PW_04_2017

IPA News

Sunshine Festival at Upton upon Severn Andy Gregory, Chair, Birmingham, West Midlands Branch

Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners

IPA Friends in the ‘Sunshine’. In August 9 Region decided to meet at the Sunshine Festival at Upton upon Severn. It was Sav Kyriakou and his wife Helen’s first experience of a music festival and it gave the group an opportunity to socialise in a relaxed environment on the campsite adjacent to the festival field. Sav said “What a brilliant introduction to a music festival, it was family- friendly with great amenities and terrific value for money. Our group consisted of a dozen serving police officers and their partners, and all of us serve in the same Army Reserves unit, and this was the perfect venue for us all to meet up and have a very memorable weekend.” Upton upon Severn is a small picturesque town on the west bank of the River Severn. For decades it has hosted Jazz and Blues Festivals in May and July, but in 2010 some local businessmen hosted the first rock and pop festival which has been held annually since then on the August Bank Holiday weekend. This year was the eighth rock and pop festival and it has grown in size rapidly since its inception. At the first festival in 2010 only 800 tickets were sold, but it’s now attended by 10,000 people annually. This year the acts included Sophie Ellis Bexter, Blue, Atomic Kitten, Paul Young, Kim Wilde and the Three Degrees, as well Sunshine Festival regulars Bad Manners and The Wurzels! The Festival now has four stages, with more than 100 acts performing over the weekend and visitors can camp at the venue from Thursday to Monday. Birmingham, West Midlands branch Chair Andy Gregory attended the first Upton Festival in 2010 and the last five since 2013. Andy said “Joanne and I book every year as the Sunshine Festival is always great fun, with some brilliants acts and bands performing. It was great to meet Sav, Helen and other IPA friends this year and we hope they return in 2018. A few years ago former IPA Vice-President Ronnie Dukes was exploring the possibility of IPA Section UK hosting a music festival. Maybe another option could be for a large meet-up of IPA friends from across the country at the Sunshine Festival in 2018?”

Conga led by Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally

Sophie Ellis Bexter

POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 4, 2017

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