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Updated July 2021
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This site is dedicated in the memory of who inspired me to delve deep into the magic of the free festival and who passed away Sept 3rd 2010. R.I.P. Roger ..... |
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Ashton Court Community Free Festival Bristol. June 27th-29th ,1980
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Ashton Court Free festival June 1980 -Nick Turner's Inner City Unit © photos Paul Seaton |
Festival Welfare Service report. June 27th-29th 1980.
I visited the festival on June 28th during the day and early evening, although there had been people on the site on Friday, and there was another day of music planned for Sunday.
The site was beautiful. It was part of a country estate owned by the Local Authority, on the outskirts of Bristol. The entertainments area was flat grassland, surrounded by woods on three sides. The fourth side sloped up the large carpark. Around the edge of the site were assorted tents, tipi coaches. There were two separate stages and two marquees where bands and theatre-groups were performing. The music from the bands, which was scheduled from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm , was very well baffled by the woods surrounding the site, and could hardly be heard away from the site. In a semi-circle around the main stage were most of the craft and food stalls. There was a very wide variety of food, at reasonable prices and of good quality. There was also interesting collection of all sorts of crafts on sale, and stalls run by community organisations. There was a very good programme for the festival, costing 20p, including up of the bands and a site map. It had brief descriptions of the bands, some of the local community groups taking part in the festival. |
The intrepid Nik Turners outfit |
More Nik Turner onstage Ashton Court 1980 |
Although there was officially no camping, many of the people involved in organising the festival had been staying on site, and the performing marquees could be used as crash tents. The marquees would have been very good for shelter if it had rained heavily.
One of Festival Aid's volunteers who was there during the two days offered first-aid services, but in future it would seem advisable for the organisers to arrange a full first-aid cover for the whole festival. To make an emergency phone call the nearest telephone was two miles away over the Clifton suspension Bridge. Some sort of radio link between the organisers and other parts of the site would seem a good idea too. |
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Thandoy onstage Ashton Court 1980 © photos Paul Seaton |
Unknown solo artiste Ashton Court 1980 |
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For children, a beautiful play area and play bus had been organised, and there was lots of children's entertainment. The children's play bus was a good place for lost children. The toilets on site were bearing up to the crowds remarkably well. I only saw one set of porta-cabins, split into Ladies (3 cubicles) and Gents, although two sets were marked on the site map. No doubt the nearby woods were being used too. The woods were also providing dead wood for campfires in the evening and there seemed to be plenty. Water on site was supplied from a stand pipe. There was plenty of provision for litter, in the form of skips and bins around the site. There was a need for more bins next to some of the food stands, but generally the site was kept very clean. The atmosphere on site was very pleasant, with many local people, including older visitors, coming up on site to watch the bands and other entertainment.
Please don't write and ask what the hell is going on in the photo on the left , cos we don't know and possibly don't WANT to know. |
On Saturday the crowd was about 5000, mainly local people, spread over the site, between the various stages and marquees. The festival was obviously popular and well organised and I hope Sunday was as pleasant. If the event takes place again next year, I would recommend that the organisers make sure they have some sort of organised emergency service on site.
Penny Mellor -Field Worker
