MUSIC, SUN AND FUN – it has to be FESTIVAL time

Who needs Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Carlisle and the Foo Fighters?

Head down to Doncaster’s Sandall Park Fake Festival this Saturday and catch the Four Fighters  – ( Click here to WIN TICKETS!! )

Summer has well and truly begun and for music lovers here at www.whatson4me.co.uk, we can’t wait for the big start at 12.30pm, when the festival opens.  Sonny Donny will host the best tribute festival in the country, Fake Festivals is bringing back to Sandall Park a jam packed day of live entertainment, music and look-alikes!!

“We have played all over the UK and Europe and at some pretty big festivals but nothing beats the intimacy of these Fake Festivals believe me,” says Iain Angus of Four Fighters. “As a singer you want to interact with the crowd and see the whites of their eyes, this is just the place to give us that. This will be our third year on the Fake Festivals tour and we are doing more dates this year than ever. I’m ready to blow the roof off with our Foo Fighters set, I just hope everyone is ready for us!”

If that wasn’t enough to build the anticiipation, headlining along with the Four Fighters are Blondied and Oasish. “I like to think I am a perfectionist when it comes to re-creating the look and the sound of Liam and Oasis, and I reckon Fake Festivals are also perfectionists when it comes to re-creating festival atmosphere,” says Paul Higginson of Oasis. “We love what they do for us and for the crowds we play to. Expect to see the Liam swagger and the full set of classic Brit pop tunes you all know and love. It’s going to be a fantastic festival and I am ‘Mad for it!”

So with the promise of sunshine on Saturday, where else would you want to be than Sandall Park Fake Festival?

There is also a huge one time only, and especially for Fake Festivals, special guest appearance by the Chippendoubles. After they found fame on Britain’s Got Talent, The Chippendoubles have become one of the UK’s most sought after acts, and they are coming to Sandall Park to give a special one off performance. As they thrive on the element of surprise, Fake Festivals do not know what time they will be on stage, so make sure you are there early on in the afternoon so as not to miss them. They could jump on stage at any time!

Walkabout and Fake Festivals have also collaborated this year to bring you the Fake Festivals after party, which will be held at Walkabout straight after the festival, so head down there for drinks offers and to continue the party, along with the Fake festivals team and bands.

Tickets are priced at £17 Adult, £12.50 Young Person (7-17 years), and a Family Ticket of 2 adults and 2 young people at £50. Under 7’s are free.

Tickets are available from www.fakefestivals.co.uk, and also available from the following outlets:

• Doncaster Free Press Office
• Sandall Park Café
• Day Today Store, Wheatley
• C&N News, Kirk Sandall
• Formula One Motorist Discount, Edenthorpe
• L Beevers Newsagents, Armthorpe
• Electro Music, Copley Road

From Coast to Mountain (and back) in a Beer Glass!

Newspapers spot What's On 4 Me's Judge Brian at Doncaster Beer Festival

Brian from South Yorkshire What’s On 4 Me, recently judged ales at the Doncaster Beer Festival and here’s what he reports back…

The theme of this year’s Doncaster CAMRA Beer Festival was COAST & MOUNTAIN. A quest, not so much for the perfect pint, but a CELEBRATION of all the finest beers…

Well it was worth the wait, and required a reasonable recovery time (for www.whatson4me.co.uk ‘s resident publandlord), as the 21st Doncaster CAMRA Beer Festival was a resounding success. DoncasterCollege’s Hub campus was an excellent TAP ROOM for the estimated 2,500 people in attendance throughout the Festival. Afterall, a venue of prominence and stature was a prerequisite to house more than 100 cask ales including milds, stouts, porters, ciders and pale ales. And that is before we made a start at the continental bar featuring beers from around the globe.

With beer tokens in hand we approached, to all intense purposes, the Hadrians wall of Doncaster constructed from a seemingly infinite line of casks…

This blogger had a lips smacking sense of anticipation as we started our ‘tour’naturally with the whatson4me sponsored Impy Dark fromBrampton.  An excellent introduction laced with the aroma and flavours of roasted coffee and chocolate.

Now with the serious business of judging to follow it was time to sit down with fellow panellists, a plate of dry crackers and some still water (to clean the palate) and some last minute guidance from CAMRA Pubs ‘ officer Bob Kiddle .

Serious, professional business this beer tasting – the lengths the Whatson4me Team go to…

Faced with 9 Golden Ales of various hues we set to work with gay abondon – that is to say, we started to drink. The beer flowed, the chatter was colourful and the bonhomie magnificent…

Seriously we should all make this a regular part of our social diary, be it at CAMRA festivals or simply amongst friends.

This is the way to partake in sampling everything from ‘Spanked Monkey IPA’ to ‘Mrs Simpsons Thriller in Manilla’  or ‘Gecko To Nose You’ and ‘The Codrington Codger’, Doncaster’s own ‘Zigger Zagger’ courtersy of the Toad Brewery, the delightful ‘Lucinda’s Lager’ (not just for the ladies) and one of your blogger’s personal favourites; ‘ Scratty Ratty’…. 

I could go on… but this year’s winners were:

Best Bitter of the Festival and Overall Beer of the Festival – Skinners Keel Over

Speciality Beer- Isle of Avalon Willow’s Raspberry Ripple

Golden Ale – Townhouse Enigma

Mild – Isle of Avalon Jake’s Mild 

Porter – Elland 1872 Porter

Bitter – Mallinsons Europa

Stout – Two Roses Black Beauty

So with the ‘professional’ duties duly fulfilled it was time to make a start on my favourite corner of the festival. No not the succulent morsels from the HUB’s food counters , or the live music stage with excellent local bands, or the kids/family area, but the CONTINENTAL BAR.

This ‘taster’ had stepped up the ante to enter those legendary beerhalls ofValhalla!

After all to enjoy the ‘Mirabelle’ a 3.5% plum flavoured lambic fromBelgiumto theSierra Nevada’Bigfoot Barley Wine Ale’ @ 9.6% introduces new extremes of fine beer appreciation.

This was a great event for everyone (ages, shapes & sizes), a clean and efficient venue with lots of friendly people.

The presence in the crowd of such a wide age range, from young to slightly more mature, and the high proportion of the fairer looking sex truly made this a festival to revisit.

Watch out for more CAMRA events in your locALE by visting www.whatson4me.co.uk

Its time to hail the ale and cheer the beer…

 

 

Doncaster is the HUB of the beer world this weekend (April 14-16) as the College, known as The Hub, hosts Doncaster CAMRA’s 21st Beer Festival.   A truly International beer jamboree, there will be a pint to tickle everyones taste buds, from domestic milds, stouts, porters and pale ales to the Continental Beer Bar (over 30 beers from across the globe).  Great food, live music throughout the festival and a family area on Friday and Saturday (until 6pm).

This is a MUST EVENT for people across South Yorkshire. 

JUDGING PANEL!! – It’s all about the flavour though and our intrepid www.whatson4me.co.uk team are stepping up to the plate. It took some arm twisting but we relented and are taking on the mantle of Pub Landlord! 

We are putting our tasting skills to the test as we are graciously volunteering to act as part of the judging panel for the festival.  Now this is a serious act as up to 10 beers per category will have to be enjoyed, erm…, I mean professionally analysed, critiqued and judged.

So while everyone out there is enjoying a leisurely Thursday evening, partaking in one’s own favourite pastimes…pause a moment and think of those of us striving to select the finest of beers from amongst the world’s finest offerings… 🙂

Just imagine all that refreshing beer…

Watch  this space…for a post-Beer Festival update!

Brian (South Yorkshire What’s On 4 Me)