Breaking camp

Lunch for 8 people. Tuna & sweetcorn, egg mayo, salad, cheese. It’s ready before Jol arrives, chilling in the fridge. Stuart, Mandy, and Charlie arrive next, closely followed by Leila.

We eat. Tony is on his was from the airport, arriving after the food has gone. We head into the sunny city, weaving busy streets to Hyde Park. On the way we collect Josie. Aslak is already inside.

Airport style security. No food or drink allowed. Laura Marling. Neil Young. Bob Dylan. The sun is shining, but a wind keeps us cool. People keep disappearing, only to return with 8 pints in cardboard carriers. Stuart heads off in search of mojitos. There is even, at some point, a bucket of French fries with a plate of tomato ketchup.

Laura is good. Neil Young is great, looking really happy, playing an excellent selection, including Winterlong and I’ve Been Waiting For You. There was a trio off Ragged Glory (Mansion On The Hill, Country Home, Over And Over), and another trio from Harvest (Heart of Gold, a blistering Alabama, and a scorching, meandering version of Words). Not forgetting Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

At one point, he launched into Roll Another Number (For The Road), but stopped after the first line and instead played Piece Of Crap. Then the encore - a wild version of Like A Hurricane, with many false endings and a bizarre distortion and vocoder conclusion.

It was always going to be difficult for Bob to match up, and for me, he didn’t. He reworked many of his old favourites to the point that they were unrecognisable. The music was overwhelmingly blues-y, and sounded fine, but the set didn’t do it for me.

And Bob & Neil didn’t join for a duet. Which was a shame.

The Bannermans leave early to catch the last train. The rest of us collect our things, trace our way through the afternoon’s detritus, and head our separate ways. Tony, Leila, and I head to the flat. Exhausted, we lounge, while Deliveroo does it’s stuff.