towns before arriving in Rotherham for the night, where I had a fab room next to a pub and paid a lot less for the privilege than I would if I'd stayed in Sheffield. Given that the train travel was extremely quick and easy and this way I avoided a need to drive into the city, I felt very much vindicated! The next day I explored the gorgeous Rotherham Minster and a few other attractions before venturing into Sheffield and crossing the city off my list, meaning that Sunderland was now my largest UK city not yet visited, something that I intended to put right in 2020! My hotel in Rotherham was a painfully long walk away from the train station and the town was insanely empty at night apart from a few scumbags and druggies, but a little walking wouldn't kill me, my hotel was nice, and I really appreciated visiting the few sights that Rotherham had to offer. On the Tuesday I ventured to Wakefield then Bradford, enjoying most of the sights including the cathedrals in both, complementing my trip to the two cathedrals of Sheffield the day before. At the time of writing I have just nine English cathedrals left to visit, all of which I intended to visit in 2020! I also threw in Doncaster Minster, which I'd briefly visited years beforehand with my brother while he was moaning, before driving back home. I needed to apply for a refund to my balance on my Bluedot card, which was a waste of my time but I presume that this is a sneaky way that the festival made money from this stupid concept? Contactless please guys! I'm pleased with myself for finally writing up this review six months after the event, and amusingly I kept listening to Kraftwerk to try and motivate myself to write all this sooner. It never worked, but my appreciation for the band was only enhanced by this excellent trip!

SONG OF THE DAY: Kraftwerk - Autobahn