Miss Frugal loves One Direction, particularly Harry (the cute one with the curly hair).
So when I got an e mail from Persil inviting me to take her to the Leeds Party in the Park to see One Direction perform live along with lots of other acts (most of whom I had never heard of but Miss Frugal assured me they were ‘famous’), I found it hard to say no.
I really wanted to say no actually because Leeds is a good hour and a half journey on the train from my house and the fact that the expected crowd at the Party in the Park was around 70,000 made me more than a little nervous, especially as there would only be me and Miss Frugal travelling.
In the end we decided to go and managed to get there without a hitch (unless you count an hour for the park and ride bus in a queue the length of Leeds with screaming children in possession of whistles as a hitch).
First stop was the Persil Mosh and Wash stand where we left our handprints on the Mosh and wash wall and got to dress up as pop stars. Persil are offering you the chance to win your own mini Party in the Park for your friends and family so if you fancy your chances, you can visit their Facebook page for more details.
Then we went to find a space in the very crowded park in front of the stage which was easier said than done considering some people had chairs, cooler boxes, and blankets spread out (I’m just jealous we never thought of taking all that). We managed to get quite close to the stage but I purposely stayed far enough away that there was no danger of getting crushed or bumped about. This was our view when we looked back….
We had a great view of the stage and were surprised that One Direction came on after about three or four acts as we thought they’d be the headline act at the end of the day. Miss Frugal went wild, and I do mean wild! She jumped, she sang, she danced and most of all, she screamed! It seems I had underestimated just how big a fan she was!
One Direction were brilliant to be fair and I *may* have screamed a little myself. After they’d left the stage, Miss Frugal didn’t sit down for the next couple of hours and she seemed to know all of the songs that everyone was singing. I started to feel a bit old by this point so we left about an hour before the end to get the free bus before the crowds left.
It was an excellent girly day for us and Miss Frugal hasn’t stopped telling people about it yet!
I can’t praise the event highly enough. The tickets were free of charge and there were regular free buses provided to and from the venue throughout the day and plenty of police and security around to ensure that the day went smoothly. I know not every council can arrange a big event like this but the Leeds Party in the Park shows just how possible it is to hold a successful event without an extortionate entry fee.
Disclosure: Thanks to Persil who very kindly provided us with the tickets to get in to the Party in the Park.
