Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe :Book of the road 1980

First Tibetan Book of The Road;

Which details the travails and travels of the Troupe from August-Sept 1980 , from Glastonbury, Rougham Tree Fayre , the Festival of Fools in Penzance to the winter layover at GT Marsh farm near Colchester.

After spending some time at Priddypool ,Stonehenge and other East Anglian festivals in June and The East Anglian Free festival in July (aka Keswick, aka Eaton By The Mosquitoes) the troupe moved on to Glastonbury, where we join our intrepid heroes as they once more prepare do their intrepid Tibetan Ukranian thang...........

Glastonbury Festival 1980

(The event we attended at Worthy Farm, Pilton in 1980, although held on the Glastonbury site, was not actually a Glastonbury Festival. It was the Ecology Party Summer Camp (or was it "Gathering" can't quite remember of the top of my head but I'm pretty sure it's called that in the 1980 Log. This was the first Log as such and this event was one of the first entries.) This Gathering was an annual event and we certainly were there in '80 and for the next few years as well!

Igor)

Thursday 7th Aug. 1980

EGO PARTY SUMMER CAMP.
2. 00 PM.
We've arrived , despite all the odds , a considerably pruned troupe, at Glastonbury (nearly ) Worthy Farm, Pilton actually.
Only Perry's and Greame's busses are here, ( Greame's piloted by Pat ) . The Pogo hasn't made it but we know Kate and Mick can handle it , whatever, ! Mac and buddy are stopping off at Marshes regaining energies for the drive here . Greame is in London having discharged himself from Hospital and will be here Sunday perhaps. Golly’s gone home and should join us here later today. Only Alan is fool enough to put up his tent at this time of night- everyone else is cramming into buses up to the eyeballs.

9.00 PM.

    Kate and Mick showed up this morning , the Pogo ran outa juice wots new ? ) but they’re here now. The first job this morning was to get the marquee up and with a little help from our friends its up in one and a half hours.
After a well deserved pancake feast the busses parked themselves up next to the north hedge of the site. Because busses don’t have noses , they didn't seem to care about the bogs next door !
    A canopy was erected between the two busses for the show and the stall was thrown up behind Greame's bus . Geoff did a great job getting the stall together considering all the gear was till on Mac’s bus at Marshes, but after completely cannibalising Greame's kitchen , he managed and the kettles on !
Golly showed up about one hour ago after having some bus hassle. The juice got too low and air got sucked in through to the engine., So Golly phoned through to the site and we sent our chief mechanic Toni to help. Meanwhile some of the traffic avoiding Golly’s bus must have panicked or something because it started colliding - they’re always in such a hurry ! Anyway they eventually had to bleed the diesel through- all the way here - well done boys ! Myself and Mick have just erected the worlds first Tibetan bender and not a moment too soon as its just started to rain .
    The site is green with woody bits round the edge ( but we are not allowed to pull down the dead trees or we get our wrists slapped by totally out to lunch EGO party ) ( instead they want us to buy it off them ! )
There are about 8 tipis , 3 gross other dwellings , several large black water barrels and us .
Midnight.

We have received a gallon of cider, we have received wine , we have smoked and made merry and we have frightened the customers away from the stall.

Friday 8th Aug. 11 PM .

Chris Mary and Tiger have arrived bringing Steve the Bean and a Jill with them.
Today has been quiet. Most of the apologists have been sat outside their tents waiting for it to happen. We really ought to tell them ! The entertainers went to the kiddies party in Glastonbury which was a gas, while some of us spent all day in bed supporting the Apathy Party.
By early evening we had the PA together ,although petrol has been a hassle. But we have sound and light and stall shifting sweet corn fritters like hot cakes. We've all been clowning at the EGOS and laughing at their news sheet "The Worthy Winner"and Golly has put out our pirate news sheet "The Unworthy Loser " and its a goodie.

Sat 9th Aug. 3 am .

