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Sunshine Festival
at Upton upon Severn
Andy Gregory,
Chair, Birmingham, West Midlands Branch
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?”
Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners
Conga led by Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally
Sophie Ellis Bexter
POLICE WORLD
Vol 62 No. 4, 2017
26
IPA News