#and i know the flocked hair could be problematic but man i miss it

[freaky-flawless]

Do you guys think we'll ever get another boy doll? Idk why, but it feels really unlikely to me.

At the start, Deuce got 3 dolls pretty much right off the bat, and then hasn't had another one since. (Honestly, I'm a little worried he might be getting the Ghoulia treatment, especially since neither got music videos and were exclusives)

And other than him, we just have a Clawd doll with a bad face, and Heath, who was apart of a budget line. He didn't even get a normal doll release with a phone, snacks, or even a pet.

[poplinn]

@divine-buni​ ha risposto al tuo post: “ hello! I myself am not Jewish, and I was wondering why Jewish Medic is anti-Semitic? I'm genuinely asking, if it's possible that you could elaborate a bit more, please?” 

Yes, I’d love to elaborate for you [and other people who’ve seen the post and aren’t quite sure what I meant]. Considering this post is going to be quite a long one I’ve put everything under a read more, but here’s a quick TL;DR

TL;DR:

Medic’s actions in Comic 6 contradict Jewish beliefs, therefore I find it disrespectful to our religion to HC him as Jewish.

Most people who HC Medic as Jewish are goyim, and portray him/Jewish beliefs/Judaism very incorrectly but don’t seem to listen to Jewish people who try to correct them.

All art i’ve seen of Jewish Medic so far feed into Antisemetic Stereotypes which is disgusting. 

Jewish Medic only came into existence to counter the Nazi HC

People just don’t their research even though it’s not that hard. 

Full explanation under the read more:

So before i start explaining why I think the Jewish Medic and its portrayals are anti-semetic I want to give a little background information. I myself am Jewish, I have been my entire life, and I’m a practicing conservative Jew. I go to the Synagogue and I have read the Tanakh [The Hebrew Bible]. Now I understand that the text may differ in some translations/interpretations of the original text. I also understand that some things are left a bit ambigious at times, meaning different people can have different interpretations of the same text. What I’m about to write after this is all part of my personal interpretations/findings of the Tanakh and what I’ve been taught. I, obviously, don’t speak for all jewish people out there, this is strictly personal. 

Now, what I’ve always learned from reading the Tanakh is that the belief in demons and Satan [sometimes even angels] is often, if not all the time, rejected. There are no mentions of demons in the Tanakh, and Satan is not a demon. Think of it that Satan is more of a metaphor, and doesn’t exist in physical form. He’s more of an advocate or metaphor for having different opinions. 

In Kabbalah Satan represents a sinful impulse a person might have[we’ve all been there], or a “force” that prevents us humans from submitting to divine will. The Devil doesn’t exists, he’s merely a metaphor for the bad stuff we have inside us, our sins/sinful thoughts. But physically? He’s not there.

It is also generally believed that Hell is...not a thing. It’s really more of a Christian thing to make people fear G-d. But what happens if we commit sins? Well, what I’ve been taught in my 20+ years of living is that when we die, we either go to heaven or go to purgatory. In purgatory you work off your sins for a set amount of time. This time differs per person depending on what sins you’ve committed and if you show remorse. But Hell itself does not exist at all. 

Why does this all matter? When Medic dies he goes to Hell and meets the Devil. 

The fact that this happens contradicts Jewish beliefs. I think that if you headcanon Medic as Jewish without taking this huge contradiction into consideration is very disrespectful of out belief. And mind you, all people I’ve seen HC Medic as Jewish are goyim.  Medic meeting the Devil himself isn’t inherently antisemitic or disrespectful, considering Medic is not canonically Jewish, but headcanoning as Jewish is.

Then there are the portrayals of Jewish Medic in art. Now we all know what Medic looks like: 

He’s a white man, with short black hair and a little flock of hair that rests on his forehead. All the art I’ve seen of Jewish Medic so far, and I mean ALL, feed into Jewish stereotypes. Curly black hair, really dark skin and a huge nose. I’m sorry but, since when is this okay?? [ I shouldn’t be one to speak on this considering I have black curly hair, tanned skin and bigger nose /joke ]. Not every Jewish person looks like this. If Medic were indeed canonically Jewish the way he looks is just...fine. A character doesn’t need to have black curly hair, darker skin and a huge hooked nose in order to be Jewish. It just baffles me that in the year of 2021 people still think doing this is okay. 