Greame and Mae have just showed up and are ok but buddy needs some more bread before he can move. The PA has been going all night and EGO people have been repeatedly complaining about it . Mick the maggit is complaining about the people complaining and although the PA is the lowest it can go - the bitch, gripe moan is keeping us all awake.
3.30 AM . Someone has turned the generator off.

Sunday 11 AM.

Our news sheet , The Unworthy Loser has been acknowledged by the Worthy Winner . They think it is great - perhaps they are not very clever .
8 PM.

Waiting about for the gig ( Nick T and Roy Harper ) We close the food stall- been slack all day. Introverts abound ( in the EGO ). Glen makes it with sweet corn fritters( four pounds in half an hour ) . Remember he's a good silly goodie salesman . Entertainers to Glastonbury today- children’s festival-go down well ?
Radio Eric on the PA in PM., a boost to hear it . Much energy is disappearing into mass discussion groups - 'Direct action' - meeting wants to know what these two words mean . Smaller groups for making decisions are often more effective , unless a leader will positively push his own way of action .
Another sheet appears from Golly’s bus- Energy on paper ! Thanx Mick.

Sunday 10th Aug. 3 am.

Most of us went up to see Nik Turner's mob and Roy Harper up at the barn , after which Gypsy Dave announced over the PA that there was a a party at the busses, First we heard of it , but the people came so we put on music , opened up the stall and got bundles of complaints.

Monday 11 th Aug. 2 PM.

    Quote of the day
Whale Oil Beef Hooked .
Perry has left us for a few days and gone to Oxford with Dick. He quests for space to breathe. The entertainers have decided to do a show tonight , and its a good show!, despite the extreme untogetherness of the whole kaboodle to it managed to flow and come across beautifully. Some 50 people came although the drum and bell had to hoof around the site four times to get them here.
    The stall is just managing to float , but we’ve sussed that we have to take the food to the people and really push it. Steve Bean and Jill built a hash cake but it wasn't an instant success, So Mick showed us how it should be done with his incredible super edible dream balls . They'll make us a million ( that would be a start ! )
    Most of the EGO party gone back to their houses and offices from which they're not complaining so much about the PA. Nick Turner has said he will come and play if we get the big Pig generator to do its thing. However the rest of his mob is well plastered and careering around the site in merciless meandering headlights and cleverly avoiding all sorts of obstacles. They're also taking the blame for the baccy and dope shortage, but only because they’re not here !

Tuesday 13th Aug. 1 am .

The Tibetan Ukrainian Mountain Troupe and New Age Gypsies apology hangover . We hoped to take down the marquee today, but it rained . However , this didn't prevent Greame moving his bus 40 ft to the right , sufficiently out of range of the horrendous smells where EGO party emptied their shit cans- still, Mac's TV gave us all a lift with latest exploits of the Starship Enterprise . Up me Scott. Beamy !

Tues 12th Aug. 10;30 PM.

The marquee came down no hassle first thing this morning , then feasting pancakes in Greame's bus. The pancakes have strange effect on all who dined off them- like a couple of hours of big chief raps during which we sussed an intricate web of plans on what each bus is doing over the next few weeks and all the different trips involved and everything. POW WOW!
The rain has driven us into the busses where those in Perry’s bus are pondering over dominoes , while in Greame's bus we are getting a party together to explore a new dungeon ! .

Wed 13 th Aug. 11 AM.

Alan ,Golly and Tank are back from the local doctors, where the doc says they have a most unpleasant condition ! Some people have been telling us for weeks how unhygienic we are- perhaps we'll take heed !

2 PM.

Greame and Mick have just split for London in the pogo, Pat, Astrix and myself are about to follow, which the rest of the troupe is getting ready to head for Gower Free festy then splitting to do oodles of other trips.
The past couple of hours we have been taking things off busses , putting things on busses , losing things, finding things, kicking things and shouting at each other, its been great !

