So what has happened in the last 30 years folks? In so many ways the "hippie" "Alternative " view has been corrupted, distorted marketed and plagiarized. However the wild dream of Wales being returned to Oak forests has now got Assembly support and Euro money. The ideas of the environmental movement have been taken on in many aspects of our lives. Sustainability is reputedly at the centre of The National Assembly for Wales' policy making.
The children running around at that festival grew up with a cold war backdrop of imminent nuclear death. The rhetoric of the eco movement was also one of doom, maybe it had to be doom laden to have a chance of being heard. But was it ? if so why Global Warming?. Sexual freedom trans fered to sexual politics but HIV AIDS haunts the world. The post 9:11 climate is one of a recycled fear focussing on the Saracens or do I mean the Muslims. Who needs this fear to motivate them? The Minoan's managed to pootle about the Mediterranean in boats for 1000 years without fear of enemies.
As the communes and shared housing communities and co-ops dwindled the house owning (Bank owned) statistics mushroomed. Drop outs dropped back in and the hold outs became lock outs. Divide and rule. Alternatives were no longer alternative and hard line alternatives became beyond the line and beyond the pale. Born again capitalism dangled shiny new technology and naff designer drugs.
Mainstream music only rarely offers hope and as Jack said to a mildly attentive 14 year old the other day at a party about some vacuous digital- beat- twiddly-synth- sub garage- semi exotic vocal- loop crap that was playing. " this stuff is just Val Doonican all over again"
However
I think there should be a movement that encourages all I POD owners to swap their I PODs with someone they don't know when the hard drive is full or after one year of owning one. Left to our own devices we will just listen to what we know or even worse just what we like.This shortcut to the grave must be avoided by resisting the tendency to right wing thought as age canters on relentlessly. As fuel prices rise we must learn to travel longer distances internally.
Tree of Life link to Magazine article of the time
The second page is unreadable. Dave Hoffman e mailed from California and says he archived these issues at the Haverfordwest Library when he was working there. If I can get time for the research it and get copies I'll scan in more and see if they are unreadable from a critical point of view, 20-20 hindsight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace
We always wondered about Declan's Phone number.
Now for an ever topical issue: Speaking Welsh
Take me back to the good old days you know those pictures of young hippies
Ok but you'll have to scroll down again to get to them.
What! this is naff web site design
Yes. Repetition is good for you at your time of life