C-Changing at Hub

Well after Clapham, cchange went straight (well we went home to wash and get some clean clothes first) to the Hub Urban Youth Festival (I think I got that right) up in Liverpool. We arrived to the wonderful sight of rain, apparently quite light for Liverpool, but enough to make us wish we were safely indoors instead of setting up a marquee and trying to push our van out of where it had stuck in the mud. In spite of the weather we eventually had our tents standing and, with the help of the team setting up the stage our vehicle unstuck, we then got a good nights sleep (in a house).

The next morning dawned bright and clear (well brighter) and having set the insides of the tent up in record time (ejecting people who tried to get in through the back entrance before we were ready), we opened Face your Elephant to the festival goers, a completely new group for us. As people first arrived we got the expected smart-arse asking us where the elephants were (outside on either side of the doors before you ask as well) but on the whole people were interested in learning more about the effects that we have on the planet. Our demo solar powered fans worked wonderfully in the bright sunlight (apparently a rare event there) to the extent that some one was caught trying to carry on away in a box of grapes.
The popularity of our bike powered smoothies was proved when someone tried to ride away with the bike!
Of course everything didn't go absolutely fine in the morning our van got stuck in the mud (thanks again to the stage crew/stewards for pushing us out) and in the evening a dustbin van got stuck in front of the stage and, in the end and in spite of all Kat's efforts they needed a tow to get out.

The second day didn't quite match our expectations after the first with the normal weather of the north reasserting itself (rain) we still got people flocking to our tents to the extent that we even used up our last questionnaire (a rare event - some researches will think that Christmas has come early). Luckily for me I had to leave early to catch my train but I'm sure that it wasn't great fun packing up afterwards.