Maybe I’m getting old, but to me there’s a difference between a concert and a performance – in terms of musicians who are putting on a show. Back in the day I saw plenty of concerts from U2’s Popmart to Hoodoo Gurus to Bob Geldof performing in the Sugarland Tavern in Bundaberg (a story for another time). But I’m more of the vibe where I would like to see an artist give a performance. I think one of the greatest performances ever was Nirvana’s unplugged show in New York. I didn’t see it, but for those lucky few who did it would have been a hell of a memory.

When I saw Angus and Julia Stones were coming to the UK and performing in Bristol, I bought a ticket and timed our short vacay to Bath around the concert. My memories of Angus and Julia’s music were of the lilting lyrical folk songs that they sing. I also spent a lot of time listening to Angus and Julia’s music during my travels through the outback and I always associate them with desert landscapes.

The show in Bristol was a wonderful night. It was a slow, low key performance inside a theatre with lots of personality and style. I had a blast (in a chill, drinking wine and relaxing to great live music kinda way) and realised I need to get out and see more shows like this! Photos below are taken on my iPhone. I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ with a massive camera or zoom lens! LOL

They wanted their set to feel like a living room, which is where they’d been exposed to so much music by their father who was a band conductor and music teacher.

I decided to get away for the half term break and stretch my photography a little further. We visited Bath (the city, duh!) for a few days, then spent a day in the Cotswold and another day exploring Cambridge. They’re all lovely old cities with plenty of history, charm and tourists! Bath is an ancient city and has a lot of amazing history to explore – particularly the Roman Baths and the unique circular architecture in Royal Crescent and the Circus. I managed to get some nice shots.

Cotswold was a quick stop through on the way home. The weather was lovely and the main part of the Cotswold was very vibrant and had a really fun, sunny vibe with people picknicking on the grass, playing in the shallow stream (which my kids enjoyed while harassing the ducks!) and having a pint in local pubs.

Cambridge is something special. Particularly the free museums everywhere that are also working environments for zoological and archaeological students. There were so many great little museums to dip in and out of. But Cambridge also had a great street photographers vibe – from the Palestinian protest camp, to the students on bicycles, the canal boats, the bridges and the character of the people and places. It’d be worth spending some time in Cambridge, just to explore the streets more and capture the personality of the city.

A day trip to Stratford turned out to be the first brilliantly sunny day of the year. There was quite a summer vibe with hundreds of people all relaxing on the grass areas, wandering around the Sunday market, or buying pints and food from the many market stalls that had set up. We walked up to Trinity Church where Shakespeare’s tomb is (sadly, the church was closed for a private event) so we couldn’t go in. We did enjoy wandering up and down the Avon river, dropped into the Royal Shakespeare Company building for a trip to the observation deck, and also enjoyed a pint and some food on the grass. Was a damn fine day and I got a few good shots.