Farewell Pete
October 2024 was not a good month. The world lost a true gentleman, Pete Robinson.
We won’t try to say that which has already been said. Our words could never do justice to the man that Pete was. Instead we will try to remember him as we knew him and celebrate everything that he was. And that ‘everything’ is a whole bundle of goodness.
Pete was one of the three musician/singer/songwriters who made up Cracked Flag; a folk band with a true talent to entertain. Cracked Flag have been a part of the Bent and Bongs Beer Bash for as long as any of us can remember. We aren’t just talking as far back as the days of the Formby Hall here. We are talking right back to the beginning.
Pete, with Cracked Flag, would be singing their hearts out on that huge Formby Hall stage while the queue to get in to hear them would stretch all the way to the bottom of the car park.
Pete wasn’t just a musician/singer/songwriter. He also had a turn of comedy that could rival the best of them. We always noticed how the crowed loved Cracked Flag not just for the singing but as much for the stories, jokes, and anecdotes they threw in between songs.
Look closely at the photo. We absolutely adore the way that Pete and Cracked Flag turned their mic stands into holders for their pints. That one small thing seems to sum up everything that Pete was about. Fun, a cheeky glint in his eye, and a zest for life that made the world a brighter place.
We didn’t want to believe the news when we heard it. The world became a little less joyful. Like that moment when you finish your pint and realise that it’s time to get the last bus home.
If there is one thing that we do know it’s that wherever Pete is now there will be music, singing, and people laughing so much that they have to double over to save their stomach muscles from tearing.
To honour Pete’s memory and everything he, and Cracked Flag, brought to the festival we are naming the beer festival stage The Cracked Flag stage. We hope this is a nice way to keep Pete’s memory alive.
Farewell Pete. A true gentleman if ever there was one.