my experience at Glastonbury (Glastonbury Music Festival)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Glastonbury Music Festival
Date:	27/08/08 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fantastic

Disadvantages: work the next day

My 2008 Glastonbury.

This year I sat on the grass and listened to bands.
After not being able to get Glastonbury festival tickets for several years ,due to overwhelming demand this year we got tickets easily as they did not sell out till the very last day.
This may have been for a variety of reasons , lead bands maybe or bad weather stories , ticket prices 150 quid for the weekend .it may just be that there are many more music festivals and events than there used to be in the seventies and eighties ..

Now you can sit on my backpack and experience the festival as I did.

Sadly due to work commitments I could not get to the festival till Friday evening leaving home north of Oxford we took 3 ½ hours to drive there . When we got to the country lanes a few miles away hubby and I exchanged a conversation do you remember when we used to come (mid seventies through the eighties and nineties I think) it took hours to get on site we would be queued up and desperately anxious to get on site hearing bands in the distance seeing light shows often we would queue for 3 or 4 hours to get through the gates.

This year as in the last few years access has been much easier got straight on to park our car. Parking costs £10 in advance, or on the gate if you forgot your parking pass.
Then we trudge our camping kit and essentials onto the festival site. This year it was easy walking as although it had rained earlier on the Friday when we got there it was dry and the ground although a bit muddy not too bad. I can remember other years squelching and getting stuck in the mud.

This year we took only a few things with us as we were only staying the 2 nights and other years we had taken so much that we got fed up with traipsing it on and off site. We took small 2 man tent, sleeping bags toothbrushes small soap, comb spare pair of knickers and spare t-shirt, light fleece top and waterproofs all squashed in a plastic carrier bag inside a small daysac. Plenty of money divided into various secret places, Small torch, mobile phones. Some medication we left 2 spare changes of clothes in the car just in case one for changing at the festival, one so we were dry going home.
We walked about 10 minutes to the gate showed our tickets which this year had our photos on them. We received wrist bands which we would need + plus our ticket portion if we wanted to go out and return again. We also received the Glastonbury festival guide a glossy mag with info and advertising in it. We also received a small guide that was inside a plastic wallet on a string to keep around our neck s or attached to a belt. We were on site by 8pm. Sad we had missed a few bands we would quite like to have seen


We were meeting friends by the solar showers as they were helping man these. Although we knew roughly where they were sited we checked the map. The main stages are situated in the same places they are in usually. I guess it's easier than changing things about each year, if it works why change it.

Are you still there? peeping out of my rucksack , good we pass by food stalls past the pyramid stage past the other stage past the cinema screen the we meet our friends they have saved us a space for our tent . We set up tent open a bottles then go to mooch around the site a bit listen to a band or two.

We went to the John Peel stage and caught some of MGMT, a male pop-synth .duo. We thought them pretty good. We stayed at the John peel stage to see/hear the reverend and the makers. The tent was pretty full of people to watch and this band did not disappoint lively and entertaining, the ground still a little muddy hopefully it will dry out tomorrow and no more rain.

We then ambled back to our tent listening to snippets of music along the way. Feeling tired emotionally exhausted I went to my tent. I then visited the legendry toilets, not too bad tonight fairly recently cleaned.
When you go to Glastonbury you really only go to the toilet when desperate the toilets have improved over the years, this year I don't think I saw any which were just holes in a plank of wood with a drop to the underground world for waste, however most were not much better a plastic toilet seat over a pan some had a flap which released the excrement to the void when you pushed a lever. Sometimes if you were lucky there was a jet of water left that sprayed into the pan. But these toilets were no where near flush toilets although I do believe there were flush portaloos somewhere usually those near the farm. If you had kids they needed accompanying to the loo as it may have been a bit scary..... all those tales of falling into the toilet . The underground pits were pumped out by Lorries who sucked the waste out. Yes they smelt off course the toilets smelt, they smelt worse when the sludge suckers were there .No toilet rolls take your own for wiping. At one stage there was a dispenser that gave liquid hand cleaner but they ran out quickly. I took my own bottle of hand wash. Cubicles could be messy with litter and some peoples aim not so good. There are water taps near all the toilets. Some with sinks. I made sure I washed my hands and as I said had my bottle of hygienic wash with me. The area around the water taps often gets muddy over flow of water. There were drinking water taps too.

I bought a cup of tea a big paper mug for £1.50p. Years ago we took our own gaz and equipment to make own tea and food but this year we did not bother (not as hard up as we used to be) it's a struggle carrying everything on site. I retrieved my toothbrush and wash kit and washed myself and brushed my teeth at the tap, there is a row of about 4 taps with basins near our tent and a tap for filling water bottles it's a bit muddy around the tap area, I filled my water bottle as I thought I might want a drink during the night. I went to rest my head fairly early on Friday .but hubby went to see fat boy slim and reported he had a good time. It took quite a while to get to sleep with the humm of the site, people chatting and music playing , I did drop off though and sleep fairly well till about 8 am when our friends opened up the solar powered shower facilities. W e could have had a shower but decided we did not need one it was slightly chilly anyway.

