Festival Feasting

THE beauty of music festivals isn't just the fact that they attract a melting pot of people and a mix of top bands - but that during a three-day event, you can pretty much eat your way around the world.
Gone are the days when the only food you can get to soak up the ale is a greasy burger; and the nearest you get to a taste of the exotic is a box of oily, lukewarm noodles.
Now festival-goers need not face those Portaloos with tummies in turmoil, thanks to a plethora of food traders descending on music events to cash in on the demand for better quality grub.
We spent Sunday at the V Festival at Weston Park, Staffordshire, meeting up with friends who had camped there - and managed to sample some of the tasty fare on offer.
I am guessing there were more than 50 stalls dotted across the site selling every nationality of food from Thai beef curries to cheesy Mexican burritos.
My friends and I found a window to dine in between sets by The Noisettes and Dizzee Rascal.
Choosing what to tuck into proved tough and I almost admitted defeat to a chargrilled goat's cheese and aubergine burger, but instead held out for a delicious wholemeal pitta bread, stuffed with falafels, salad with tahini-dressed salad, topped in hummus.
Using the logic that it was the Sabbath, the Boy opted for bangers in a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with mash and gravy - figuring that it was the closest thing he could find to a Sunday roast.
One of his pals chose sweet and sour chicken with noodles and a spring roll, while another opted for an interesting (no doubt hangover-induced) combintaion of chicken chow mein with lashings of curry sauce.
However, had our palates been after something a little more refined, there was a seafood tent selling fresh langoustines, oysters and mussels, and plenty of others trading organic burgers such as Aberdeen Angus, buffalo and minted lamb. Organic chocolate brownies, carrot cake and apricot slice were available in the 'V Healthy' arena, along with smoothies, soups and dhals.
What's you favourite festival fare? Let me know...