97 replies to this topic

[cejx]

lola_bobz, on 21 June 2011 - 11:48 AM, said:

I think this should be the case.... or perhaps crew camping should only be for certain crew, or an applied for space. i.e. when taking on and applying for work, you tick a box that says you want to camp in the workers camp.

From what ive read its a common misconception that all crew get the same treatment... im not sure this is 100% true.

There are so many different types of workers there working for a multitude of different organisations, how do non workers know what perks they can and cannot get?

What an Oxfam worker may be entitled to, may be different to what someone who is employer by the festival may get for example.

Just a thought.

Its quite straightforward.  Workers use crew camping. Punters use public fields. If workers wish to erect tents in public fields for their mates, they have to wait till the gates open.

ian the worm, on 21 June 2011 - 11:58 AM, said:

its always a few that can spoil things for the majority.  most workers (~40,000) camp where they should and only a small percentage of them don't.  please don't single out all workers as being bad as we're not.

Absolutely Mr Worm.  Always the way sadly - the minority spoiling it for the majority - I'm sounding like a teacher! GFest have acknowledged the problem - even if they haven't unfortunately acted on it.  Hopefully in 2013, this won't be the case.

[p.pete]

ian the worm, on 21 June 2011 - 11:58 AM, said:

its always a few that can spoil things for the majority.  most workers (~40,000) camp where they should and only a small percentage of them don't.  please don't single out all workers as being bad as we're not.

Nobody is singling out all workers - the focus is on workers who have tents (their own or their mates) in the public fields before the gates open, and have an undeserved carte-blanch of where they'd like to camp.

[p.pete]

Journalist and Dad, on 21 June 2011 - 12:06 PM, said:

Almost everyone I have been talking to on site that are camped in a public field has a ticket - bought with cash money mine for instance bought by my employer. This entitles them to camp wherever they like in public fields and the are not "crew" in any way. Why should they get moved on?

Public camping / the festival doesn't start until tomorrow morning, great if they have their own ticket - tomorrow morning they should be allowed to bring their tent on site and find a pitch.

[Journalist and Dad]

p.pete, on 21 June 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

Public camping / the festival doesn't start until tomorrow morning, great if they have their own ticket - tomorrow morning they should be allowed to bring their tent on site and find a pitch.

hmm, in theory; but in practice public camping has already started.
interestingly - some on pennards and park home ARE security and mates of security as well as GFL staff and family.
safe to say that nobody here is getting "moved on".

it's clear you are sore about it, but I am sure you will still find somewhere to pop your tent tomorrow and then you can move on and not worry about it any more.

[p.pete]

Journalist and Dad, on 21 June 2011 - 12:32 PM, said:

hmm, in theory; but in practice public camping has already started.

How?  It's not public camping if it's not public.  I'm very certain that security won't move tents put there by security, and I'm sure there are plenty.  That doesn't make it right however.

It's a small point, it won't ruin my festival, but I do think it is very unfair on people who make efforts as best they can to be cheated like this.

[cejx]

Pennards Hill now.

[dondo]

Some intetesting pics here too of tents being set up before the gates open

http://www.glastonbu...ps-ready-steady

[jmarmer]

Pennard Hill on tue night was covered in tents, however according to the local campsite crew this was at least partly due to paines ground being very wet and churned up by vehicles so crew did not want to set up in there. Row Mead was also busy with the best pitches already gone tue pm along Furlonger. Campsite crew spent the day warning people they had to expect to be moved but security never showed. Bear in mind campsite crew who are all volunteers often set up camp next to their crewbases as they have no allocated camping.

[cejx]

jmarmer, on 30 June 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

Pennard Hill on tue night was covered in tents, however according to the local campsite crew this was at least partly due to paines ground being very wet and churned up by vehicles so crew did not want to set up in there. Row Mead was also busy with the best pitches already gone tue pm along Furlonger. Campsite crew spent the day warning people they had to expect to be moved but security never showed. Bear in mind campsite crew who are all volunteers often set up camp next to their crewbases as they have no allocated camping.

Hmm, but there was plenty of room in Pennards crew camping!  The delightful Pyramid palace was there in its usual spot.  Its just mildly annoying, that security don't follow up what they've said.

