Preview and Primer, Gary and Tom’s Bash 2007

It is that time of year again when people around the area are getting excited about the biggest event of the year, Gary and Tom’s Bash. This is a huge charity fancy dress party that has been running for eighteen years at various venues in Mid Cornwall, most recently Duporth Holiday Village.

As well as packing in big fun, over the years Gary and Tom’s Bash has raised many tens of thousands of pounds for Marie Curie and Cornwall Hospice Care.

This Year’s Bash


For the 2007 Bash, taking place on January 27th, the party is moving from Duporth to a venue known as Eden, which is situated near to St Austell, in a clay pit. This year the theme is the psychedelic sixties and although fancy dress isn’t compulsory, you will look a bit of a chump turning up in George Atasda jeans and shirt.

Sticking to the 60's theme, live music will be provided by Amen Corner and The Summer of Love Orchestra. This band, over four decades, has played with such greats as Meatloaf, Barry Manilow and Chris de Burgh; so everyone is in for a real treat.

Taxis and ice skating should be booked beforehand to avoid disappointment and the council are providing a range of free hedgerows as accommodation for those who can't get a taxi.

A 60’s Primer for New Millennial Party Goers

For most of us the sixties will just be that time before colour TV and the Nintendo Wii and so you might be wondering why it would be chosen as a theme for a party. Believe it or not, in the sixties people did have fun! Try this: go and find someone who is from the sixties and ask them about how great it was..... Ain’t they the lucky ones :)

On the night, Midcornwall.com will be sending out a crack team of reviewers, disguised and party goers dressed as hippies - be sure to check back here after the event for the low-down. However, in order to get the ball rolling, as a service to you, dear readers, The Midcornwall Blog is going to give a free primer on all things from those distant days, as well as some tips for fancy dress and drugs.

60's Fashion

In the sixties people didn’t really worry about things like fashion and style, instead they just went for oversized clothes, ethnic accessories and the words "love" and "peas" written on everything.


The notion of colours "clashing" wasn’t invented until 1982 and so before that time it was open season on panchromatic mixing. Red/green paisley could successfully be worn with orange/blue tie-dye, and some folk even managed to carry off striped/ chequered combinations. As a general rule of thumb for sixties attire, if it looks like it doesn’t match, it's probably close to authentic.

Hair

In the days before wax, gel, Frizz-Ease® and other products, hair was a very different beast. Luckily for party goers, with a little effort you can easily replicate the lank 60’s look by washing your hair with paint stripper and giving yourself an uneven fringe. For the fully accurate look, Eden have agreed to provide flowers for peoples hair throughout the site - these are liberally dotted around in plant pots and on trees and bushes.



Drugs

In the sixties the drug of choice was a substance known as "Mellow Yellow" which is made by processing banana skins and combining the residue with lysergic acid and cannabis. The resultant psychoactive narcotic could not only send people from the sixties into new realms of self discovery and spiritual awakening, but also had the power to remove all innate rhythm from one’s movements, especially during moments of dance.

Even though the Eden Project blatantly grows banana palms, hypocritically they will not allow the consumption of Mellow Yellow or any other drug on the premises. But have no fear, midcornwall.com researchers have found that similar effects to a free-from drug fueled psychedelic experience can be replicated by massive consumption of alcoholic beverages followed by staring at the biomes and blinking really really fast.




If this primer has really whet you appetite for the night, that’s great! It's served its purpose. What is not so great is that if you haven’t got tickets already, they are sold out. As they say in the sixties, "Bummer, maaaaan".