South from The Green Gathering to Dartmoor Folk Festival - via The Sidmouth Folk Festival

I was reluctant to leave the Green Gathering where I'd had such a wonderful time, I definitely hope to run workshops there again next year! My next working festival was to be down in Dartmoor in the lovely small village of South Zeal. Firstly a little time out playing music and singing songs at the Sidmouth Folk Festival.
Dartmoor Festival.

The Dartmoor Folk Festival ran from August 9th, 10th and 11th and is a friendly traditional festival, with the highlight being the Dartmoor Step-dance and Broom-dance Championships!
The Craft area, Craft tent, Sideshows, Demonstrations, Dance Displays and Children's Entertainers are all held in the local playing fields where the general feel is of one of those rare days out in the 1900's when all the family dressed in their Sunday best and attended the annual fair - a truly lovely weekend is to be had here!

I was fortunate to have a prime view of all the events and to be situated next to a small stream that could be heard tumbling over the stony river bed. The tuffet-making workshops were well attended, I had a particularly memorable time with a lovely family, mum, dad and two teenage boys that all came along together to make a family collection of tuffets!

Photos to follow!

I would like to extend my thanks to the lovely gentleman that produced some beautiful Welsh Black fleeces for me to use, from his own locally shared Welsh Black flock!

Welsh Black: www.farmonacard.com

From Buddhafield to Farm Fest -
Farmfest set in Bruton in Somerset is a very different festival to previous Tuffeteer experiences, filled with young party goers and many DJ tents. By far the best tent for me was the dub tent featuring The High Grade Rockers - great music, great company - a festival atmosphere all of it's own - we loved them!
The craft area was set above the music area and distracted quite a few revellers away from the music to attempt tuffet making and also mask making workshops!

I had the lovely Jaz (in the bright sari) to help and support the apprentice tuffetees and a very fine job she did. It was her first time and certainly won't be her last!! The folk above are selecting their fleece to begin their own tuffets. The weather was great on the Saturday but unfortunately became quite wet on the Sunday but this did not deter the music fans! 

Great masks to construct and colour to your own design

 One of the highlights of the festival is the annual hat competition - this is so important that it was monitored by the hat police - no hat then you were issued with the badge of shame! I particularly liked Farmer Giles and Farmer Gill complete with the model calf!!

A great festival for cider lovers and party animals!
The downside? - I was deeply saddened to see the amount of rubbish and waste left behind, the fields were littered with abandoned tents, ground mats, sleeping bags, airbeds, cans and bottles plus general litter everywhere. Many people were collecting things to avoid them going into ground fill - a lot of education is needed for these festival goers - anyone out there up for the challenge to design a fun anti-litter campaign that draws people in rather than pointing the finger?

Buddhafield Festival - the fire in the heart!

Each year Buddhafield has a theme and this year it was ' A Fire in the Heart'. Throughout the rituals many people wore something red to fit with the theme. 

I love this festival, and am not alone - check out the testimonials, due to the absence of drugs and alcohol, 3000 people enjoying each others company in discussion, music, chanting, song and lots of great veggie food and superb Chai tea!! 

I was fortunate to run my tuffet making workshops in a beautiful open yurt that provided a very comfortable, natural space that was shaded perfectly from the beautifully intense rays of the sun, which was very fitting with the theme for this year!

It's really great to have men and women of all ages tuffeting together!

I was lucky to have my beautiful assistant, Hazel, to help me this year - brilliant to be working together with someone to thread the looms, help all you lovely people when things appear to go wrong - but they don't really as every tuffet is unique yet still creates that perfect 'Bottom Heaven'! Workshops were overflowing with budding tuffetees sharing the love of true eco-friendly woolly goodness!

Get into the Spirit ... but Leave the Spirits at Home

'Buddhism is about getting out of our head. Into the body. Into the abundance of the present moment. Away from stale thought loops that regret the past or worry about the future; away from a dulled, dumbed down experience; away from avoiding parts of ourselves, into the full vividness and beauty of now'.

Tuffets and Lowender Peran unite!!