And to add to it, like every other religion, in Judaism we also wear specific kind of clothing. The cloth and colour of our Yarmulkes all mean something, and to see this being portrayed incorrectly, by goy people nonetheless, it just bothers me a lot. It gets even worse that, when me and other Jewish people try to reach out to these artists and try to tell them nicely that they’re portraying our religion incorrectly that we 1. dont get listened to, 2. get blocked, 3. get dismissed.

To directly quote a message from a certain person I messaged about their Jewish Medic portrayal being incorrect: “I don't know how much I can say of Jewish issues considering I've never been connected to that part of my ancestry religiously or culturally.” Right after I explained everything to them, it’s incredibly dismissive in my eyes. You don’t need to be Jewish in order to understand Judaism or Jewish beliefs. 

I feel like I’m kind of starting to ramble, so apologies if it’s a little less coherent, but....I also think the origins of the Jewish Medic are a bit...icky/weird/uncomfortable. I’m not sure what the right word is [apologies, English isn’t my first language]. 

Back in the day the Nazi Medic Headcanon was a thing, which is obviously problematic on its own. Some people, in response to that, wanted to counter this Nazi HC by making Medic Jewish. Because it was “fun and quirky.” Which is ridiculous. Our religion is not just something “fun and quirky” for gentiles to randomly use as a headcanon. I personally feel like gentiles take our religion serious because of that. Jewish people are not the direct opposites of Nazis. The world really isn’t that black and white / Bad vs Good. You don’t need to be Jewish in order to counter Nazis or be anti-fascism. If someone isn’t Jewish, it doesn’t make them a Nazi. 

I don’t mind if a person wants to HC a character as something they aren’t, but please please please do some proper reasearc or reach out to people before you do, so you can also do it correctly. For example: I have an OC who is intersex. I myself am not intersex. I did research, I went to forums and I asked around to make sure what I was doing was right. It’s not that hard. 

I may have missed a few things here and there but I hope it answers your question and happy Passover

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine Advent Drabble 2020 - “Overdone” (Rated PG13)

Summary: Kurt objects to the amount of mistletoe the decorating committee at NYADA hangs for Christmas … until he sees his chance to get a kiss from the man of his dreams. But catching Blaine underneath the mistletoe, even in a school covered in it, turns out to be more difficult than Kurt thought. (1693 words)

Notes: Re-vamped for the Klaine Advent Drabble Challenge 2020 prompt 'dispensable'.

Read on AO3.

Kurt expected NYADA to decorate for Christmas. And considering he attends a school for the dramatic arts, he also figured the decorations would be over-the-top. But he takes exception to the ridiculous amount of mistletoe the decorating committee deemed fit to hang on everything, each bundle flanked on both sides by red garland (probably as a warning to less approachable people to run, which he appreciates). 

Kurt sees mistletoe as problematic - a completely dispensable part of holiday decorating. 

NYADA, on the other hand - not so much.

It hangs in hallways, in doorways, in bathrooms (definitely a sexual assault charge waiting to happen), tacked up as far as the eye can see. He removes a few of the less appropriate ones as a public service, especially when he discovers one dangling over his desk in costume design class.

There seem to be two camps of people when it comes to mistletoe – those who flock to it and those who avoid it like the plague.

Kurt identifies with the latter.

That is until he passes Blaine, the man he's been crushing on hardcore, in the hallway and sees him get caught beneath a sprig with another student. She shyly perches up on her toes to kiss Blaine on the cheek, and Kurt realizes this vile flora could be the key to unlocking a brilliant plan.

An excuse to kiss Blaine.

He's been trying to find a way of telling Blaine that he likes him since the moment they met. But regardless of the time they've spent together (mainly in class and on school productions), he has yet to find a way to let it slip. 

He doesn't know how to make the first move.

At this rate, he'll be doomed to pining from afar until the end of the school year. 

As fate would have it, as Kurt starts contemplating a plan to catch Blaine under the mistletoe, he finds he's standing underneath a bunch tied in red and white striped ribbon.

“Hello, Blaine!” Kurt calls, jumping at the opportunity when Blaine bustles by.