2.30 PM.

Greame's bus has left and we're on the road again, it feels good to be moving again because after all this whole trip is movement. First stop is Alistair's pad just up the road to pick up a couple of London bound buddies.
The troupe is now split, because that is the only way to meet our commitments, but it is also the best way to improve and progress, If we can survive this and function competently as separate entities we can do so much more together as a whole , as a troupe. Now is the time for organising and establishing support and security for the troupe.
When we come together again we will be so much stronger . We will still be able to operate as different limbs on the same body and keep several trips going at the same time - which is what its all about !

London to Rougham Tree Fayre .

Tues 19 th Aug. 8.30 PM.

Ignition sequence completed -engines running we have lift off ! We're on the road again, but Greame and Spike are bopping around town for a bit then leaving soon . We are bound for Rougham in Suffolk , where trees rool OK and Albion is disorganising again . At least we have managed to drag ourselves out f the pit (deep sighs all round ) and we are flowing again .

Wednesday 20th Aug. 9 am.

Rougham Tree Fayre.

The bus has just trundled onto the site , although the Pogo got here last night - the bus was not all systems go, in fact most systems didn't go . The headlights went out to lunch , so a torch was employed, but when the torch is on the road we don't see the signposts, . So we had to make a forced landing at the roadside and wait for morning.

Morning came , so Pat pushed the bus and we were off, then a few miles of wee winding roads and Bombulay, we were here , Revoloto in roadhead. Today, me Spike, Pat and Greame have had bundles of excitement putting the marquee up , considering most of us have never really got putting up the marquee completely sussed , but between us we somehow got the main poles up , but the elements were not helping us . By late afternoon the wind was 100% into being the wind and lack of tent pegs meant that no way could we get it fully up , so 7 AM this morning, after many heavy raps on the subject , we decided it had to come down .

T.U.MT tent at Rougham

Off we bopped into the thin night and grabbing a few Albionic friends soon had the thing down. Then Kazango and a blow for all good peoples involved in the bus with yards of stories and rap. Also today arrived J and Ricki with big bundle- hugs and how do you do's . We had small problems getting them parked near us as Thonday had already parked their Spanner in the works but we soon sorted that out . Its a nice site and a good vibe , this is going to be a good one .

Rougham camp 1980 photo H Hill.

Friday 22nd Aug. 2.PM .

Yesterday we finally got the marquee up after little prompts and pleas from some dude wanting to put his beer ( barrels and crates of ) into it . This is beginning to come together and look like a site. Today we've really started getting the space around the bus together , courtesy of heady space improvement consultants.

Inflatables at Rougham Tree Fayre 1980 -click to view larger version

© Roger Hutchinson

11 PM.

J has been building a house outside the bus or at least doing a good impersonation and Spike put a new marquee well together and general good scenes happening in the bus . Mr Beer Man paid us a visit today and is a really nice guy and is laying booze on us all day ! Our Tibetan Tipples bar is all stocked up and when we get a koffee pot its very exotic fruit juice stall grand opening, but for now - OUT TO LUNCH

Sunday 24th Aug. 9 PM.

The past couple of days has been about getting and keeping the Tibetan Tipples very exotic fruit juice stall together and so far its cool , with Spike the mix is magic mix master and El Esdino providing personal waiter service Compris ! Saturday we opened to business about noon and all afternoon a steady stream of thirstfool Tree Fayrers creshendoed into full house for the evening -with the only bummer being little punko drongos who did rip off our money mug. Janina is here giving grace to the place and had been a beautiful waitress and today has seen many more musicians doing their thing in the bar , all such related scenes with very mellow yellow 9 banana) vibe .

Perry , Clare, Toni and Alan have just rolled up in the beetle , come to see how things are up this end and to take all our money . There was instant' we've done this and we've done that and this and that and this ' rap . Then Alan and Toni showed people the effect of Kazango coffee with Toni spitting fire- which seemed to keep the customers well away !

Monday 25th Aug. 4.AM

Since the 'ents' arrived there has been up to six waiters in the bar all at the same time and its been busy. El Esdino has been temporarily unemployed due to overstaffing , but the 'ents' have to get back to the rest of the troupe at the other side of the sky. Tonite has been and still is, a really good vibe with happy scenes abound around the bar and our fire , where Albion is having a big sing song and noises- but we've had to close the bar on account of we're all burnt out !

