the final curtain falls on Beyond the Border

Beyond the Border 2014

Friday 4th to Sunday 6th July 2014
St Donats Castle, St Donats , Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, CF61 1WF, Wales MAP
early bird £90 for weekend with camping

I woke, ate and queued behind 6 others for an hour to use the shower and felt grateful after more so because the poor souls behind me were to suffer as the facilities ran out of water. The toilets too suffered from the lack of water and a great line developed in front of the one chemical toilet. Anyone near the back would have been far wiser to walk the five minutes to the main site.

So now I knew how things worked a little better I moved around the site picking out what I wanted to see and learning to queue at least 20 minutes before it started. Only once was I turned away. The White Tent, a 330 capacity Tardis denied me just as I was about to step through the door. I even got told off like a naughty school child for sitting outside one of the rear entrances to listen in.

Having travelled many countries myself and often the hard way I have a penchant for the tales of other travellers so when in the program I saw Blondie of Arabia the story of a young American woman's solo bike trip through the middle east into Syria I cast aside fairy tales to hear some real life adventure. I was not disappointed. Monica Hunken told of her travels with her bike elegantly capturing the persona of the people she met and her own feelings of loneliness, self doubt and triumph at her brave mission. Of course the comedy and insight would be drawn from the fact that she was a blonde woman travelling alone in a part of the world where most women are covered and whilst she did not berate the actions of the men she met I found myself blush regretfully once or twice on behalf of my whole gender. Whilst the other performers were perhaps easier to discover Monica Hunken was a hidden gem that those who discovered her performance felt lucky to have been there.

The final performance I saw was with Jan Blake who told an epic tale with the help of Kouama and Raymond Sereba providing African music and luscious harmonies transporting us to the warm climes of Mali. Like a mother kindly scolding her children she would stop the song if we were singing without and form of physical movement. Quite right too I thought, as we clapped and joined in the songs on cue. Ancient grievances between kings and countries were recounted as if true fact and I began to wonder if people of the past had such matter of fact reactions to deal as those in the tales we heard. To a standing ovation Blake and friends left the stage and I realised it was almost time to leave.

With the festival winding down towards the end of the sunday there was a delightful procession with lanterns accompanied by drummers dressed in bright garb. It was a nice all inclusive way to celebrate the end of this coming together. In this small space I'm given I haven't gone too far into detail about many of the performances as they all had their own merit to someone there. What I found a little tiring by the end of the evening was enrapturing for those around me and what I cackled with glee at other perhaps had found was more suitable to their children.......

The event as a whole was a great success, as I'm sure it has been and always will be. I'm glad it's small but I do wonder why it's small. I wonder families aren't attending in their thousands as it will be a cherished experience that you will carry together strengthening family bonds. It will expand the minds and hearts not just of your little ones but of us adults also. I will go as far as to sum it up simply for families with small children - Do you love your family, your children? (insert the word yes after) So why aren't you taking them to Beyond the Border!?!?!?!?

review by: Richard Potter

photos by: Richard Potter