Latitude 2009

A snoozefest. Zzzzzzzzz. Pretty bloody boring – just a few of the predictions about Sigur Ros’s Latitude headline set from some of my colleagues and friends this afternoon. I have to admit that, after seeing Metronomy’s dancey geek-pop about half an hour before, the prospect of a bunch of deathly slow ethereal meanderings sung in a foreign language (or, of course, a completely made-up language) didn’t seem like the most appealing prospect.

Once again, we've been ear-wigging for words of wisdom from Latitude's great unwashed...

"I had a dog. He died about a year ago. His name was Boss. This is for my dog. I miss my dog."

Crazy Suffolk weather here at Latitude today (July 19): Fiercely hot sun, followed swiftly by fast paced mini 'storms' of rain, plus a rainbow! Plenty of running back and forth to tent to switch from wellies to flip-flops! The festival is being swayed by the sounds of Sigur Ros, Elbow and The Coral, but here are a few snapshots to give you a taste of what it's been like...

A 5.30pm slot at a summer festival can be a bit of a graveyard slot: by that time of the day, festival-goers tend to have had their fill of daytime acts, and are waiting impatiently for the main attractions.

While John seems to have found his Latitude highlight, I've got to say I've found mine, too. Nicholas Parsons, come on down. Oh, and Sheffield's finest enjoy a Man Balancing Ball On His Head race down at the lake.

Guest blogger Terry Staunton has been eavesdropping on the conversations of others to discover just what Latitude punters are talking about...

Back here at Latitude, then. We’ve been burned today. We’ve been drenched today. We’ve accidentally seen a bit of Beth Rowley as well. But – and this is purely my personal opinion – I’ve also just seen the best band of the festival thus far.

So, as ever with Latitude, there's as much fun to be had after the official events of the day have wound down...

Since, with a fairly grim inevitability, I'm the first of the Uncut massive to be up and about, the first highlights top ten of the festival falls to me, it seems.