“Oh! Hey, Kurt!” Blaine smiles when he says Kurt’s name but keeps his nose buried in the score of a musical he’s planning on auditioning for over the break. 

Hence, the mistletoe above Kurt's head goes unnoticed.

Blaine turns the corner at the end of the hall and disappears.

“Well,” Kurt says sarcastically to himself, watching Blaine go, “that went well.”

***

The second time Kurt sees his chance, he’s pulling costumes for a production that Blaine is co-directing. While Blaine sits in the front row of the theater, supervising a dress rehearsal, Kurt finds mistletoe hanging in the costume vault. He stealthily hides the three suits he’s supposed to be looking for behind another rack and sends Blaine a text.

To Blaine:

Having trouble finding the suits for Act 3. Please come to the vault and advise. Thanks!

He stands underneath the mistletoe, popping an Altoid for good measure. Several times he hears footsteps approach the door, but they eventually walk by. 

Then ... a pause.

A distracting flutter grows in his stomach. The cramped room starts getting progressively hotter. After what seems like an hour, another set of footsteps approach. 

This time, they stop. 

The door opens. 

A face peeks in. 

And ...

Rachel bounces in. 

“Hey, Kurt!” Her eyes land on him for only a second, then she starts scanning the racks. “Blaine said you need help finding the---oops!” She bites her lower lip, eyes darting upward. “Look who I caught under the mistletoe?” Before Kurt can object, she skips up to him and plants a cherry red kiss on his left cheek. “Ah! There they are!” She pushes past him without taking a breath. “They were right behind you! If they were snakes, they would have bitten you!”

“Oh, were they?” he says, watching her double-check the tags on the hangers, ensuring that these are, indeed, the correct suits. “Well, you know … last place you look.”

She snags the suits, pinches his non-kissed cheek, and heads out the door.

“Merry Christmas!” she sings. “And you’d better watch your head! That mistletoe is  everywhere! ”

“Will do. Thanks for the warning.” Kurt watches her leave, waiting for the door to click completely shut before he throws an unattractive tantrum.

***

The third time Kurt tries to enact his plan, he takes no chances. He sets himself up underneath the mistletoe in the hall outside the dance room, knowing Blaine will have to pass by there on the way to his T.A. assignment. He sends Blaine a text, asking to meet, vague as to why. He can’t think of a convincing reason, and he doesn’t want to lie, but it doesn’t matter. Blaine says he'll be there even without an explanation.

Kurt smooths down his shirt, fixes his hair, tugs at the hem of his jacket, readjusts his shoulder strap. He can't stop fidgeting. The anticipation is unbearable! 

The students in Cassie July’s class start to file out. Kurt does his best to look inconspicuous, but they ignore him anyway, talking excitedly about their upcoming holiday plans. Cassie follows them out, muttering about, “Fucking Christmas decorations!” and “Tacky ass tinsel!" She catches Kurt standing outside her classroom and glares at him as if he farted.

“Uh, Merry Christmas,” Kurt says with a weak smile.

“For God’s sake!” she growls, leaping up with an arm raised. For a second, he thinks she's about to smack him or dunk on him like a basketball hoop. She snatches the mistletoe off the wall. “I hate this stupid romantic Christmas shit!” Without a word to Kurt, she storms down the hallway, strangling the mistletoe in her hand, and tosses it in the trash.

“Hey, Kurt!” Blaine walks up to him, unaware of the violence against vegetation that just took place. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Uh ...” Kurt looks up at the torn garland hanging pathetically above his head. That's how he feels – pathetic. Why can't he get this one thing right? With the amount of mistletoe hanging about, the odds of him getting kissed by Blaine are in his favor. Maybe he should take this as a sign. He sighs. “You know what? Never mind.”

***

Kurt has one last chance to make this happen before classes wrap for winter break. He knows that Blaine’s last class lets out at 2:30, so Kurt leaves his class early, grabbing his books and his bag at 1:45 and racing out mid-lecture, hoping to make it to the front hallway before Blaine and cut him off.

Students have already started crowding the hallway, exchanging gifts, saying their last goodbyes before they leave for the next three weeks.

