A farmer who helped drag cars free from a flooded field after Festival No 6 has been re-united with a music fan whose Mini had been stuck for two days.
Thanks to social media, Rich Pearson has now landed free tickets for himself and his girlfriend for Gorjys Secret Festival in the Conwy Valley on Saturday, September 17.
The 26-year-old farmer and tree surgeon from Llanfrothen and girlfriend Sian Lloyd, 22, from Nebo were among the dozens of people who stepped in to help after downpours turned the park-and-ride site at Porthmadog into a mudbath.
Rich spent hours on his tractor, dragging free trapped cars – including the Mini belonging to Tansy Rogerson, one of the four behind Gorjys Secret Festival, which is being held at Caer Rhun Hall.
After appealing through social media to find her rescuers, Tansy was delighted to meet Sian to say thank you to the couple, and hand over free tickets to Gorjys Secret.
Tansy was full of praise after the couple’s heroic actions. She said: “They were so sweet and careful and trying their best to take care of everybody. All the farmers and 4×4 rescuers that donated their time that helped were really great, and it was lovely that everyone pulled together to make the best of a bad situation.
“The weather basically caught everyone out and when we went back to our cars on the Monday morning we were told we couldn’t move them, as the whole field was flooded.
“The festival frontline and support staff were brilliant and I was just bowled over by how they made sure everyone was looked after, handing out coffees, biscuits and toast and making sure everyone was warm whilst we waited our turn to get our cars out. A big thank you to the Porthmadog rugby club for the use of their facilities.
“Accommodation was organised at the local leisure centre but I was lucky as my dad picked me up. Then the next morning I met up with Rich who was really calm and reassuring and just said he’d get me out and not to worry and he did, towing my car out without any damage.
“The guys had all been there since Sunday working round the clock trying to get people out and it’s just so nice to be able to thank them for what they did.”
Tansy has helped pull together the family-friendly Gorjys Secrets event, which starts at 9am on Saturday, in just four months. The team hopes it will become an annual event and a favourite on the music scene.
The line-up includes Mercury Prize nominated Seth Lakeman, world beat-box champion Bellatrix and BBC Radio One DJ Dave Pearce and BAFTA-winning comedian Tudur Owen who was a smash hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Rich is looking forward to going along to the event with Sian, who works at Wern Vets in Llanrwst.
He said: “It’s really nice of Tansy to give us the tickets – it’s a kind gesture and she didn’t have to. We were just doing what we could to help like everyone else.
“I live nearby, in Llanfrothen, so when I got the call from another farmer we went along with the tractor to see what we could do.
“There were hundreds of people stuck so it was a long job but I’ve been getting loads of messages and thanks on Facebook ever since – I’m not used to all the attention to be honest!”
The Gorjys Secrets festival is the first of its kind in North Wales and promises to showcase singer songwriters from the area alongside craft beers, food producers and family friendly entertainment.
Organisers are offering free tickets to any of the heroes who rescued stranded festival goers back in August and half price tickets to anyone who attended the washed out event.
“I really like Tudur Owen so that will be great on the Friday night. I’m very grateful for the tickets, I can’t thank Tansy enough,” added 22-year-old Sian, who lives in Nebo.
To claim a free ticket call 01492 338600 to explain about your role in the rescue and if you went to Festival No 6, can use the code FestNo650 when booking online to receive half-price tickets. You will need to show evidence of attendance at the gate, such as a Festival No 6 ticket, booking confirmation or wrist band.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.gorjys.com
