On the 27th Feb, whilst some of the team were doing the Sodexo Awards others were at PortFest, a boutique Festival inside a massive hotel that looks like a castle in Port Patrick, near Stranraer.
The mini festival runs across two halls in the hotel and occasionally spills into the local pubs in the picturesque village. We'd been brought in to provide lighting on a "non-existent budget". We love a challenge so this was a great series of shows for us. We lit both halls but were asked to provide a different feel for the Friday and Saturday nights in each room. On the Friday we went with some up-lighting and slim ultra bright parcans on T-bars and then on the Saturday we augmented that with a big screen and 5 moving heads. They're the kind of thing you see on the X-factor when the judges walk out.
Fans of 80's music should certainly recognise at least two of the names on the bill: James Grant (Love and Money) and JJ Gilmour of the Silencers. JJ's a fascinating guy. Not only did he sing with the Silencers but also East 17 and he's written a hit musical "Dancing Shoes" based on George Best's life. His band include two former members of the Silencers, Phil and Stevie Kane together with Wet, Wet, Wet's Graeme Duffin. I'd really been looking forward to hearing them as I missed the chance when they were supporting the Waterboys at Stirling's Hogmanay. I was hosting and DJ'ing the event but unfortunately high winds menat a cancellation. It was also a wild couple of nights in Port Patrick but for all the right reasons. It was great to sit back for once and watch the guys I work with create magic while I enjoyed a small refreshment.