Tea-light lanterns, bunting, tents, guitar and a sweet voice, lamplit disco and little chairs around a fire. All of these and more we found at Mean Man Festival 2012, in a Swansea back garden that slopes down to the beach road, where friends had organised their home-made festival for the second time. Arriving in the dark we found our way into the garden by the side gate and put up our tent by torchlight. Down candlelit steps and earthen paths we made our way to the bottom of the garden where a fire blazed in the centre of concentric circles of laid red-brick.
The tree canopy above us was lit by lamp and firelight against a dark and starry sky. We took our seats on tiny chairs and listened to softly-sung, bitter-sweet songs, drinking wine and watching the flames, woodsmoke in our hair.
Then came the disco, dancing on a slippery-damp dance floor beside the shed-stage. We slept in tents, drifting off to the sounds of the sea and the passing cars.
For breakfast we sat round the picnic bench by the house, with cups of tea and soft-boiled eggs from the resident hens, talking about the early-start bargains bought by those who managed to get up and get to the car boot sales. For the second night of the festivities there will be carpet on the dance-floor (non-slip), Mean Man olympics, the cake competition and more music. Let the festival continue...
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