Kurt spots a cluster of red garland, and he knows that where there’s red garland, there’s mistletoe. He slides underneath it, standing there like a sentry, keeping an eye peeled for Blaine’s curls through the mob. Right on schedule (or actually, five minutes before), Blaine comes around the corner, carrying his bag bulging with everything he keeps at school over his shoulder. 

So Kurt knows he’s leaving for the duration.

Not that he's going far. Kurt knows for a fact that Blaine's apartment is within walking distance of his loft. Even if Blaine goes home to visit his parents, they both come from the same state. They're bound to run into one another before the beginning of next semester.

Still, it feels like this is it. 

His last chance.

“Blaine!” Kurt calls through a new wave of students washing into the hallway from behind him. “Blaine, can we …?”

“Kurt!” Blaine sees Kurt over the crowd but doesn't slow his steps as he hurries toward the door. “I’m sorry I missed you earlier, but I really have to run!”

“Blaine! Blaine! I just wanted to …!”

“I’m sorry, Kurt!” Blaine turns and waves, walking backward towards the door with a sympathetic smile. “I have to go!”

“Oh … okay.” Kurt waves back, sighing in defeat. “Merry Christmas.”

Kurt watches Blaine leave, a weight growing in the pit of his stomach. Serves him right, relying on some stupid Christmas tradition to get what he wants! A tradition he  hates ! He should have just gone up and asked him. 

Yeah, and how would that go? 

We’ve had coffee a few times, went to the movies twice, and ate lunch together. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I think I'm in love with you. Would you kiss me?

Pathetic. 

That's what he is. 

That's what this all is! 

Like Cassie said - stupid romantic Christmas ...!

Kurt feels a tap on his shoulder and freezes.

Shit ! He’s still standing under the mistletoe! Someone is behind him, expecting a kiss. With any luck, it's just Rachel again, delighted to catch him twice doing something that makes him  really  uncomfortable. 

He sighs, resigning himself to the fate of having to kiss some random human unintentionally.

“Okay,” he says, turning around to face destiny. “Let’s do this.”

“Gladly.” An arm around his waist pulls him close. The familiar smell of Pierre Cardin fills his nose. He feels himself dip back, catching a flash of hazel eyes and a sly grin before lips capture his – soft and warm and incredibly gentle. It’s a breath of a kiss, lasting only long enough for Kurt to realize he’s being kissed, and by  who , before the man cradling him in his arms pulls away. 

Blaine sets him upright, holding him a second longer to make certain he has his feet.

"Oh!" Kurt mutters, the shock of being kissed by Blaine taking his breath, and his capacity for thought, away. But then he remembers, "Oh. Right. Mistletoe." 

That wasn't a genuine kiss. Blaine doesn't like him like that. Kurt set himself up for this. 

His gaze travels up, but over their heads, there is no mistletoe – just a string of fluffy red garland and a gold foil star.

Not a single semi-parasitic shrub in sight.

“Nope,” Blaine says, leaning in to brush his lips against Kurt’s a second time. “I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.”

[shirtlesssammy]

6x14: Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

Then:

Sam got his soul back

Now:

We pick up where we left off last time. Sam is unconscious on the floor with Dean pleading with him to wake up. He does wake, eventually. Kudos for not dropping how the last episode ended, but this is such a weird flex of an episode. Time to jump into how this random case of the week normally would start. 

Great Falls Junior College

Paterson, New Jersey

Late at night, a janitor makes his rounds through the science lab. An anatomy dummy tracks his moves. He hears a noise behind him, but doesn’t notice the dummy is now gone. And before he knows it, there’s blood (from his own forehead!) dripping on the floor.  

The air chills, the lights go out. The janitor is visibly spooked. He cries out to whoever is there. He runs --right into the sentient dummy, and gets a scalpel in the throat. 

Sam’s still recovering from his brain attack. Dean has coffee, food, and pills of unknown material. Sam passes on the drugs. Dean asks if he wants to talk about it. Sam’s fine. He’s GOOD. Dean guesses that he was getting flashes of Hell. 

Then we get this lovely exchange from Mr. Dean “self aware but don’t know what to do with it” Winchester and his brother.

SAM: Dean...I might've done...who knows what, and you want me to just forget about it?

DEAN: You shove it down, and you let it come out in spurts of violence and alcoholism.

SAM: That sounds healthy.

DEAN: Well, works for me.

