Fred the mushroom farmer (backblip)

Here we Fred Gillam and Natascha Kenyon, their dog, and some UK mushrooms (cordyceps, grown on brown rice, not caterpillars) by a mushroom farmer called Ben. Fred and Natascha are also mushroom.farmers, and they say they are training the dog to be a truffle hunter. (I think that was a joke). They run courses on the medicinal uses of mushrooms, from their base in Wiltshire. I don't mean magic mushrooms, just any mushrooms, but the country of origin is important, as are the growing methods. Watch this space: I'd like to do one of their courses. 

By noon, when the talk started in the Voices of Gaia marquee, we had broken camp and nearly everything was packed. I went to the talk while K lay in the sun after packing then tent , and we caught the shuttle bus back to the car park. Packed the van, walked back to the festival through the cool green woods of Pearcefield park. 

We watched a few bands. I saw Arcadia Roots, Catrin O'Neil,and A Different Thread. Loved those last two! Got some tofu in jerk seasoning with rice for supper, saw a bit of Nuala's actually, and then moseyed on down to meet K at the solar stage. Kwazula was just finishing their act (I'd seen their act the day before), and it was time for us to leave the Green Gathering. No more processions with polar bears on wheels, no more late nights in the Tiny Tea Tent. All over for another year. 

We walked down the drive, up the steep hill to the car park, and set off back to Stroud. All went well for the next 40.minutes. Coming back into Stroud, though, something in the van snapped at a red light, and we limped to an ignominious halt outside a garage off the A46. Steve had to come out and decant some our stuff from the van and take it home, while K waited for the AA. She was not a happy bunny. She returned later in the tow truck, saying she would have e to make a decision in the morning about where to have the vehicle towed. Getting it back to West Highlands was going to take a day and a half, and she didn't think her local mechanics could fix it quickly. This was a sobering end to the festival, but could not completely squash our spirits. Thank goodness we had both had a free Monday at our disposal!