Lowender Peran festival starts tomorrow  - Spoilt for choice with Celtic music, Celtic dance, Celtic song and yes, you've guessed it ....Celtic story telling for an entire weekend!
Could anything improve the experience?? Only if one was to enjoy the concerts and storytelling with one's bottom delightfully snuggled into the comforts of a long-awaited tuffet. The Travelling Tuffeteer will have a stall in the craft area demonstrating the creation of such ultimate rustic luxury for your delectation. You will have the opportunity to rest weary buttocks for a wee while upon a wool tuffet and there will be a selection of rustic tuffets for sale. Yes! - you can be the proud owner of your very own provider of 'Bottom Heaven'! What better way to relax after an energetic workshop than with Tea and Tuffet!!

Making Waves Festival - Looe

The scene is set and what a great first festival - all the ingredients of a winning weekend, free Friday, stage on the beach, traditional cornish music in West Looe, alternative stage in the Rose Garden Marquee, what could be missing? Bands such as The Selector, Ade Edmundsen and the Bad Shepherds, Dalla, From The Jam,  Roy Wood and his Rock & Roll Band, Reg Meuross, Cornwall Youth Jazz Orchestra, Penndrumm, Jessica Sweetman, Unstrung Heroes, Keltique, Pentorr, Kath and her Bluegrass Boys, plus  choirs from Looe, Polperro and Pelynt, Sheila's School of dancing, Big Man Bubba and many more, all combined to make a wonderful diverse festival! Please go to http://www.ilovelooe.co.uk/photographs/events-innear-looe/looe-music-festival-2011 for more great photos of the festival taken by Chris Halls for the festival!

Roy Wood and his Rock and Roll Band on the main stage

So where was the downside? The uncomfortable hard wooden and plastic seats were in abundance and could have led to being the one downside of the festival until The Travelling Tuffeteer arrived to provide the necessary 'bottom heaven' for the twelve hour marathon sung by the shanty singers in The Jolly Sailor on West Looe. As voices were sounding strong and brave, buttocks were slowly becoming numb and disillusioned - the wool tuffets were tested and cares rapidly soothed away as the experience of bottom heaven transformed the basic chair to a seat of luxury. Singers and musicians can all embrace  the wonders of 'Bottom Heaven since 2011'

e.mail contact: tuffets@hotmail.co.uk

Tuffet or cushion? Or Tuffet?

The tuffet is a very simple organic, eco friendly 'sit upon' that may present itself in many guises. It has much in common with the well known  cushion which  has been around in one form or another; According to our literary gurus there have been many a mention as far back as the Middle Ages, being included in inventories for Royal Palaces and being a symbol of some status in the French churches. The cushion in it's many forms has been traditionally stuffed with bracken, heather, horse hair, feathers or sheeps wool.
The Travelling Tuffeteer has taken this symbol of sustainable luxury to it's simplest form - the outer casing has been removed and the sumptuous comfort of eco-friendly natural fleece has been exposed to provide you with the ultimate in 'Bottom Heaven'. A phrase coined by a most grateful musician who had been previously  subjected to the most severe discomfort provided with the usual festival concert wooden seat, or the settle in the pub at the local music session. He can now carry his own lightweight status symbol with pride and avoid the look of pity as some invoke when carrying their rather frilly cushions from home. The rustic nature of the tuffet allows you to feel a part of that nature, as the fleece gently soothes and reflects warmth, whilst repelling the damp that so often seeps into this very basic of provided furniture. Would the cushion have this same effect? No, it could not as the outer covering would detract from the benefits. The  wool fibres of the tuffet create an optimal temperature zone, they conduct excess heat and moisture away from the body and it  is also non-allergenic - probably not even the bravest  dust mite would dare!! Scientists have shown that wool fibres can induce a deep relaxed state which will obviously benefit all who sit upon the woven natural tuffet. Could the modern cushion fulfil such a mighty task, comfort, health benefits and an element of suave rural sophistication??

So, the evidence is before you, the question is to Tuffet or cushion, tuffet or not to tuffet?

 Perhaps the quest for true  'Bottom Heaven' has been fulfilled.

Contact: tuffets@hotmail.co.uk