Anyway, to take Sam’s mind off things, Dean’s found a case. 

At the school, Dean starts goofing around with the anatomy dummy. He also gets a call from Lisa, which he rejects. Sam tells Dean to talk to her, but then is distracted when his EMF machine starts going haywire. Something is going on in this room. 

Dean notices there are security cameras and the boys set to reviewing the tapes. The camera fuzzed out at the moment of the attack, of course. 

Later, the brothers meet up again after conducting their respective interviews, which all revealed nothing. 

Cut to a clothes making factory that night. A security man walks through the darkened place, full of sewing machines and mannequins. He turns towards a noise in the back. He calls out, but no one’s there. Well, no one but this guy:

And just like the janitor, the air gets frosty and the guard’s forehead slices open. A mannequin with a large pole impales the poor dude. 

(It’s here that I’d like to take a moment to say that maybe I hate this episode so much because I actually loved the movie Mannequin as a kid. I remember watching that movie ALL THE TIME. I wanted to live in a mall after hours and fall in love with an ancient Egyptian goddess. And have Hollywood as a BFF. I don’t think I could watch it as an adult --it’s probably problematic AF. Natasha: SAAAAME)

Anyway, Sam and Dean arrive just as the coroner is hauling away the victim. Sam’s EMF goes wild around the mannequins. Dean’s creeped out by the ghost possessed mannequins. Or as he puts it: “I don’t like the way Kim Catrell is looking at me.”

Later, while doing more research, Sam finds an article about a missing woman who once worked at the clothes factory. She’s got a sister. 

Lisa calls. Sam tells Dean to answer. 

He does, and it’s Ben. He tells Dean there’s something wrong with Lisa. She won’t get out of bed, her door stays locked. He pleads with Dean to come help him. Dean doesn’t want to go, but Sam insists. Dean heads off to Lisa’s while Sam interviews the missing woman’s sister. 

Looking at pictures, Sam sees that the janitor once worked at the factory with Rose, the missing woman. They have a lead. He heads to the factory and interviews different employees. We get a lot of montage interviews and then one interview with a derpy long-haired dude, Johnny. Sam asks him if he knew Rose. He hesitates. The dude’s a horrible liar. If a co-worker of yours disappeared, I think you’d know it --even if you didn’t know her before she disappeared. Sam shows the guy a picture and he admits to have seen her around. Johnny’s nervous and Sam calls him out on it. 

Meanwhile, Dean gets to Lisa’s to discover she’s completely fine. Ben tricked them. Dean guesses Lisa’s going on a date. They decide to talk about things like adults finally. 

At the factory, Mr. Johnny McNervouspants stalks through the factory, complaining about those darn Feds to someone on the phone. Blood drips from his face and he watches as a deep gash opens up on his forehead. Things are looking bad for this idiot, when Sam bursts in and saves him with a giant load of salt (oh, and also the condiment). Johnny tells Sam that he and his (now dead) friends pretended that Rose had a secret admirer. They left her gifts in her locker, then lured her to an apartment. 

Flash back to the apartment, which is dimly lit with a romantic tableau on the table. A man sits with his back to the door and when Rose grabs his shoulder, she discovers it’s nothing but a dummy dressed in a tux.

The flock of dudes emerge from throughout the apartment, braying at their hilarious joke. Honestly, there is so much time and effort and money put into this bullying. Luring her to an apartment sure fucking feels like something far more insidious than “lol what a loser.” My discomfort meter is EXTREMELY HIGH. When she tries to leave, one of them grabs her. She falls and dashes her head against the corner of the coffee table. The blow kills her instantly. 

Sam listens to all of this. “I’m not saying you deserve to die…” Sam says. (That’s just what I’M saying, okay?) Sam leaves Johnny penned in by salt while he heads off to find Rose’s body. 

At Lisa’s, Dean heads up to talk to Ben. Dean learns that Lisa’s on her third date with Doctor Matt, and TV has taught Ben that it’s a big milestone. EYEBROW WAGGLE. 

Ben wants Dean to come home and…just hearing that Ben made a place for Dean and called his home their “home” is enough to break my heart for poor Dean Bean. AND Ben. AND Lisa! “Just 'cause you love someone doesn't mean you should stick around and screw up their life,” Dean returns. Dean bby. While I’m petting Dean’s nose he further slays me with, “I think my job turns me into somebody that can't sit at your dinner table.” DEAN BBY noooooo. He refuses to stick around and watch Ben turn into a hunter. 