Saturday morning till about 10.30 am was spent hanging around talking chatting catching up. We had taken cereal bars for breakfast but the bacon sandwich stall called us and we ate bacon rolls for breakfast. I had a fried egg with mine too.
We spent the next hour or so exploring the site a little visited the "park" a new area and had a cup of tea there while listening to a band whose name I have forgotten. This are is a good area it has a stage area called the rabbit hole where you can chill out and listen to music. Only one problem with the park 2 of the stages was too close together and music from one interfered with music from the other.

Walking around the site we see lots of people some with dried on muddy clothes some dressed in "hippy " clothes There were a lot of people wearing hats large soft colorful hats some with bells and tassels, any kind of hat . Some people obviously the worse for wear of alcohol and other substances.
There were a few kids with their family's babies in slings, like I used to take my baby 30 years ago. Children having great fun dancing running playing.
There is a special kids area, although I did not visit this area this year no kids or friends kids this year, I did glance in and it looked good. In the kids are there is masses for children to do face painting , and other art and craft activities. There are children's entertainer's clowns, puppets and story tellers it's a really fun well organized area.

We then strolled over to the Pyramid stage. We were going to hear Seasick Steve. A Seasick Steve is a Californian blues guitar player. Now he was pretty amazing really good Wow he only played a 3 string guitar but the things that man could do with those strings and his gravely voice
.Seasick Steve was good musically also very funny. He drew a girl from the audience and sand a song to her.

After Seasick Steve I wanted to catch Martha Wrainwright who is a female solo singer she played a good set pleasant although good she was not the best female singer we saw this weekend. How can I best describe her music? Country rock seems about right. Towards the end of her set, beatboxer Schlo -Mo turned up on stage and does some slow low key beats for one of her songs. This music was easy to listen to not vibrant and exciting but good.


It was good on Saturday night Glastonbury was still alive and kicking main music finished about 2am I know the cinema kept on going we were camped to near as we could hear transformers really loudly much too loudly I think. We did not go to the cinema but it was a huge screen, I know they showed kill bill and transformers several times, can not remember anything else.
At night there was the sounds of people chatting, some drunks maybe its because we were surrounded by a group of friends tents I did not notice the lost souls wandering drunkenly around looking for their tents, yes I saw several comatose bodies lying around in the day and evening . Being a good citizen I would glance and make sure that they were ok. That's part of going to a festival/life watch out care for others. I saw no one having a fit (did one year and due to my first aid training I could help them keep safe.) or a really bad trip. I did see some drugs being taken and a few people tripping, but I think there were fewer drugs than a few years ago.



When sitting on the grass today I sit on a thick plastic carrier bag I took as although not over muddy the grass is a bit wet and muddy. On Saturday I bought myself a cheap pink flowered fold up chair as the ground still damp and I am getting old you know at 55 I felt I did not want to lie/sit on the damp grass. Actually I am sure the grass was sparser not as thick and lush in some previous years . Probably not completely recovered from last year's mud fest. Sunday morning we chilled out chatting to friends and wandered round the site. We went to the market area where there were stalls selling waterproof jackets and hippy garb. Lots of food areas selling chips and bacon butties and various veggie foods too. We went to the jazz tent and listened to a band, there was Salsa dancing in the dance tent
Then there's the field of Avalon where a lot of folk artists play there is a real mixture of music playing all over the site
We listened to Duffy singing I can't remember where or when she was very pleasant .We listen to Leonard Cohen as the sun was setting on the Sunday night and this olds guy of 73 (I think) held the audience in his spell singing along to familiar songs like Hallelujah
We also saw Neil Diamond that Sunday evening
Gold fraps did a very good set her voice is incredible we left after goldfrapp8 or 9pm we were happy. Tired but feeling good. We got of the site easily no hold ups this year some other years it has been difficult because of too much traffic and mud. Going home we listened to Glastonbury on the radio o arriving home sometime between 12 and 1 am, getting up for work the next day at 7am

I have missed out several bands we heard, it is all a bit of a blur to me now. Glastonbury festival is a good festival so much to do listening to poetry readings , political speeches world music , jazz , rock , folk , I expect I shall go to a few more festivals here before I decide I am too old.
I notice today logging on tom the4 Glastonbury site http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/home.aspx that the tickets for 2009 will be on sale in October! Tickets will cost £175 deposit £50

Summary: A festival of contempory performing arts