Judith Wilson
2023
It’s the end of our time at MIF 23
Wonderful fun, and so much to see
Music and balloons, theatre and dancing
Art and football, all life enhancing
In our temporary hub near the Crystal Maze
Diva Wonder-Woman Esther continued to amaze
With Tofu Ted and the ever-lovely Candice
And our leader Lee, back with us from Leeds
Mondays were ‘lighter’ to give us some care
And it’s not Fezzie anything, it’s Festival Square
But the Factory’s now known as the studios of Aviva
With each one of us now, an Aviva believer
With mustard yellow seats, we tested fire drills
John McGrath on the stage with first performer thrills
And a salmon pink colour, in hair, shirts and diggers
Caused over excitement and many wild triggers
The Square could be windy down by the river
Where David the mink made us all of a quiver
We spotted him once but it wasn’t enough
He’s moved over to Salford, in a bit of a huff
Street food, family friendly and spoken word acts
Visitors and volunteers converging in packs
With Hip Hop Chip Shop and Super Serve Middle East
Ginger’s Comfort ice cream, an icy cold feast
A Certain Ratio, Dutch Uncles, and Manchester’s foundations
And many artists played, from the next generation
David Haslem, The Joy and Club nights were provided
Radio stations, collectives and classics collided
We were calm and relaxed at Each Tiny Drop
Flowers full of bees and water in brown pots
A background of singing in an hour full of zen
Completely absorbing. Can we do it all again
The weather was varied throughout the two weeks
Wind, sun and drizzle in troughs and in peaks
Placing coins in the rain, through showers we ran
But flooding at Kagami wasn’t part of the plan
Directions were difficult and people got lost
But by the end of the festival we all had it sussed
Just walk on down Quay Street, there’ll be a blue shirt
But big bollards and no pavement might get you hurt
Our steps were abundant with shifts on our feet
Don’t sit on the sofas they’re not really seats
Some days incognito but others in blue
With polka dot socks, there was plenty to do
Every day we collected some quizzical looks
While placing our coins in crannies and nooks
The ninjas were hiding them there in plain sight
With the dragons coming out to steal them at night
Discovering new places we’ve not seen before
With cracks in the walls, in railings and doors
Buildings of Manchester in all of their glory
Every inch of the city telling its story
Augmented Reality with music and goggles
Riyuchi Sakamoto made the mind boggle
Not there in the room but it felt like he was
It caused a few tears at such a great loss
Immersive club dancing with R.O.S.E
Find Your Eyes with futuristic imagery
Anna Meredith and RNCM were loud and intense
Sanam Marvi singing sufi. Now everything makes sense
One Night in Trans Vegas with Justin Vivian Bond
They, with Maxine Peake, dystopia and beyond
John Grant and Richard Hawley with the songs of Patsy Cline
Alison Goldfrapp and AfroDeutsche, but I haven’t got time
There were asterisks aplenty in the untitled play
When all bloody stories seem to end the same way
Asian stereotypes exploded and narrative controlled
You aren’t who you are, you’re not what you’re told
The tendrilled landscapes and polka dot spears
The culmination for Yayoi Kusama of so many years
Watashi wa ishi ni naru she repeatedly said
Becoming a stone was inside her head
Inflated balloons in pinks, yellows and reds
Big bags of air surrounding our heads
Lying down in the room for a bit of a rest
With the odd busted cloud, causing distress
We counted the dots above us in heaven
There were ten thousand four hundred and twenty-seven
But with all those mirrors, there might have been more
Infinity and beyond. Who’s keeping the score?
Team leaders led but some shifts disappeared
But the smiles were aplenty, with the odd little tear
Volunteers do so much, like positioning seats
And drawing illustrations while watching athletes
This Entry was peaceful. What’s not to like?
A violin and dancing, and someone on a bike
Discussing ‘66 with a German, left me perplexed
And Keeper Puppies appeared in predictive text
Balmy Army revealed many problems in life
But writing on walls relieved some of the strife
If the outside world seems to be dark
You’ve got this. Don’t let anyone dull your spark
Did Adam volunteer on every single shift
His travel between venues was amazingly swift
Spotting him in each photo gave us no trouble
But was it really him? Or does he have a double
But what do we do now that all of it’s finished
Sit meekly at home? Our existence diminished?
No, we’ll spend two years enjoying our lives
And we’ll be back here again in 2025
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