Glastonbury: A disability persective

[alibear]

Hi all, my husband is writing a series of blogs on his experience of the festival. He is a wheelchair user (which I've mentioned here a few times before!)

He's hoping to show that while the festival is a huge challenge for people with disabilities, it's still massively worthwhile - something we obviously know already!

Here's the first instalment: http://andybarrow.co.uk/the-challenge-of-glastonbury/ - we'd both love to hear your thoughts, and if there's anything else you'd like to know, eel free to ask!

[whisty]

From my perspective It's impossible to imagine the fortitude that must be required to undertake the Glastonbury festival journey in a wheel chair. Under good weather circumstances maybe, in the mud, WOW.

Hats off to your husband for doing it & good luck with the blog, let's hope it inspires others.

W

 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

8 minutes ago, alibear said:

Hi all, my husband is writing a series of blogs on his experience of the festival. He is a wheelchair user (which I've mentioned here a few times before!)

He's hoping to show that while the festival is a huge challenge for people with disabilities, it's still massively worthwhile - something we obviously know already!

Here's the first instalment: http://andybarrow.co.uk/the-challenge-of-glastonbury/ - we'd both love to hear your thoughts, and if there's anything else you'd like to know, eel free to ask!

Looking forward to hearing about the disability angle of Glastonbury. I'll be honest and say that I've only ever given a nod to the disabled facilities there. Hopefully that'll change once I read the blogs. Thanks for making the effort to inform.

[alibear]

Thanks both. I've often thought that part of the charm of Glasto is the feeling of achievement, but the wheelchair brings a whole different dimension! It was particularly hard for us this year, but we still had a wonderful time, and that's what prodded us into getting our thoughts down this time. 

Without bigging myself up, it's almost as hard for his PA (me!) as it is for him. I reckon I had to push him for around 75% of the time. We covered 48 miles over the 5 days! I'm pretty sure I came the closest I ever have to a panic attack in a huge crowd on Friday night (I've never experienced one before, but luckily the feeling subsided pretty quickly thanks to the help of a couple of wonderful Love the Farm volunteers). Not that we're complaining - we'll still be there next year in a hearbeat!

Thanks for reading - hope you enjoy the next instalments!

[Platt073]

It looked hard this year, 5 of us rescued a woman in a mobility scooter stuck near the Pyramid stage.  

I could barely stand myself, but best of luck to anyone brave enough. 

[alibear]

29 minutes ago, Platt073 said:

It looked hard this year, 5 of us rescued a woman in a mobility scooter stuck near the Pyramid stage.  

I could barely stand myself, but best of luck to anyone brave enough. 

Andy got carried out of the mud more times than I can count! The best thing was that we never had to ask anyone, people always offered their help to us. 

(As an aside, @eFestivals, I saw your disability info only goes back to 2002. Things have changed quite a bit since then, so if you want to use any of this info on your site please feel free )

[carlosj]

Thanks. This is food for thought for us as my wife wants to come but would struggle with the distances. I just need a ski lift to get her up to the Crow's Nest now.

[alibear]

1 hour ago, carlosj said:

Thanks. This is food for thought for us as my wife wants to come but would struggle with the distances. I just need a ski lift to get her up to the Crow's Nest now.

No worries, I hope you find the info helpful. We'll be including lots of tips in one of the blogs, as well as a glowing review of the disabled facilities. The best piece of advice I can give is to take things slowly, but that's one of the best ways to do the festival anyway! My parents use the disabled facilities too as my dad has a bad back. He struggles with walking too far but they made it to the Glastonbury sign by taking their time and making sure they rested lots.

[sweaver]

Will be following this blog, good to hear how you got on!  I used a mobility scooter for first time this year and must say the mud did restrict things for me, mainly as I wasn't brave enough but also as hired scooter onsite and two incidents on the Friday (one breakdown one theft) I didn't want to risk anything else happening by venturing too far from camp/pyramid.  I did get stuck in the mud a few times but people were always happy to help (I wonder if it was me you helped Platt073 )

Had a fab time too, and the disability crew running the viewing platform were ace, as were all the people on it!

