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I have to say that after months of trolling this site getting opinions and collecting useful hints, it all became reality on the thursday morning when we arrived and realised that we indeed had arrived a day late! After the monster trek from the car park into the site we then at temperatures that seemed in the high 80's had to trek across from car park E to the other side of the park field before we found a pitch beside a burger/ breakfast van. We had to beg him to let us invade the spot he parked his van, there was nowhere else, i would have collapsed had we had to walk further.
After pitching the tent with one sleeping compartment collapsed because it was butted end on end to another, we hurridly changed our sweaty cloths and headed of to investigate and find the nearest alcholic watering hole. That Thursday afternoon/evening we spent exploring and drinking ,and more drinking. The enormity of the place became aparent and i think i had the biggest smile, that really i dont think left my face for the following three days! At least no one told me it had left my face whilst sleeping
Thursday eve we basically were hold out be the dance fields, got drunk and heard about Michael Jackson dying, thought it was a joke obviously, later to here all the wispered gossip from our tent whilst trying to sleep, as it was pitched two inches from one of the cattle paths, and a route it seemed to all the other tents!
Woke up early, about 6am, on Friday to the delightful sound of " Egg and Bacon roll please" repeated so many times that if i here it again i might go into seizure!
Once fed and watered we dragged ourselves off through the mud, i loved it a surely its part of the experience. Fell over twice in the same spot at the entrance to the park field ! We took our packs full of
lager and vodka and red bull off to the Other field and saw the Rakes, the Maccabees, White lies, and Friendly fires before i went my seperate way to go to the Park to see the Horrors, we met later for Bloc partry, only because the younger one hadn't seen them before, my mistake, should have gone to see Doves. Then off together with what seemed like the whole festival , to Trash city and ended up, falling over again in the giant bubble at Shangi la, what a night!.
After three hours kip i woke on the burning hot Saturday a.m in a sauna! I did not have a head ache but decided to take two nurofren just in case together with 3 pro plus to wake me up .., bad mistake, i missed the first few hours of gigs due to me coming out in massive sweats and needing to go what seemed like cold turkey in the sauna before the pro plus worked its way out, silly boy ( and i am 47, you would have though i knew better!
Never mind, caught the end of Docherty, met up with pals and then we saw CSN and then Kasabian. Should have seen Florence, gutted! Ended the night seeing Jarvis, what a treat, better than the boss in my mind.
Woke up early again, " Egg and Bacon roll please"! And today we were going to pack up our stuff and then take it to the car and come back in for a few hours until we had to leave on Sunday evening ( i had to work early next day, bummer) at around 7pm. My god the trek back was worst than the one there! Met up with an old pal arrange for three days but could never get a phone connection long enough to arrange it, still nice to talk with him for an hour before we went our seperate ways. I then left my pals, one went to get a hippie marriage in the green fields! I went to explore the section i hadn't before in the light. I went through the Circus field etc and to the jazz field for a pint of Brothers and then to my destination at the Avalon to see " the Mummers ". I had seen them on Jools Holland and fell in love with there music and the lead singer . Walked into the tent near the front cider in hand and with 200 poeple i think? They sang a song at the end that summed up the weekend for me called " this is heaven" and it brought a tear to my eye, as walking back to meet up with my pals to see the yeah yeah yeahs before we headed off, i thought that yes indeed this is heaven! I havn''t come down of the vibe and freeness and pure joy of it yet!
Still only 50 more weeks t go till next year.
Then bed in the early hours.
Finally, I bimbled off towards the Healing Fields, where I found a lovely lady who wasn't busy and she gave me a session of Shen therapy. After that I felt lighter than air, absolutely wonderful, smiley and happy, it was the best alternative therapy I've ever had! I wandeed off and found my way to the Stone Circle, where I sat and watched some people roasting a chicken over a fire and a little boy running around the wooden dragon and playing with his dad.
followed by heading off to the Other stage for Maximo Park, Pendulum and Franz Ferdinand. I forgot I wasn't a 20 year old raver and danced like a nutter to Pendulum, resulting in my legs feeling as though they'd been beaten with sticks owwww!
I can't really give a timeline as I was never really sure what day or time it was (my watch still hasn't turned up since I took it off when I got there - always do that when I get to a festival now), but I do know we saw Hobo Jones, Bjorn Again, Status Quo, Tom Jones, Kasabian, Madness, The Specials, Prodigy, Lancashire Hotpots and Rolf Harris - pretty much all the big names we wanted to see. A real treat was when we were wandering past the Glade to god knows where and our ear was caught by 
), watched the sun come up from the Stone Circle and some happy times getting a bit trashed at the Cider Bus.