Tuesday 26th Aug. 11. PM.

Yesterday our cocktails went mobile and the slightly deportable "Afghanistan Banana Stand " was parked outside Maurice the shower house , but we certainly weren't killed in the rush for the snowballs- in fact we had to do a lot of shouting and fooling to sell them, although nobody could do it quite like Janina. This morning we all woke up , leapt and tumbled out of the bus and ripped everything around the bus down then zooted down snowballs and bye , bye - we dropped the marquee with only a few breaks for grub and snowballs.

This evening most people have gone to the pub, lured by 30p a pint beer and the site is fairly quiet.

Wed 27th Aug. 4 AM.

About two o'clock this morning people started coming back from the pub and frightened all the peace and quiet out of the bus with friends and merryfool enjoyment until about now with all wound down and time to crash with moons in the bus and dreamy sounds floating around. Nice vibe night .

6.00 PM.

Suddenly we're on the road again bound for foolish festival in Penzance , travelling in mini convoy with Greame's bus and the hippy chippy. We left Rougham about two o'clock this afternoon after changing plans and routes half a dozen times although Greame wasn't feeling too hot .So Spike the mix is pogoing he and Janina to London for doctors to worry about.

So with bye bye hugs and kisses warmly we bid Albion fair ye well until Festival of Fools . At the moment we're at the side of the road , somewhere with strange noise and generator problems, but nothing we can't handle.

Thursday 28th Aug. 8 AM .

Now we are sitting at the side of a very large roundabout near Plymouth with a piggie in the middle and J's truck has starter motor problems , so we have to amputate. Last night we battled against the odds and tried to make a dash for Penzance, but by and bye the lights on the bus failed , which halfway down the M5 was a bummer . However , the instant we stopped on the hard shoulder a big trucker 10 four pulled up and offered to drive along behind us until we were off the motorway . So with J out in front we split the motorway and hauled in for the night in a motel car park.

Festival of Fools. Penzance .

5 PM.

After getting away from the very large roundabout and putting all energies into getting to Penzance in time to get the marquee up,we get to Penzance and the fools won't let us in ! They don't want the marquee either saying things like "There is no room, we are full up and you weren't invited anyway , so what do you expect. " and ' how can you come in when we didn't know you were coming , how can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat ? "

So although Perry bus, Mac bus and Golly bus were already in and J managed to slip in, we had to put the bus down by the harbour in a coach park. Anyway the troupe is nearly back together but the friction on the outside is causing tension and headaches on the inside -but we're staying cool and not panicking like the other fools and so we can pull it off- we've been in worse shit than this , we've been fighting the police all summer and carrying generators on and off buses , we've had it all man , we don't want to fight you, we've been fighting the police all summer and carrying generators on and off buses.........

Friday 29th Aug. 2 PM. .

Last night small talks abounded in Perry bus about foolish Festival people and how its not on that they are turning buses and trucks away at the gate, some of whom have come all the way across the country to get here . Its crazy but they just haven't catered for whats happening . So this morning, a few words in the organisers ears about what a cock up this is turning into and they confessed to being 'totally incapable and not really having a clue where they're at. Like they don't even get their dome up, but we've let them use the marquee that just appeared next to the busses last night !. Anyway we gave a few helpful suggestions on how to build a festival in 600 easy lessons and hopefully we can work something out .

Saturday Aug. 30th 7. PM. .

More Tibetans are claiming that the marquee is the best its ever been - with bar , tables, chairs , straw bails and stage with PA and big pink tent . Albion parachute covering half the inside of the tent. Its a good space with day time friendly scenes and midnight madness and zanity.

Today is very laid back with burnt out Tibetans slumped out over tables and on the floor recovering from last night because last night it was all happening . All but one of the Festival Foolish organisers went totally insane and were seeing busses before their eyes and when four busses appeared at the gate their circuits overloaded and heads exploded. In the heat of the chaos appeared shortly , longly and extremely longly departed crew mates. Greame, Spike , buddy and Mike. Then did follow many hours of insanity in the marquee with lots of trippers and space cadets , some of whom likened the scene to the Hammer house of Horrors or even

----" Magic Theatre " ----.