[bexj]

5 hours ago, sweaver said:

Will be following this blog, good to hear how you got on!  I used a mobility scooter for first time this year and must say the mud did restrict things for me, mainly as I wasn't brave enough but also as hired scooter onsite and two incidents on the Friday (one breakdown one theft) I didn't want to risk anything else happening by venturing too far from camp/pyramid.  I did get stuck in the mud a few times but people were always happy to help (I wonder if it was me you helped Platt073 )

Had a fab time too, and the disability crew running the viewing platform were ace, as were all the people on it!

Theft?  That is lowest of the low,  so sorry you experienced that :-(

I would love to read more on the blog too,  your husband,  and you as PA, are obviously very determined individuals,  as are many others who attend this wonderful inclusive festival.  

[giantkatestacks]

I am looking forward to reading them too. We were in Wicket instead of crew camping this year so were walking the same path towards the Pyramid or seeing how the minivan system works. 

We saw a few people stagger in front of scooters at the last minute etc. You must have Dalai Lama levels of patience to cope with it. 

[crocodiles]

Enjoyed the blog and look forward to reading more I can not even contemplate how difficult to get around in the mud it mus have been for both of you.  One thing that struck us this year we stook just behind one of the viewing stations by the pyramid when adele was on. We watched the platform get fuller and fuller as more and more people somehow managed to get across the mud . I could see that it was becoming difficult for all involved as the stewards presumably can only let a finite number of guests and friends relatives in . But it seemed to me that everyone involved acted in a caring dignified way to deal with what was obviously difficult conditions 

[Curlygirl]

Hats off to you both for tackling this years mud and covering 48miles!! I am very fit and healthy and yet I found this year tough! I'm looking forward to reading the blogs and seeing it from yours and your husbands perspective. x 

[alibear]

7 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

I am looking forward to reading them too. We were in Wicket instead of crew camping this year so were walking the same path towards the Pyramid or seeing how the minivan system works. 

We saw a few people stagger in front of scooters at the last minute etc. You must have Dalai Lama levels of patience to cope with it. 

Haha, patience is not my strong point so it can get testing at times! The thing is, people's eye levels aren't the same height as a wheelchair/scooter/buggy, so you do have to be a bit vocal. The key is to be polite and say thank you once they move; same as in most areas of life, really! The vast majority don't seem to mind taking instructions and are very apologetic, whether they need to be or not.

[Harebell]

Great blog, looking forward to reading more. I see in your husband’s bio that he was a former GB wheelchair rugby player, awesome! My husband works in sports construction and oversaw work on several of the London 2012 Olympic/Paralympic sites (although not the Copper Box where I think the wheelchair rugby was held?). They didn't give his company any free tickets but we made sure we bought tickets to as many Olympic and Paralympic events as we could, it was the best summer and such a great atmosphere in London - wish we had been able to catch some of the 'murderball' action though!

 

The blog got me thinking on a vaguely related note...do you know how you can become an access volunteer?  I'm not hugely qualified or experienced in that area but I used to work for a charity called Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and as part of my role I had to learn a lot about access issues, The Equality Act, safeguarding etc.  I volunteered with the recycling team this year, which I really enjoyed and it got me thinking about other ways to volunteer at Glasto.

[alibear]

6 hours ago, Harebell said:

The blog got me thinking on a vaguely related note...do you know how you can become an access volunteer?  I'm not hugely qualified or experienced in that area but I used to work for a charity called Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and as part of my role I had to learn a lot about access issues, The Equality Act, safeguarding etc.  I volunteered with the recycling team this year, which I really enjoyed and it got me thinking about other ways to volunteer at Glasto.

Sounds like you've got loads of experience they'd need! We've been four times now and they largely seem to have the same volunteers, but there were some new faces this year everyone I spoke to was absolutely loving it. 

The best place to start would be to email Claire, the access coordinator at disabled@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk. I'm not sure whether she organises the volunteers but she'll definitely be able to point you in the right direction. We talked about volunteering next year if we didn't get tickets.Hopefully we'll see you there!

