BENICASSIM

GUESS WHAT.

I went to Benicassim Festival (or FiB) from the 16th of July to the 22nd of July. I thought I'd share some of it with you because it's definitely an experience worth having.

We flew to Barcelona on Tuesday the 16th, and caught the Renfe train (cheap as chips and so relaxing) to Benicassim. It took about 2 hours, and we arrived after the sun had already set.

After meandering through the barricades to get our wristband and be allowed onto the festival grounds, we faced the task of finding a spot to set up camp. There were 7 of us, and we needed enough room for 4 tents.

We finally made 10G our home. It wasn't under the shade of trees nor tarpaulin, but that was a feat we had to overcome whether we liked it or not.

The festival itself (as in, when the live music started) didn't commence until Thursday, so we spent Tuesday through to Thursday roaming Benicassim town, sleeping on the beach and getting to know our new neighbours.

But when the festival kicked in, oh my, did it kick in.

I believe we saw La Roux first, followed by Dizzee Rascal. Both were amazing live. La Roux had an amazing atmosphere when the hits came on, and everybody sang in an overwhelming unison.

To contrast, Dizzee's set was just as energetic, but a little more carefree. He talked and interacted with the crowd a lot, and even crowd surfed. It was completely astounding to be so close.

I can't remember specifically when/where we saw artists, but here's a list of the ones I do remember:

The Killers. THE KILLERS.

The Arctic Monkeys. THE ARCTIC MONKEYS.

Rudimental.

Woodkid.

Johnny Marr. 

Jake Bugg.

Aluna George.

Bastille.

...just to name a few. How completely astounding does my week sound to you?

Everybody at Beni was utterly fantastic, and so fun to be around. I think that if you're debating whether to go or not, do it.

Of course, be street-smart about your valuables etc. and stay as safe as you can, but other than that, go for it. Why not go to a festival where you know your wellies can be left at home?

Skins Pure - (Warning: Spoilers)

Cassie 'Motherfucking' Ainsworth (as Mike Bailey himself so eloquently put), is back.

It's a no-bullshit, straight to the point, not-everything's-lovely Cassie, and I adore her just as much now as I did back then.

But I don't think her episodes did her any justice. Her plot line thrived on suspense and action and adrenaline, and the twist with the modelling contract in Part II was beautifully timed and I didn't actually suspect that would happen, but to contrast, there wasn't a tingly aura that made you think, 'yeah, this is the Cassie. This is how she was when we left her.'

Which, I think, in some ways is great. I think I'm so bitter about Cassie's episodes because she was my favourite, and I'd hoped they'd kept her frozen in time.

I hadn't gotten my hopes up about Sid (I'd thought she'd moved past that and bringing him up again would be old news, although, welcome news I'm sure) but I didn't think that the character would have grown up so fast in such a short space of time.

Say goodbye to Cassie's catchphrases, 'oh wow' and 'lovely' and say hello to a controlled young lady, bustling through London life.

The development in Cassie's life in our absence has seen her Mum pass away and her Dad in not such a good shape - I wondered whether this was a necessary subplot or something to tipper the action of the 'main' story, as it were.

I have to admit, I did think that the story was very 'Maxxie/Sketch' at first, and definitely as the adverts limited our knowledge to 'somebody's taking secret pictures of Cassie, guess who'.

But it developed into a nice story. It was beautifully raw and honest and Cassie-like (she still dances the same way!), and I really enjoyed Skins Pure: Hannah Murray is so captivating to watch in the role of Cassie that she holds a chilling capability to suck you in and make you seem as though you were a first hand witness.

I think I'll miss Cassie the most. I think that her character, from the start, was somewhat of an underdog that the writers could apply any script to and still see an artistically stunning outcome to.

Also, her little brother Rueben, is the cutest ever.

Skins Fire Part II - (Warning: Spoilers)

Part II definitely brought the heat. If you say that you weren't moved by the storyline, either you're an 'evil, emotionless, miserable, human being …or a robot.'
As I said before, I liked the contrast of surroundings and indeed characters that were introduced into the life of our dear Elizabeth Stonem. For example, Craig Roberts (also known for 'Rio Wellard' in Tracy Beaker and 'Simon Daldry' in The First Time) brings such a delicateness to Effy's wall.
His somewhat feminine features like his empathy toward Naomi, his kindness and his warmth somehow clash into Effy's headstrong, poker face facade: and by George don't I like this mix. This blending of gender roles is also something I praise, be it intentional or not.
I also like the awkwardness Dominic puts between them; it kind of brought back the element of 'where do I stand?', which is, to me, a definite connotation of the dreaded 'teen age'.
But this was all amidst a serious issue that we should know is prevalent in our modern day society: fraud, discrepancies in not just our society but our workforces too, and other issues that we so often get shunned from because of our age. But yet, we're expected to be thrust into the "working world" in a matter of years, and act as if we're comfortable in it.
We're supposed to act professional. WHICH, is why I fall in love with Skins Fire the more I talk about it. It's about transition, it's about merging, and it's about cooperation between two environments and even two sides of a person that are supposed to work in harmonious synchronisation from the word 'go'.
We're also taught to recognise and avoid cancer, but so very few are brave enough to confront a whole nation of adolescents with the consequences and outcomes.
It's hard hitting reality, but it's definitely doses of something imperative. It's dramatic. It's exercised entertainment. And yes, you're perfectly entitled to ask yourself, 'what are the chances?' but in the grand scheme of things, what aren't the chances?
So thank you, Jamie Brittain and Brian Elsley, for treating your audience as adults, and for allowing the demographic SKINS is aimed at to grow with the characters.