[NGEddie]

I talked to one of the guys camped on the front row in Row mead (opposite Pyramid stage).  He told me that every space along the front of the field was taken before the festival opened.
I can understand why some crew are in the public camping fields, but premium spots like that MUST be available to paying customers.  For the price paid it's ridiculous.

Does anyone know how much of family camping was taken up before gates opened?

[pl43]

NGEddie, on 15 July 2011 - 06:12 AM, said:

I talked to one of the guys camped on the front row in Row mead (opposite Pyramid stage).  He told me that every space along the front of the field was taken before the festival opened.
I can understand why some crew are in the public camping fields, but premium spots like that MUST be available to paying customers.  For the price paid it's ridiculous.

Does anyone know how much of family camping was taken up before gates opened?

Don't know for sure, but we got through the gates and onto Cockmill  by 8-10AM on Wednesday. As a group of 3 families, we had the choice of 2 spots big enough to pitch 3 6-man tents together! Majority of tents there were already up rather than people putting them up.Cockmill was substantilly smaller this year though.

[Amii]

jmarmer, on 30 June 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

Pennard Hill on tue night was covered in tents, however according to the local campsite crew this was at least partly due to paines ground being very wet and churned up by vehicles so crew did not want to set up in there. Row Mead was also busy with the best pitches already gone tue pm along Furlonger. Campsite crew spent the day warning people they had to expect to be moved but security never showed. Bear in mind campsite crew who are all volunteers often set up camp next to their crewbases as they have no allocated camping.

Row mead was ridiculous. Takes the bloody piss, why the hell don't they enforce it better? I appreciate the majority of workers do a great job, but I don't get the preferential treatment. This is the problem with working at Glastonbury, it's seen as a free ticket in, not a job, and therefore not professional in some regards.

I really hope they have a better security presence with it in 2013.

[glasto-worker]

jmarmer, on 30 June 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

Pennard Hill on tue night was covered in tents, however according to the local campsite crew this was at least partly due to paines ground being very wet and churned up by vehicles so crew did not want to set up in there. Row Mead was also busy with the best pitches already gone tue pm along Furlonger. Campsite crew spent the day warning people they had to expect to be moved but security never showed. Bear in mind campsite crew who are all volunteers often set up camp next to their crewbases as they have no allocated camping.

Hi - I was camping in Paines Ground and while not bone dry it was not all that bad and our section { WBC Campsite } would have been more churned up than any other section due to the amount of traffic going in and out of that specific camp.{ excluding the access road }

The WBC Campsite had roughly the same amount of tents than last year but I did notice that some other sections were not as busy  

Now I cant say if there was crew camping in ticket holder areas but its likely that some did not move back to Paines Ground.

It is true that the access road { and path } was a right mess but they did put down wood chip { had to be a truck load } which did make it easier.

Due to the mud our Crew Coaches were unable to reach the normal drop off point and in fact at one point they { not sure if they were Security or stewards } wanted us to walk up from the festival bus station and I went bananas { and no its not because I am lazy - I have had two heart attacks in my life and there is no way I could walk that distance } so I was straight off the coach as one Security/steward was telling us one thing and another was telling us the exact opposite.

This is the first time a WBC Coach { that I have been on } was being refused access to our normal access road and no one was telling us why and the Coach Driver was getting twitchy and was trying to unload the coach.

Lucky enough I have connections with WBC Production so was straight on the phone - the Security/steward agreed to let the coach in if it had a escort from WBC Production - not sure why as all the other times we never had a escort - and I was able to assure the Coach Driver that they would be there shortly but it was touch and go.

By good fortune two other WBC coaches arrived { from somewhere in the UK } and they were being told to unload but lucky enough I spotted they were WBC coaches so told them to hang on for the escort - we were getting more hassle from Security/steward's as one was demanding one escort per Coach but the other had agreed that all three only required one escort.

When the escort arrived we were off like a shot - when we reached our drop off point the Coach Driver did say he had not appreciated the distance involved.

I do know that some WBC coaches were not offered a option of a escort and they had to trudge up the road.

Anyone who is lucky enough to have access to Crew Camping should use it unless its completely swamped

[EasyUserName]

I just think it is shame is happens (and happened again this year, despite the rhetoric).

