The people thought it such a lark…

07/09/08

I fell in love with chocolate at an early age and have remained faithful ever since, so I've never really understood why marketing types describe disappointingly small bars as 'fun size'. To me, a fun size bar of chocolate is one you have to wheel out of the shop on a trolley before asking a couple of passers by to help you load it into your trailer.

Live 08 turned out to be both 'fun size' and a huge chunk of actual fun too.

Due to some logistical challenges arising from Friday's weather, we decided to run with just one stage all day. But rather than detract from the event, this served to create a wonderfully effective focal point, both physically and atmospherically. The buzz and sense of community were palpable.

This was not just down to the 8 bands / 35 musicians and singers who took to the stage over the course of the day and enthusiastically gave their all under difficult circumstances.

For me, what defined Live 08 was the band of unsung heroes who worked tirelessly, often spontaneously and always without complaint. These heroes galantly barbecued, parked cars, collected tickets, mixed sound, served sweets, shuttled people to and from the back-up car park, supervised children , videoed events for posterity, provided first aid support (thankfully not needed), manned stalls, served food, tidied up - I could go on and on. Not to mention those who'd worked so hard in advance preparing the site, building stages, fencing and so on.

We are hugely grateful to all who helped in these ways; without you, Live 08 would have been fun size but a lot less fun.

David Currie

When we get hold of some of the photos of Live, we'll post them in the Gallery.