“You know you’re walking out on your family, right?” Ben SLAYS us all. 

For Oh No You Didn’t Science:

Sam burns Rose’s body. Case closed! Let’s all go home. Oh, wait. The Winchesters DON’T HAVE A HOME. Cut to Dean having a sad montage of fun times with Lisa as he drives back to the case. d e a n

Speaking of home, Johnny heads home to his best girl. Uh, best mannequin. Uh, best mannequin girl. He talks to his sex doll. He loves her very much, and it’s time to restart their life somewhere new. Um. 

Cut to the next morning. Johnny’s dead on the floor and the sex doll sits demurely on her own. Free at last! Sam calls Dean. The job’s not over yet. 

At Isabel’s place, Sam learns that she’s going to school in Great Falls…exactly where the janitor was murdered. Wherps. Sam digs for the tie between the cases and realizes in a moment of sweeping insight that Isabel is the link. “What are you wearing of Rose's? A ring? A bracelet? Her baby teeth in a locket?” Ah, the ol’ baby teeth in a locket keepsake. Classic sister jewelry. 

Isabel confesses that she carries one piece of Isabel around with her everywhere…her kidney. “You’re kidding,” Sam deadpans. “You’re kidding,” fandom says.

Dean makes jokes about haunted kidneys when they reunite. They form a plan to head down to Louisiana and research a hoodoo solution, when Baby fires up. Rose is possessing the Impala! “She possesses sex dolls,” Dean complains. “This is not a sex doll.” (Me: Looks directly into the camera.) Baby/Rose races for Dean, chasing him all over the parking lot. Has anyone set this scene to the Benny Hill theme yet? Asking for a friend. 

Dean basically turns himself into a bullfighter’s cape, luring Baby to crash into a storefront. The Impala stops, buried windshield deep in bricks and glass. Great work, everybody! And then Isabel collapses, blood bubbling from her lips. A giant shard of storefront glass juts from her stomach. The haunted kidney is toast.

Ghost Rose mournfully appears, apologizes to her sister, and they both depart the earth. 

At Bobby’s place, Dean repairs the Impala. “We saved a few dicks and we killed an innocent girl. I got a heartbroken kid and a woman who's so pissed at me…” Everything’s terrible. Dean’s feeling beaten, but Sam’s optimistic. He has a soul now so…things could be worse? They’re gonna keep fighting. 

None of These Quotes are Real:

None of this "it's just a flesh wound" crap

What's a Snooki?

We've been Parent Trapped

That the girl with the haunted kidney?

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[snaphappyshoots]

I left you tantalisingly in A Musical Journey (Part 2) as I was venturing to my first “Rock Festival” – aged 17 years and 6 months of age!

Into The Music..

We set off for Bath in the College bus on the Friday afternoon. The bus was full and not the most comfortable. It was packed with a mix of mainly older “heads” (long hair, denim, scraggly beards, hip and aware of the benefits of marijuana) and us three….the straightest and most naive people there…apart from our driver, who I think was called Bill. The poor sod had to do the full journey on his own. He was very old – about 40!! – and definitely NOT a “head”. But credit to him for putting up with us. The journey took forever and all I can really remember is a guy in the seat opposite having one of those early Philips Cassette players and one  tape “Gris-Gris” by Dr John The Night Tripper which he played over and over again until his batteries started to die out and the music became slower and slower…and what (to me) was already pretty scary stuff about zombies, voodoo and the like became even more nightmareish as darkness fell. I love the album now…but whenever I hear the opening track it takes me right back to that bus 50 years ago!

Dr John – Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya Listen for yourself (Imagine you are in a dark bus at 2am!)

The only other points of note were buying a bottle of non-alcoholic beer at a service station and being stuck in the longest traffic jam when we hit the outskirts of Shepton Mallet where the festival was being held. We also picked up a few hippy hitchhikers who squatted in the aisle as we threaded our way towards the campsite parking.

