Volunteering - advice!

[NorthernScum]

Hello. I believe i'll be at Glasto as a Festaffer this year, presumably doing wristbands and wotnot. Are there any experienced Festaffers here who can tell me all about the practicalities/nuts n bolts of the Festaff experience?

[glasto-worker]

to all WBC volunteers who were lucky to get places this year.

At this time you should have been told if you have a place or not

the Coach link has been sent out - if you have not received it contact your Group Organiser and they should be able to sort it out.

its very late this year.

make no mistake as there is a deadline - it catches out 15% who miss the deadline each year. { anyone who misses the deadline will lose their place }

The Glasto deadline is Friday 22nd May. { same deadline if you want a staff car pass { these are like gold dust and you really need to prove there is a health reason for getting one }

unlike some previous years ' all coaches will depart on Tuesday 23rd June

Corby 11am - Birmingham - 3pm - Bristol - 12noon - 6pm - Cardiff - 3pm - Clowne - 3pm - Glasgow - 9am - London - Noon - 3pm - 5pm - 6pm - Liverpool - 3pm - Manchester - 3pm

A few tips - dont book a time if you are not 100% you can make it

These are departure times { and they tend to load early } you would be wise to show up at least one hour before departure.

Don't just arrive and wander off because ' you need to tell the Coach coordinator that you are there ' - they will want to know what Team your from - if you dont know that then your in trouble.

They may or may not ask for photo ID and proof of address - if its your first time then its highly likely they will - its all in the contract that ' you should have read by now.

Big Warning ' you need to appreciate that all the coaches are shared between Senior WBC Managers and Volunteers so if you are very new ' Be careful what you say ' I was on a coach with a WBC Council member { very high up in the WBC } and two prize idiots were sitting right behind us and were plotting about how they would go off sick at a certain time so they would be able to see a Band - not a smart move and their Organiser was told they would never get a place again if these two Mensa candidates went off sick that night.

This may appear a daft tip - ' have the phone number of Your Organiser on your phone ' - trust me someone will get caught out and will end up not being listed on a specific coach - dead easy for a Organiser to sort out.

it happened to the Deputy Chairman of the WBC and I a few years ago when going to Latitude - as the Coach coordinator knew us both all she did was add our names back on the list but its not as easy if they don't know you.

Once on the coach - if it stops ' listen ' you will be told how long the coach will stop for - as you leave the coach ' take a photo of the number plate - I know two bright sparks who never bothered and then walked on the wrong coach and ended up in Blackpool { on a SAGA Coach } - not a urban myth as I know the people involved - cost them a bomb to get down.

anyway if you are told the coach will leave in 30 minuets { he is counting in loading time } be there at 31 minuets and we will be gone.

when it enters Glastonbury and parks ' do not wander off ' - it has only stopped for a rep from GFL to come on to issue your crew pass - once thats sorted out the Coach will move on to the wbc campsite - Do not assume this is in the same place as last year .

as you enter the crew camp site the ' site Manager ' will direct you where to camp - the site is divided up for operational reasons and ' you will be moved on ' if you camp in the wrong area - so you have been warned .

once you get your tent up # go directly to the big white marquee tent #

Now at this point although you may be tempted to join a queue - stop and look to see where the queue ends up - there should be a sign up on the tables so managers will go to a few tables and volunteers will have a separate queue - You need to register - miss that part and your stuffed.

and no - you will not find out your shifts straight away - once your told you cant swap shifts so there is no point asking - if you cant accept that then you should not have volunteered in the first place.

Do not leave the campsite until you are registered because Security will not allow you back in if you cant show a photo ID Pass.

its all straight forward if you keep your eyes open and listen.

That big white marquee tent is where I work and I get well pissed off if people don't respect the Teams that work with me { they are all WBC volunteers } - We are not there to look after your phone - its your phone so don't expect anyone to look after it - you would be wise to mark any charger with your name and Team - trust me we will end up with five Smartphones and god knows how many chargers - if you lose your phone get a friend to call the phone when you are at the bar and you will get the phone that rings - if it does not ring then you will have to pick it up after the festival.Best is not to lose it in the first place.

as you can see there was only one coach ' when we got off the coach ' when we returned there was four coaches parked right next to each other so dead easy to get on the wrong coach.

[Wanderlei]

When are we told our Recycling Crew shifts? It seems to be very late this year (it's getting towards being inconveniently late now). I checked through my emails, and the last correspondence I received from Fiona said that we would be told in March.

I've been patient, but now i'm getting a bit anxious.

[giantkatestacks]

Sorry wanderlei, cant help as I am a Bhopal recycler and so we are always mornings on the Pyramid.