The world from my window

We're in the pub in Lush Places, our ears ringing from a night of wonderful music. The gritter lorry goes by, churning its contents across the road and over the pavement. Baby, it's cold outside. We're huddled around the bar and having animated conversations about the brilliant night we've just had in My Kind of Town. And then a hush descends. Our cheery landlord, Mr Pie, pipes up: 'The band's here.' And then a colorful array of characters walks in through the door, led Pied Piper-like by our own Ding Dong Daddy. The assembled throng breaks out into applause. Locals from this enchanted village have just had the most wonderful evening, watching, listening and dancing to the Afro Celt Sound System, a band founded by Ding Dong Daddy twenty years ago. They blend world rhythms into an unstoppable force, performing them with sheer joy on the stage. The uplifting spirit of the music is totally infectious and we are all still on a legal high. ...

So, bathing in the success of our Diamond Jubilee weekend, I start daydreaming about the Lush Places Concert: The Enchanted Village Festival. It is a daydream I have often, rather along the lines of Wayne's World 2:  'If you book them, they will come.' We can source a 45ft trailer and a community field to put it in. All we need now is the bands. The headline act would, of course, be our very own Imagined Village . Then we could have my nieces' old school friends, The Staves . They'd surely play, wouldn't they? After all, they were at the same childminder's. And then Stornoway . I've just found out that the parents of one of the founder members live in the village. A winning combination, I think, don't you? That's about it. Love Maddie x