[tinktink]

great piece will be following, spring ground this year was amazing as usual, but it really was hard getting around, on the friday was stuck over by the greenfields, took us 2 & half hours to get back, was going to to go via circus field to pick up the bus but info didnt know where the bus stopped took  ages to get through to spring ground and i had just missed it anyway as they only run every 2 hours they said, i think the bus should pick up hourly maybe  for a couple hours morning & night and maybe along with the stops they already have  at the park and circus field maybe a pick up at shangra la glasto latino greenfields way.

Edited July 9, 2016 by tinktink
spelling

[alibear]

20 hours ago, tinktink said:

great piece will be following, spring ground this year was amazing as usual, but it really was hard getting around, on the friday was stuck over by the greenfields, took us 2 & half hours to get back, was going to to go via circus field to pick up the bus but info didnt know where the bus stopped took  ages to get through to spring ground and i had just missed it anyway as they only run every 2 hours they said, i think the bus should pick up hourly maybe  for a couple hours morning & night and maybe along with the stops they already have  at the park and circus field maybe a pick up at shangra la glasto latino greenfields way.

I think the circus fields pick up is ok, because you can go straight from the drop off to the late-night area via the cut-through. I think the weather scuppered many things this year, unfortunately. I agree they could maybe pick up hourly at peak times, though, and maybe make the last pick up later, as many bars etc finish at 3am, but maybe that's me being selfish as I like to stay out late!

Thanks for reading, the next blog will be out sometime this week 

[eFestivals]

On 7/8/2016 at 8:56 PM, alibear said:

(As an aside, @eFestivals, I saw your disability info only goes back to 2002. Things have changed quite a bit since then, so if you want to use any of this info on your site please feel free )

erm ... 2009.

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury/info-disabled.shtml

But anyway, thank you - we will use your info to update where necessary at some point over the next few months.

[mungo57]

I camped in the disabled field this year as one of my group was entitled to use it.

Hats off to your hubbie. We were in awe of the wheelchair users this year, what with the mud everywhere, must have been difficult for him and the others to get about. It is definitely worth it though. All four of us can walk (our disabled person is ambulent luckily enough for us at least) and by Sunday we were all struggling. Must have been murder for people in wheelchairs.

[Harebell]

On 9 July 2016 at 10:43 PM, alibear said:

Sounds like you've got loads of experience they'd need! We've been four times now and they largely seem to have the same volunteers, but there were some new faces this year everyone I spoke to was absolutely loving it. 

The best place to start would be to email Claire, the access coordinator at disabled@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk. I'm not sure whether she organises the volunteers but she'll definitely be able to point you in the right direction. We talked about volunteering next year if we didn't get tickets.Hopefully we'll see you there!

Thanks, I'll contact Claire sometime in the coming months to see if volunteering with access is an option. 

[jparx]

My sister-in-law is wheelchair bound and she will (as did I!) find this a very interesting read. I had so much respect for the people in wheelchairs this year. It looked incredibly difficult, but very rewarding I'm sure. Being close to someone with a serious disability you understand how difficult even basic tasks are, so my hat is definitely off to those that are able to tackle Glastonbury! 

Edited July 11, 2016 by jparx

[alibear]

Morning all, here's the second instalment of the blog - a little later than planned. I hope you enjoy it! 

http://andybarrow.co.uk/glastonbury-help-disability/

(Apologies for the delay, I haven't been on here much. I'll respond to your posts individually soon but I've just returned to work after a week off so should really get some stuff done first!)

Edited July 25, 2016 by alibear

[Quark]

Loving reading this @alibear.  Aside from it being a good insight into Glastonbury from a disabled perspective, the concept of 5 minute friends and the tales of people helping out, getting you through the backstage camping etc just makes me love the place even more.

[lucyginger]

Love the "five minute friend" thing, it's so true! 

Your blog is great, thank you for sharing. It's always good to hear of other people's festival experiences