Not for Everyone , ----mad men only .

Suddenly as if by magic the clowns appeared and amazed all with a show performed in the audience, while drunkard fools drunkardly fooled on the stage - once again amid loons and lunacy the Tibetan Ukrainian Mountain Troupe stole the show ! - and its not every day you steal your own show !

After last night all we could do today was christen the marquee the' Cop Out Cafe' although ideas were stirred up about ramming the main gate with four busses and Molotov cocktails when a local piggie visited Mike and Buddy's busses , parked next door and said ' you can't stay here, you'll have to go ". But it seems to have calmed down now and the busses are still sitting outside the great Penzanian show factory- its nice here innit ?

Monday 1st Sept. 12 noon.

Everybody is busy taking everything down and packing it and cramming it into busses ready to leave this afternoon. Sunday was a fairly quiet day with a few odd acts on-stage and the bar steadily turning over. In the evening, the 'Ents " did a show at the Kafe Kafe and so they weren't into doing another at the Cop Out Cafe , but Saturday nights show was one of the best shows ever staged by Tibetans with Perry's old chap as ring master and talking the audience through the show. We pulled a full house and the bar did a roaring trade and we made a hit with d**e cakes - all in all a really good night .

Late last night when most fools were in the land of nod, four busses mysteriously materialised next to our marquee - beats me where they keep coming from , maybe Perry's bus is on heat !

Nobody could have guessed what was going to happen at this festival of twits but somehow , we weathered the storm and yes, we've done it again !

HAIL T.U.MT.

Tuesday 2nd Sept 11 AM.

Yesterday, we left the fools , Buddy , Greame, Spike and Mac split for London and the rest of the Tibetan Ukrainian bus pushing troupe spent most of the day and some of the evening getting the busses four miles up the road to a little piece of common where we are stopping for a bit of work on the busses and things so we can travel more than four miles a day. There are five busses here. -Mac's Perry's Mike's, Thandoys and Steve the bus , with a few trucks ,including J ,some Albion and other smaller vehicles and tents.

This morning , we Tibetan's had a meeting so we could spend all the day usefully - such as foraging for spare parts and food and the 'Ents' say they are going busking !

Wednesday 3rd Sept 2 AM.

Well. so much for the ents going busking but we got a lot of foraging done yesterday . Steve the bus has split taking the drongos with him and tonight is a good together vibe with us all sitting around J's turd burning camp fire with massive raps about space, the universe, the cosmos , the human race, the big why , the Californian freak movement , everything else and even us !

Thursday 3rd Sept 1 AM.

Today black beetling has been sussing a place for the ents to streetly do a show- with a little helping from J, Toni the Phoni and Clair, while Tibetan Traveller company demonstrate how to spend a day perched on a foot wide ledge on a cold wet cliff face 20ft above a rough swell pulling fish out of the sea at a rate of 2 a day .

Then late this afternoon Golly bus split off on route for Gosport, taking tank , Pat and Sunshine as well-with a true Tibetan send-off . Then all bundle into the Perry bus for day 2 of big rap session . STOP PRESS - Mike is moaning because something not unlike a Phoni has crawled into bed with him.

2 PM. .

Early this morning when most Tibetans were still deep in the land of dreaming a somebody from a festival nearby did come to visit and after small chit chat ended saying ,' thanks for the tea and if you start busking at St Ives you'll get busted - goodbye !' In the light of this we are going to head towards Bath , where our next gig is and also make another stop on the way .

This common has been a goodly place to stop and now we are getting ready to go one of the three wild sisters from the next field has come to say goodbye with hugs and kisses and 'come agains ' perhaps we will !

Friday 5th Sept 11 AM.

