We spent our first weekend in the UK checking out the annual Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Our younger daughter, Mlle, works in the music PR industry and was working there all the long weekend though we did manage to catch up with her in between all her commitments!
We saw some great artists performing including the world premier of “Decade Zero” by David Maric with Phronesis & the Engines Orchestra, the multi instrumentalist, singer and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello and scored last minute tickets to the Grammy winning ensemble Snarky Puppy. We also sat in on some radio shows – the range of music was wide and eclectic some of it far removed from “traditional” jazz. The age range of visitors spanned small children right through to the elderly – there were even quite a few dogs there though not sure what they made of the music!
We also checked out the food stalls and watched quite a few of the many street performances. Cheltenham is a bustling spa town and the elegant Regency buildings made a lovely backdrop for the festival. Venues included the Town Hall as well as the central site in Montpellier Gardens. All in all we had a fabulous time and were also able to see a lot of Monsieur’s family who live locally.
The Cheltenham Jazz Festival normally takes place at the end of April and spreads across the May bank holiday weekend – we’ll be looking out for the 2018 programme!
I’m writing this post up on my iPad so please excuse the fact it’s not up to my usual editorial standards! I don’t find the WordPress iPad app particularly user friendly but at least it means I can get some posts out whilst on the road!
Copyright © 2017 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
Looks like a fun thing to do Rosemary! How nice too that you were able to spend some time with your daughter in her less hectic moments.
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Yes it was great fun Joy. Mlle was so busy but we still got to see a fair bit of her and it was interesting to get a feel for her work. We’ll be seeing her again at the end of next week and she’s coming to Switzerland with us for part of our trip 😃 Up in Yorkshire now and enjoying the sunshine ( still well wrapped up against the wind though!). Hope you’re having a good week! 😀
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I think you’ve brought the sunshine with you Rosemary – although it is, I’m sure, far more chilly than you’re used to!! Fingers crossed it stays a little longer…
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It’s very pleasant Joy as long as I’m rugged up as there is still a cool breeze but much better than on previous visits! It’s hardly rained so far!!
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The Cotswold is such a beautiful corner of the UK. I had not heard of this festival before, sounds like great fun and spending time with your daughter must have been the “icing on the cake”? She looks a lot like you 😄
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Thanks Gilda! It was certainly a fun Festival – we passed through some of the Cotswold towns and villages en route from London on the train but didn’t have time to stop and explore. However Cheltenham was a very pretty base and good to see our daughter again! 😃
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Oh it looks like you had fun! must have been great to spend time with your daughter and listen to some good music! Love the food trucks!
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It was great fun Gin – yes we thought the food trucks very original especially the one made out of an old double-decker bus! The music was really good too and interesting to see Mlle’s work! 😃
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Nice to be able to spend time with Mlle in her ‘natural’ environment, and very nice it looks too. 🙂 Those poppies are wonderful, Rosemay!
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The poppies were part of an exhibition at the town hall to do with the British Legion and the 1st World War. I can’t do so much on the WordPress app so wasn’t able to explain what all the photos were about! I will write up more when back home! However the poppies were all made from crochet work – it was a beautiful display. Yes it was so interesting to see Mlle in her work environment Jo – we’ve heard a lot about it but it’s good to get a feel for what she does!
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It’s not easy to post ‘on the road’. More important to enjoy your time together. 🙂
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Yes definitely it’s tricky and most of the trip I’ll write up when I’m back home so I’ll only be on here from time to time!
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Love that old bus and the cascade of poppies, there is a similar display like that near to me in the city o f Hull!
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We loved the old bus – very original! The poppies were part of an exhibition at the town hall to do with the British Legion – beautiful and very moving 😃
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Same as those at Hull, if you are close by try and get across, you would like it!
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Would love to see the exhibition but time is already getting away from on this visit!
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