Inspirational women
You’re never too old to embrace live music and dance in the sun. Meet four women who are doing just that
‘I WENT TO GL ASTO FOR THE FIRST TIME AT 54’
Sarah Baker, 55, is a ceramicist and works part-time in a school. She has three grown-up children and lives in Kent with her husband, Richard. Last year, she went to Glastonbury for the very first time.
I know I’m a late starter with festivals. As you get older, I think you hit a middle ground where you’re not young enough to go clubbing but you’re not old enough to give up dancing completely. Bring on festivals!
I finally made it to Glastonbury with my husband Richard last year, having tried to get tickets for ages. As a frustrated hippy, Glasto was my dream. Richard was nervous – he worried about the crowds and that he wouldn’t enjoy it. In the end, he said it was one of the best weekends of his life.
It was like a fantasy village – so colourful and happy. Age was irrelevant.
The FIRST-TIMER There were 90-yearolds next to young mums breastfeeding, and then all the cool teens too. At one point we found ourselves watching Lekiddo, Lord of the Lobsters in the Rabbit Hole tent and, before I knew it, Richard was doing the ‘pinchy-pinchy-kisskiss’ dance with everyone! It was such fun.
Sometimes we walked up to the stone circle and sat watching everything from afar – it really was magical. Luckily, we had glorious sunshine, not a muddy swamp in sight – but I’d still be keen whatever the weather.
We’ve only scratched the surface, so there’s lots more to do this year. If we can get there, we’ll still be going into our 70s – hell yeah!
‘IT’S MY MIDLIFE RENAISSANCE‘
Lucia Decermic, aka LuDec, is a DJ and runs an events business. She is 52, has two teenage children and lives in west London. Lucia DJed at her first festival aged 45 and now plays at summer festivals across the UK.
I’ve always loved going to gigs and festivals, but I still remember the night in my mid-40s where I was watching a friend DJing in Brixton and suddenly thought – Iwant to do this!
The following Christmas, my husband’s gift to me was a DJing lesson. After that I did a course at the London Sound Academy and I’ve done more units since, covering everything from beat matching to mash-ups.
My first festival gig was Wilderness – afriend of mine introduced me to Chris Tofu from Continental Drifts, saying I was a ‘badass’ Balkan beats DJ, and the next thing, he was offering me a slot on his Carousel stage. He’s known for giving under-represented artists opportunities. I’ve done loads of gigs since, often with my kid
