Freshly Social

Ah music festivals, it encompasses freedom, music and summer. The UK is known for its many summer music festivals that are an annual occurrence on the calendar and an awaited event for many music festival fiends. But what are the best festivals to go to you may ask? Well many people have their favorites and are fiercely loyal but in this article we list the top 5 UK music festivals, arguable that is and let us say for argues sake, they are in no particular order.

1. The Secret Garden- July

This music festival is one of the babies in the summer music festivals scene and is the local gather for all hipsters and hippies. The Secret Garden has not been around very long but has gained much loyalty and is rumored to pay homage to a niche community that encompasses freedom and a jolly good time.

With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on the horizon, councils have given permission for street parties to be held, also waiving the legal fee required to close roads for social gatherings. With over 50,000 applications for road closures, the Diamond Jubilee will see as many, if not more, residents celebrating this momentous event than the wedding of Prince William to Katherine Middleton in April 2010.

With summer on the way, street parties are already being planned and highly anticipated. Nothing like dusting off the open-toed shoes, shorts and t-shirt, summer umbrellas and cooler boxes for some decent relax time when celebrating and enjoying the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. London estate agents may find themselves with their hands full as people start looking for apartments in popular streets known for their vibey street parties.

The upcoming Olympics isn’t the only event that will see the whole of London celebrating in 2012 – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, taking place this June, will mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession of the throne. Queen Elizabeth 2 became the monarch of the British Commonwealth in February 1952, however the UK Diamond Jubilee celebrations will be held to coincide with the Queen’s birthday on 4th June. This means that Londoners will be treated to a four-day bank holiday over the time of the Diamond Jubilee, and the celebrations will include everything from street parties to London park parties.

Of course, the highlight of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be the maritime parade on the Thames River – this will appeal not only to aluminium boat builders, but also to fans of all things nautical whether they are royalists or not. The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant will be held on June 3rd and will feature a flotilla of no less than one thousand vessels, ranging from tugs to tall ships.

London’s ice sculpture festival has just finished by the sculpted works left behind are quite something to behold. Apart from the fact that anyone living outside of the UK suffering through heat waves would love to wrap their arms around these masterpieces, the artists provided a source of wonderment and entertainment for many visiting the festival.

Seasoned sculpting professionals were on hand to help amateurs who were completing ice sculpting workshops. Under the steel eyes and guidance of ice sculptors like Krisztian Pogany and Asange Amerasinghe, huge blocks of ice began to take shape and form. Some of the most impressive pieces were Krisztian’s Boris Bike, and Asange’s giant Jubilee diamond marking the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee year. In its fourth year, the Ice Sculpting Festival was a free event but was ongoing entertainment for office workers at the Canary Wharf buildings who could watch the ice sculptors create their pieces from scratch. Sculptors were given two days to complete their pieces and the winner was judged on Saturday 14^th January 2012.

For anyone who doesn’t know what Snowbombing is, here’s a little help. It’s a festival designed around winter sports such as snowboarding and skiing, music performances by world-renowned DJ’s combined with themed parties in unusual locations the likes of farmsteads, igloo villages, street-parties and slope parties. Clearly the snowbombing festival is ‘da bomb.’

Before anyone runs off to buy snowbombing tickets, it’s best to educate yourself on the safety aspect of snowboarding and skiing. As much fun as these sports can be there is a dangerous side that definitely cannot be overlooked. The clothing and gear you hire, or own, needs to be in top shape. Footwear is a particularly important addition when being on a snow-covered mountain. Scruffs footwear, or alike, is excellent for these kinds of expeditions. Secondly, if you’re planning on taking part in the sport part of snowbombing, it’s best to know snow safety and what the signs are for unstable snow, avalanche terrain and snowpack layering. Contact your nearest mountain guide for information on how to go about your snow education.

It’s that time of year again. Christmas time! The time of cheer and good will and the city of London is one of the most incredible places to be during this time. Oxford Street is said to be London’s busiest street with over 200 million visitors per year and apart from Oxford being an extravagant shopping destination which sees shopping statistics soar in December, there are the world renowned Oxford Christmas lights that attract Londoners and tourists alike.

Christmas lights are being put up, red is becoming the new fashionable color, the smell of tinsel fills the air and ‘ho ho ho’ can be heard in popular shopping malls. Yes, it’s that time of year again; its Christmas time and the taste of Christmas time too.   What a lovely time of year, well I love it at least and what is more wonderful than the Christmas spirit, spending time with family, holidays and gift wrapping is the delectable food that comes with it. The quintessential Christmas lunch is something I yearn for all year long. Plum turkeys and gammon perched up on our lunch table and pulling the colorful crackers waking up granny is what it’s all about. This year, The Taste of Christmas is sure to exude all of the good and yummy things Christmas has to offer.

The Maltese are known for their appreciation of traditional so why not celebrate Christmas the Maltese way? Considered Christmas gifts are the completely unexpected ones so give yourself, a family member, or a friend the gift of flying to a beautiful island to celebrate Christmas.

Malta is a beautiful island that revels in tourism, and tradition. The Maltese have great respect for traditional holidays and with Christmas being an extra special holiday, it’s given extra-special treatment. Malta flights are very reasonable which means you’re holiday starts before you even take-off. After landing take a load off and go discover the rich cultural heritage of this amazing island. The best Christmas gifts would be to treat someone special to the rustic streets, which are decorated with beautiful lights, while Christmas carols are sung throughout the season and can be heard throughout the islands.

The festive season is all about good feelings, good deeds and of course, good food – and during December, London will play host to a number of gourmet food festivals to tempt and treat even the most discerning connoisseurs. Visiting a London food festival during the Christmas season is a great way to get into the festive spirit, pick up some delicious gifts for your loved ones and indulge in fine food and wine prepared by some of London’s top chefs.

While frozen delivery fleets are gearing up to cater to the city’s Christmas food festivals, some Londoners might be wondering which of these fine food celebrations to attend; here are three top festival picks for the Christmas season, where guests can eat, drink and be very merry indeed!

Malta is a renowned destination for fun, sun, beauty, history and culture. It is a popular holiday destination especially among Europeans but people from all over the world are now flocking to  its crystal shores. Malta festivals are a monthly occurrence and one of the more humble and interesting ones is the Birgufest.