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This weekend get yourself to Rochester, Kent to see the amazingly unique 'Sweeps Festival.' It sounds a rather strange event, and oddly the name says it all. The basis for the festival are the chimney sweeps of around 300 years ago. It may sound boring at first but i can assure you it's anything but that! The main event of the weekend is the not-to-be-missed procession on Mayday itself. The parade is a colourful display of intriguing local culture and folklore, (look out for the witchmen and Jack in the Green!) and has essences of the Pagan festival, Beltane.

But don't be fooled in to thinking you must be a 'culture-vulture' to enjoy this festival. If this isn't your scene, I'm sure the music and pubs are. With many pubs to choose from, here are just two that are a must!

The Queen Charlotte- A lively atmosphere, great if you're looking for good beer, good music and a good time! You're guaranteed to meet interesting and new people here in the friendly atmosphere. The Queen Charlotte is the base for live music and bands of all kinds, some not to be missed during the festival are The Hot Rats, Colin Reece and Ian Cutler. A lot of the music is folk but there's also a lot of guitar and traditional music. Most will cater for everyone's tastes. The only downside to this pub is that it can become full quickly due to it's popularity. Unfortunately due to the pub's licensing laws, the pub does not allow children.

Great Expectations-Another must! this quirky little pub holds a play-along during the festival which you can not miss. Again there is a great sense of atmosphere and you're guaranteed to have a good time and the children will have lots of fun spotting traditional instruments and methods of playing them that they may not have seen before. the sing-along is great for families-your children will be going home singing the songs you learnt when you were a child! Ask to find this pub as it is especially tucked away and you may experience difficulties finding it. Again it can become a little crowded.

The whole festival is unique and you'll never experience anything like it any where else in the world. It's a place you must visit and it's on this weekend so be quick making arrangements! Even if you just go for the day it'll be worth it. Try and go on the Mayday as this is the day of the procession. Locals are friendly and will be helpful towards you in finding places you wish to visit and I'm sure there will be lots of them! A few I should mention are the craft fair, the castle and the cathedral. Don't forget our recommendations on the pubs as well!

So don't miss it! This fantastic festival is fun and has a friendly atmosphere. So don't forget about it or you'll be frantic about missing the most cultural and entertaining event of the year!


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Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival Sweeps Festival	Forget Woodstock, here's the ultimate festival that you must visit! Friday -Monday 1st -5th May 2003 This weekend get yourself to Rochester, Kent to see the amazingly unique 'Sweeps Festival.' It sounds a rather strange event, and oddly the name says it all. The basis for the festival are the chimney sweeps of around 300 years ago. It may sound boring at first but i can assure you it's anything but that! The main event of the weekend is the not-to-be-missed procession on Mayday itself. The parade is a colourful display of intriguing local culture and folklore, (look out for the witchmen and Jack in the Green!) and has essences of the Pagan festival, Beltane. But don't be fooled in to thinking you must be a 'culture-vulture' to enjoy this festival. If this isn't your scene, I'm sure the music and pubs are. With many pubs to choose from, here are just two that are a must! *The Queen Charlotte-* A lively atmosphere, great if you're looking for good beer, good music and a good time! You're guaranteed to meet interesting and new people here in the friendly atmosphere. The Queen Charlotte is the base for live music and bands of all kinds, some not to be missed during the festival are The Hot Rats, Colin Reece and Ian Cutler. A lot of the music is folk but there's also a lot of guitar and traditional music. Most will cater for everyone's tastes. The only downside to this pub is that it can become full quickly due to it's popularity. Unfortunately due to the pub's licensing laws, the pub does not allow children. *Great Expectations-Another must! this quirky little pub holds a play-along during the festival which you can not miss. Again there is a great sense of atmosphere and you're guaranteed to have a good time and the children will have lots of fun spotting traditional instruments and methods of playing them that they may not have seen before. the sing-along is great for families-your children will be going home singing the songs you learnt when you were a child! Ask to find this pub as it is especially tucked away and you may experience difficulties finding it. Again it can become a little crowded. The whole festival is unique and you'll never experience anything like it any where else in the world. It's a place you must visit and it's on this weekend so be quick making arrangements! Even if you just go for the day it'll be worth it. Try and go on the Mayday as this is the day of the procession. Locals are friendly and will be helpful towards you in finding places you wish to visit and I'm sure there will be lots of them! A few I should mention are the craft fair, the castle and the cathedral. Don't forget our recommendations on the pubs as well! So don't miss it! This fantastic festival is fun and has a friendly atmosphere. So don't forget about it or you'll be frantic about missing the most cultural and entertaining event of the year! See you there!* Cara
	*Junior Page Launch* December 2002 Everyone goes on holidays so why don't you mail TouringPitch.com? It’s a great web site for all ages; you don’t have to own your own caravan to be interested in it. You don’t even have to be interested in caravans at all. Maybe you prefer roughing it up in a tent. That goes for you kids as well. We all know how boring it is going on a wet weekend holiday to Devon with Mum and Dad. But the new launch of TouringPitch.com will include a special section just for children and lets not forget teenagers. I know what goes on when you tell your Mum you’re sleeping ‘over a friends house’ but you just happen to be sleeping in the back garden, that’s why you need to take a six-man tent and food that could last a week! We won’t go into what really goes on, on those camping trips after all your parents will never let you stay out again! But a few handy tips wouldn't go amiss now would they? Or even a few games that can be a good laugh when you’re in a field with nothing to do. I think it’s fair to say that TouringPitch.com isn't just for crazy people whose whole lives are spent trekking the country looking for a campsite they haven’t been to, though of course crazy people are welcome to. After all the creator of this site is a bit of a camping nut! (Sorry Paul! I suppose I’ll have to buy you a drink next time I see you!) TouringPitch.com is a great site to find useful tips, dates for Caravans hows, reviews on the latest caravans, gadgets and campsites and it also gives you great ideas on places to visit or if you’re not interested in things like that, which I must admit I’m not, then that doesn't’t mean you won’t enjoy a camping holiday. Lots of campsites now have spas, and definitely most have swimming pools, indoor and out. We also will provide recommendations for pubs, (now I’m talking universal language, right?) it’s fair to say this is my specialist area! And that’s not forgetting restaurants and clubs all over the country near to where you might be staying. It’s a fairly interactive site, which means you can contact us with your suggestions and site reveiws at any time. Going somewhere soon and want to find out more about it? Leave us a message on the site’s ‘Contact Us’ feature and we’ll try our best to help as many people as we can. So explore our site today, TouringPitch.com and see what you’re missing. Don’t forget to recommend us to friends and family, after all it doesn’t cost anything just to browse through. The site is updated frequently so make sure you never miss out on news and reviews. Cara
	*January 2003* *Junior page Update!* Here we are in the New Year, and billions of pounds are once again going to be spent by you the public, on holidays. But we’re not just talking abroad now are we? Sometimes we can fancy a quiet, or not so quiet break but still want to remain in the UK. So we aim to give you recommendations on the hottest spots this year for a brilliant experience without paying bucket-loads in travel expenses. Yes we know the weather can be a pain but it doesn’t need to ruin a good holiday. There’s loads more you can do other than trekking around in the rain. And beaches? Who mentioned beaches as a necessity for a holiday? If you’re in Greece then fair enough but again there’s loads more you can do. For inspirational tips log on to this website this year and get tips on entertaining whilst on a UK break. Hopefully lots more work will be done this year to improve and complete the site but be patient and keep logging on to check for updates. I’ll try to write as often as needed to keep you updated on what’s happening with the site and don’t forget to look out for the up and coming Junior Column this very site! Cara






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