Buses Coming In (Photo Jeff Culpit)

There were around 100,000 people at the Festival (this was the year after Woodstock and the Isle Of Wight Festivals) There were terrible traffic jams and artists couldn’t get in to perform.  The organisers had provided tents free of charge…which were needed.  Being a music Festival..it rained on and off!

The three of us jumped off the bus and headed with the throngs towards the stage area. We got a good spot….but I think it started to rain…so we headed towards the tents.

Tents (Photo Jeff Culpit)

We set out our sleeping bags…and got out a deck of cards to play whist or some such.  All at once two guys dived into the tent and asked if they “could crash here?”. In the spirit of hippyness and peace and love we of course said “Yeah Man..cool”.

Then another hippy stuck his head in the tent and asked the (to us bizzare) question ” has anyone got any shit?”.  Now Eric was a right sarkie bugger and said “not yet but will have one later!” But to our astonishment one of our new tent mates said yes, pulled a foil wrapped bag out of his pocket and started to cut the green lump into sections with a knife….ON MY SLEEPING BAG! At this point our hippy vocabulary increased 100 fold and we realised we were in the middle of a drug deal!!  The horrors!! We looked at each other and in the vernacular of the time, we grabbed our stuff and split!

We went back to the bus…(which is where my Pass Out ticket came from) and left our sleeping bags etc and headed back to the main stage area to await the start of the music.

Now I will be honest some of the next bit is very hazy….it was 50 years ago for God’s sake…and I can mix things up. I did write down my thoughts next to that “pass out” ticket 2/3 years afterwards in my Ticket Book. There is also a terrific website with a ton of information and photographs (where I sourced many on here from) about the 1970 Bath Festival here The Bath festival Of Blues and Progressive Music well worth a look for anyone interested.

This is the page from my “diary”

The first few paragraphs relay most of what I have typed above.  But on the music This is what I had written:-

Fairport Convention – Good

Flock – Good

Maynard Ferguson – Ugh! (Sorry Maynard…I just was not into Jazz in 1970)

It’s A Beautiful Day – Good

Colleseum – Great – Except for J Hiseman’s 40 min drum solo (I’ve never been a fan of them..who is??)

Johnny Winter – Good but fell asleep. (me not Johnny Winter.). Edgar Winter O.D. on the drums ( now this is just not true! I heard it from someone at the time on the bus journey back..and to be seen as “cool” I repeated it.  But it’s a bit problematic..Edgar Winter didn’t play drums and wasn’t in the band at that point!!)

Steppenwolf – Good but again fell asleep (all the bands were running very late!) Hell Of a version of Born to Be Wild. (Actually the only song I would recognise!

Pink Floyd – Lights Were Fantastic – fell asleep (Says a lot about the music!)

Canned Heat – Played for three and a half hours but I didnt hear them.  At this point I gave in and headed for the bus where I could get some proper sleep away from the noise. I then realised our bus driver spent most of the weekend asleep in the luggage Bay of the bus!

Sunday am “Diary” continues

Now’t happening cos’ none of the acts can get in because of traffic jams. Surprise! Donovan however turns up (not supposed to) and played all his favourite raves – drags a bit after 3 hours!! Eventually Frank Zappa & Mothers Of Invention get on stage. We hear two songs then we have to go, bus driver has to be back for Monday!

We didn’t miss much..just Led Zeppelin, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Dr John, Country Joe McDonald. The Moody Blues were due to play…but it rained really heavily after Led Zeppelin so they couldn’t go on. We were virtually home by this point.

I’m not sure if I saw The Byrds or not? I think I did..but my memory could be playing tricks.

I arrived home at about 7 am.but had to be back at college for an exam on the afternoon. I made it and actually passed!

Eric, Paul & I “dined out” on being at Bath for weeks afterwards. Anyone who knows me will say I STILL dine out on it! I tend to lie and say I saw all of the bands!! But what the experience gave me was a never ending love affair with Blues & Progressive Music which perseveres to this day. From this point on I was a “head” as Danny Baker calls us.  I bought albums to carry tucked under my arm to show off how “cool” I was…I started to go to gigs as often as I could.  I had found a spiritual home.

More in Part 4…

John

                    A Musical Journey (Part 3) I left you tantalisingly in A Musical Journey (Part 2) as I was venturing to my first "Rock Festival" - aged 17 years and 6 months of age!