We welcome the wind! Latitude combines tempestuous gusts with enough music and arts to assuage even the most ardent of souls. Diary: Day One.

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Arriving on Thursday afternoon, the overcast sky and crazily strong wind created a slightly unerring start to Latitude 2010. But the clouds soon cleared and bright sunshine shone through, leading to a fantastically energised atmosphere among the hastily assembled tents across the campsite.

Nigel Kennedy and Tom Jones provided the entertainment for Thursday evening, both delivering solid sets which undoubtedly pleased aficionadoes, but were unlikely to win over any new fans. Tom Jones’ set featured material exclusively from his new album ‘Praise and Blame’, despite a hint otherwise at the start of the set, and fans were left slightly bemused and hacked off at not being treated to even one of his many classics. But putting this aside, a great vibe of anticipation grew throughout the campsite, and fun was had until the early hours.

Onto Friday, the first full day of festival festivities. Where to begin? As with most festivals, there is simply far too much to see and do, and clashes inevitably occur, but please feel free to browse my list of highlights below of the first full day of this years Latitude:

Phill Jupitus and friends provided early morning entertainment a la Whose Line Is It Anyway, bravely entering the comedy arena first at 11.00am this morning. ‘Friends’ included Whose Line musician Richard Vranch, proving himself to be just as at home in improv comedy as at the piano, and Stephen Frost, whose energetic character acting brought the show to life. There was an excess of close-to-the-knuckle remarks, generally aimed at various members of the audience, and none involved were afraid to take comedic risks or to show their true colours on stage. Phill and friends, we love you!!

Moody American indie band Kurran and the Wolfnotes drew a large crowd to the Sunrise Arena where they played just after midday. The good weather and airy marquee provided a great atmosphere and Kurran’s set was more chilled out than I’ve seen at previous gigs. Their vocal harmonies had real space to breath and the crowd lapped up every note.

More Comedy Tent goodness throughout the afternoon, with the wonderful comedian-cum-rapper Doc Brown wowing the crowd at around 1.00pm, quickly followed by the razor-sharp Stephen K. Amos. Amos displayed his supreme command of both high and low wit, and wasn’t adverse to putting a heckler well and truely in his place, much to the audience’s delight. Grins abounded throughout the arena and I left with a feeling of utter envy over Amos’ linguistical and storytelling ability. A true natural.

I had to navigate one of the worst clashes at around 3.30pm this afternoon, choosing to see Lissie at the Sunrise Arena over The Unthanks at the Obelisk. Impossibly hard decision and gutted at missing the Unthanks – I have since heard wonderful things about their set. But Lissie was well and truly on form today. I have seen her several times over the last few months and can call myself  a dedicated fan, but today was something special. In the wonderfully well aired Sunrise Arena Lissie produced possibly the largest crowd there yet, and her naturally strong and emotive vocals won over cohorts of new fans (my friends included). She performed songs from her new album ‘Catching a Tiger’, which have been fleshed out over recent weeks, with the addition of more backing vocals from Eric (guitar) and Lewis (bass). The whole band were as tight as I’d ever seen them and seemed to relish their performance here at Latitude. And kudos must go to the sound engineers who did a sterling job on making every band at the Sunrise Arena sound extremely fresh, clear, and a pleasure to listen to.

After a brief trip back to my tent to refuel, I went straight to the main stage to get a good spot for Laura Marling, who did not disappoint. The enigmatic star of modern folk played a naturalistic set, with trademark composure and professionalism, breaking her stride only to stop and laugh mid-song at a humourous banner one fan had lovingly produced. My personal highlight was a heartfelt rendition of ‘Rambin’ Man’ from her latest album ‘I Speak Because I Can’.

Walking away in a contented daze after Laura’s set, I found myself in the Film & Music Arena, catching the last few minutes of Chris Morris’ debut feature film, Four Lions. After the credits had stopped rolling, the audience was treated to a rare Q&A with Chris, along with cast and crew members of the film. Chris was eloquent and bitingly witty as usual, and I wish I could have stayed to hear the whole discussion. But Everything Everything were on at 8.45pm at the Lake Stage, and nothing could make me miss them.

And boy oh boy was I in for a treat! I felt like a child in a candy shop as Everything Everything blasted out festival-best performances left, right and centre, to a bizzarely small crowd (reason – people were already flocking to see Florence on the main stage – but not me!). To the relative few of us lucky enough to be on the receiving end of E.E’s glorious set, it was akin to a religious experience, I felt freshly converted to their cause after every single song. Their upbeat numbers achieved the rare feat of being inescapably dancable as well as being intelligent, non-repetitive and structurally interesting. Catchy melodies and esoteric lyrics combined in a frenzy of intangibility that was so nearly palpable as to be almost too much to bear. I felt on the very edge of understanding what they were all about, but alas I will have to come back for more on another occasion, and try to crack the Everything Everything enigma once more. I have already preordered their debut album ‘Man Alive’, and I suggest you do the same!

As not personally being a fan of the much hyped Florence and the Machine, I opted to catch the end of The National‘s set instead, in the Word Arena. They were full of vim and vigour and the crowd were certainly appreciative to say the least. But without a doubt my Friday highlight by a county mile was the fabulous Everthing Everything. The future is theirs!!