Many hours and a few road hassles after leaving something bus common, we decided to hit up for the night in some out of the way carnivorous forest near a town called Looe- at which many scenes from the epic ' Balfour the Bad 'saga were re-enacted in fool costume and weaponry - including the infamous Battle Of The Dead Tree Bridge and the 'Forest Chase " , culminating in the the classic performance of Balfour's Last Stand "

This morning after a little juggling and music and without further adoo, we is off again and intend to truck on as far to Bath as we can .

Saturday 6th Sept 12 Noon .

Yesterday was a good example of how not to travel in convoy with just about everything that could go wrong going wrong. We had break downs ,break ups and lots of other ups and downs and ups and downs , but eventually, a few hours after nightfall, we hauled up near Priddy and scored a couple of gallons of real old Somerset paint stripper and I'm not really clear about what happened after that , except vague recollections about an horrendous grey slag heap and getting heavy cos someone snuck off in the battle without telling the rest of us and returned with fish and chips to be consumed behind closed doors and this sort of behaviour is definitely not on.

But anyway, today we arrived at Radford Mill near Redstock and after tricky bus manoeuvres over slightly tight bridge we have managed to get the marquee up - fuck knows how but , yep, its up again ! While we are here we are going to get our shit together- it has been said- and sort out busses and things .

Sunday 7th Sept 1 PM.

Today we have all just been digging the scene because its all so incredibly beautiful , sunshine , bubbling stream and everything- so we've abandoned clothes and are getting back to nature . Yesterday Al the Pal showed up with a couple of chums and new supplies - so good old raps again and all getting wrecked . Then in the evening it was over to the marquee , which was looking very nice with people partying , singalong and dancing , but we were all pretty low key, cos we spent all afternoon on a massive cleanup of Mike's bus with everyone washing sweeping , scrubbing , cleaning, whistling, humming and generally turning into the beautiful countryside we find ourselves in.

7.30 PM.

Geoff and Perry took the Beetle out this afternoon to look for a place to winter out and came up with something under an old railway bridge - which sounds good. Meanwhile preparations have been in full swing for -----

THE GREAT TIBETAN TEA PARTY

To celebrate the end of the season and everything ! -with armfuls of delicious foods and things being cooked up all afternoon and now everybody is looking forward to the feastings and our massive munchies !

Monday 8th Sept 2 AM

The festivities are now just about over and a magic time was had by all. Dinner was served shortly after nightfall around a long table lit by candle and moonlight . Next to the table was a fire which just as we began to eat was invaded by the local under graduate heavy metal biker community to whom we sang songs after the banquet, with lots of good sounds and drum magic- when appeared suddenly "Bomber Balfour" with henchman Phoni , spitting and eating fire to the amazement and amusement of all.

After the guests did split and go home we carried on with mucho music magic and small profound raps about the keg to nature and how the sky is high - well into early hours . Indeed a truly great feast and may we have many more .

11 AM. .

We expected to be woken up this morning by chums from the farm house to take us spud picking but for some reason they haven't shown up so we are just taking it easy and slowly munching breakfast at the left overs from the banquet table.

Tuesday 8th Sept 8. PM.

Eventually the guys from the farm got it together to wander down and so some of us got to work spud picking while Mick and Toni got up to their elbows in Mick's bus and by late afternoon it was ready to run and soon after Mack was off to London with Kate , Annbella and her Christian leaving only Perry's bus , Mac's bus and J's truck .

The marquee has been taken down and Mac's bus was given the old one two to make room for it - leaving Mac's bus looking incredibly in order. That evening the Fizzy bunch were back , providing Perry and Toni and audience for Tibetan bullshit mind reading and palmistry .

Meanwhile on the other side of the sky those revolto roadheads have found a house near Colchester which we might be able to rent for the winter - at least ! Living there at the moment is Albion Annie and kids , so this morning ,after dining vegetably , me, Perry . Clair , T Phoni and Merlinoose beetled over to Colchester to suss it out . Bye and bye , eventfully and anon we have found it , GT Marsh farm , Thorington and wowie zowie, what a real; cool pad -its a gas ! So now we are all sitting here sitting here discussing the potential of the place and how we can make it work.

Late results just in ....