The whole process of getting to the festival, until you are settled in, is like a giant lottery.  The “joy” of ticket purchase time, the queue in the morning, the “is my gate ever going to open” questions, finding the tent spot – it’s all part of the great lottery game.

It’s just a shame that when you get in, places like the Pyramid Palace exist.  It’s not that I am sour about the tent, but rather the method.  If they came in through the gate alongside me, I’d say “well done for getting that great spot” – even if they did bring a huge gazebo.  I’d be impressed, and speculate as to the amount of planning and effort it took, and how it all ended on one roll of the dice (the gate opening fractionally earlier than others, being in a good spot in the line, so on).

To have it all being down to a kind of “it’s who you know” rather than chance makes me feel a little sad inside.

Maybe it’ll be better next year.  As for it being a perk for workers – I’m not sure.  Never having worked at the event, I can’t really comment (but will do so anyway!).  I vote for the “crew to crew-camping” .  If, as some have said, they wish to camp in the main areas, why not have it so that they start at the same starting line, so to speak – and set up after 8am on Wed.  I mean, one of the images in this thread has a van next to the tent in Penards!  Kind of takes the fun out of thinking “that must have sucked carrying that for 30-45min onto site” thoughts I sometimes get, looking at something that is somewhat impressive but slightly non-functional.

[FunkyDenz]

EasyUserName, on 08 September 2011 - 02:05 PM, said:

Maybe it’ll be better next year.  

Next year it'll be a lot better. You'll get your pick of prime camping spot without worrying about anyone setting up in advance.

Michael Eavis might move you on though.

On the other hand, 2013 will probably be a replay of this year.

[glasto-worker]

EasyUserName, on 08 September 2011 - 02:05 PM, said:

  As for it being a perk for workers – I’m not sure.  Never having worked at the event, I can’t really comment (but will do so anyway!).  I vote for the “crew to crew-camping” .  If, as some have said, they wish to camp in the main areas, why not have it so that they start at the same starting line, so to speak – and set up after 8am on Wed.  I mean, one of the images in this thread has a van next to the tent in Penards!  Kind of takes the fun out of thinking “that must have sucked carrying that for 30-45min onto site” thoughts I sometimes get, looking at something that is somewhat impressive but slightly non-functional.

I cant say how many tents were set up in non crew areas before the gates open but I do know there was a load of cars { most without a onsite sticker } in the access road beside Paines Ground - it was packed and at times there was parked cars on the other side of the track which caused huge problems for the WBC stock vehicles.For anyone who does not know this area its very close to Gate D and that has a Crew carpark right beside the wall { W35 on the map } so there was no reason for any of the cars to be parked on that access road - these were not dropping stuff off as most never moved the whole time the event was on. I suspect most of the car owners were Security.

I know for a fact that access road did not have any cars parked in 2010 so its a mystery why there was so many there in 2010.

On Tuesday night we had a drink up in one of the bars and when I was walking back to the camp I came across a few vehicles who thought they were in a traffic jam - lucky enough I was in a good mood and told the lead driver that there was no traffic jam that he had pulled up behind parked cars - He thought I was joking but opened his door and came out and had a look - he was going nuts as he had been waiting 15 minuets assuming the cars in front had stopped due to a blockage further along the road. I reckon he had not been paying attention as his lights should have light up the road but when he stopped he was only a few feet behind the car parked so did not notice there was no drivers sitting in the cars.  
  
I can appreciate why ticket holders get angry and there is no need for any crew to be camping in ticket holder areas { assuming thy have their own specific campsite of course }

[whisty]

The people camping on the front of Row Mead don't look anything like staff or workers to me. They're highly organised, self centred & lots of them look like thugs.

[glasto-worker]

whisty, on 28 September 2011 - 03:49 PM, said:

The people camping on the front of Row Mead don't look anything like staff or workers to me. They're highly organised, self centred & lots of them look like thugs.

Sorry but how can you tell a worker from a ticketholder  if they are not displaying their crew pass ?

I have been a volunteer for 22 years and while I will recognise people I know I could not pick staff I don't know if they are walking past me and I cant see their ID Pass.