We had arrived, Ev was temporarily barred as 'NO Chavs allowed!' that made my day immediately! (his dress sense is, in my opinion awful - he was not born to the ghettos of the Bronx).
I was so excited when I got my tickets I couldn't wait to tell Ev we were going - only to be met with disdain, disinterest and I quote' What is the point if there are NO rides' - after an hour of me then going right off on one about art installations, political statements and provocative pieces of work - he REALLY wanted to go...NOT.
So we trekked of yesterday 80 miles to Weston-Super-Mare and arrived around 6.30pm. Tickets were for 7pm.
Dismaland sits on the Seafront on the old Tropicana site and looms miserably across the grassed prom setting.
We were queueing in barricaded lines for around 40 mins and then after a bag search (a real one) we entered.
The 'staff' in the control room are the cartoon-esque characters they are dressed to be, suitably miserable and jobs worthy. I took the photo of the 'guard' above only for him to whip out his iPhone and start photographing me, to much hilarity (which we were the reprimanded for).
It sets you up for the thoroughly
First off we viewed the 'Shooting up Gallery' a visual call to drug use and normality - and also a need for the situation to be addressed sensibly no doubt.
On to the outside cinema - sitting in deck chairs we watched hilarious short films (very strong language) in the mud/chip bark whilst good old Dave gazes down upon us mere pieces of crap...
I am not going to go through all the individual works that we pondered over as there are so many. We didn't get to see all of it as we managed over 2 hours but were so cold in the end we just had to get back to the car!
What intrigued me was Evan's perception of it all, from not wanting to go, to pretend enthusiasm (which he admitted to on the drive back) to saying it is one of the best experiences of his life so far! He absolutely loved it and this morning on the way to school was talking about issues, acts of kindness and the NEWS! His creative juices are flowing; so BANKSY if nothing else you changed one teenager for the better..
If you can make it to see this incredible display please do, it is worth every single minute of your time.
I just wish it would be left open for a few weeks just for schools as my son didn't even know WHO Princess Di was! I couldn't believe it but then why would he?
Have a REALLY terrible day folks!