After a fourteen month wait Henley Festival powers back onto the Henley social calendar with roving troupes, comedy, art, food, live music, fireworks and Madness headlining the floating stage. The festival certainly hasn’t lost it’s uniqueness or pizzazz that we have come to know and love and it was back with a bang, last night Henley Festival was a proper ‘house of fun’.

The evening was blessed with late summer sunshine blanketing the festival goers in an amber glow and you wouldn’t have thought that there had been any kind of haitus.

The bars and restaurants were all full and it was wonderful to see so many people just quite frankly, enjoying themselves and letting their hair down after the very difficult last eighteen months we have all had to endure.

Arriving a wee bit late and Suggs having maybe a few too many sherberts before coming on stage, Madness did not disappoint the many die hard fans of a certain era. Plenty of dancing, fez wearing, dinner suits in the crowd.

Plenty of nods to local names, Lovibonds beer and Henley Gin in the Bedouin tent, Gelato Henley with their ice cream, Jessecco Prosecco‘s pancakes and The Hidden Garden with their own bar.

If you haven’t managed to bag a seat in one of the restaurants, fear not as the street food and Jimmy Garcia’s Garden Bistro all have fantastic food offerings. We had delicious BBQ and Korean chicken tenders from Cluck Farmyard and not to be missed are the nitro espresso martinis from Black Cab Coffee. Careful though, they’re not nitro for nothing!

Tonight James Blunt will take to the Floating Stage and Sophie Ellis-Bextor on Friday and on Saturday get ready to swing your pants to Disco Classical featuring Kathy Sledge. To round everything off there is family Sunday during the day and Don’t Stop Me Now with Queen, Abba and the Bee Gees in a rock and symphonic spectacular.

Oh and don’t forget the spectacular fireworks every night.

For more information and tickets visit henley-festival.co.uk

Welcome back Henley Festival.