48 replies to this topic

[MissFlipper]

This year the campsites were both packed to capacity even before the event started. Guilfest has in the past won awards for its good toilet facilities but this year, greed and laziness meant that at one point there was only one functioning toilet for the whole of the family campsite. The toilets were in darkness overnight (unlike my floodlit tent) and the cover over the sewer into which they drained was open and not fenced off. We were unfortunate to have witnessed people 'going' behind the toilet block - there was also excrement between cars in the car park. In the main arena, the toilets next to the entrance flooded and the overflow mopped up with straw where it ran through the main gate. Yes, you were wading through wee.

After a lengthly queue on Friday night and a half hour wait on Saturday morning, I used directory enquiries to reach and leave a message for the Environmental Health department of Surrey County Council, who I later heard were meeting with the organisers. I met other people who were attempting to raise the problem with the authorites. The toilets quickly became blocked and were only serviced during the daytime. A friend pointed out that there were no feminine hygiene bins to be seen (but plenty of discarded towels, probably the cause of many blockages). We spoke to St John's Ambulance staff, who agreed that sickness would spread very quickly amongst campers under these circumstanses.

This really detracted from our enjoyment of the event - you can't advertise a 150ft beer tent without catering for the obvious consequenses.

[5co77ie]

Were the toilets terrible?
In a word....

Yes!


Out campsite had 2 toilets, Friday only one was working, so folks used both! Yuck! At night only one was lit... bizarrely though on Saturday night late, the lit one was being used by a couple wanting to get it on... bizarrely they wanted the lit one. Walked through the campsite looking for another block, found three cabins, first one was completely unusable. Second one was ladies with a huuuuuge queue and the third one was mainly urinals but had some cubicles with doors that wouldn't even close let alone lock. But needs must, however i was rather upset when with my trews around my ankles - one foot wedging the door pretty much closed, the bloke in the cubicle next to me flushed and a tidal wave washed into my cubicle! Nice! Not! Then the taps didn't work and no soap or handwash - icky! After a change of damp trews my luck persisted in the main arena where i used a block full of single urinals - no trough = less able to use it - only to discover that it wasn't plumbed in - queue wet feet!

However by yesterday we had actual water in our campsite loo (yup singular - although i was told that despite queueing for 20 minutes and not seeing anyone come out of the other one - it was working, perhaps the couple were back for more?) and despite the font not being actually attached to the sink at least it was working.

I heard it wasn't the organisers fault but the toilet contractors, but even so surely Andy's loos (or someone) could have been contacted to put a few extra turdis in?

Edited by 5co77ie, 16 July 2007 - 11:18 AM.

[manda]

We were told they couldn't afford portaloo's this year so same amount of people as last yr but using fewer loo's (as i was not at last yrs event i don't know how true this is)

I must say, the toilet situation really disappointed me. First trip to the loo's by the arena entrance they were already backing up and closing cubicles and that was around 2.30....Didn't bode well. Next trip they'd completely closed the ones by the arena. The ones by the bottom end were also shut. The ones to the far side of the arena were boggy and had horrendous queues so i had to wait 30 mins by the advertiser tent toilets. Not happy. Things didn't seem to improve at all so i had to stop drinking. Unfortunately it was either that- or miss the acts i'd paid to see by spending stupid amounts of time queuing. I hate to say it but it really did put a downer on my day.

Get some portaloos in- the IOW ones this yr were pretty spot on as they were cleaned regularly. Of all the festivals i've been too i have to say Saturday at Guilfest would come close to top of my worse experience ever. I just want to be able to use a clean loo without queing for stupid lengths of time, i don't think its much to ask!

[McShug]

Just arrived back after the weekend, was really disgusted at the state of the toilet facilities.

We had been told by friends who had been in previous years that they were the best of any festival, that they had been to.

We were over in the campsite by the Unison tent/ H Exit.

The toilets here were completely inadequate, the ladies block had cubicles with doors missing when we arrived Fri morning,
they weren't cleaned until 10.30am on the Sat morning.

There just wasn't enough loos, the were in a poor state to begin with and suffered badly from over use.

There needed to be at least double the amount of loos offered on site.


All in all we had a good time - saw some fantastic bands but we won't be going back next year

McShug

[William of Walworth]

Don't know about the campsite ones, but all sets of onsite toilets (near dance tent, near main entrance and near the back left of main stage) were pretty terrible yesterday.

Thank heavens (being a day punter yesterday) only pissing was necessary for me. I dread to think what the cubicles were like!

[mrxmas]

Guilfest 2007 was the worst organised and most money grabbing festival i have ever been to. This was my fifth guilfest and i have never seen it so bad. I have been to glastonbury many times so can cope with bad toilets but the fact that there was nowhere to wash your hands im supprised there wasn't an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
My advice is next time get a backstage pass, i was lucky enough to have one and the toilets were clean, had toilet roll in them and had lovely running water.

[Evilredzebra]

This was my second Guilfest and I definitely wont be going next year. Aside from the toilet situation, the area I was camping in seemed to have turned into Reading with the number of pissed 15 year olds thinking it was absolutey hilarious to steal a load of frozen pizzas from the stall (god knows how) and start a massive food fight which left the entire site looking like a bomb had hit it when we woke up Sunday morning.

My purse was stolen out of my tent, other tents around me were slashed, couldn't get near the Funky End or cheesy disco because of aforementioned pissed up teenagers, couldn't even find a stall selling basic camping supplies which I would have thought would be the most obvious thing to have at a festival rather than stall after stall with those butterfly dresses all in size zero!

Such a shame as last summer was amazing. I hope that they get it back on track next year - that's assuming there is a next year of course.

[Neil]

mrxmas, on Jul 16 2007, 02:24 PM, said:

Guilfest 2007 was the worst organised and most money grabbing festival i have ever been to. This was my fifth guilfest and i have never seen it so bad. I have been to glastonbury many times so can cope with bad toilets but the fact that there was nowhere to wash your hands im supprised there wasn't an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
My advice is next time get a backstage pass, i was lucky enough to have one and the toilets were clean, had toilet roll in them and had lovely running water.

There was a huge cock up by the organisers over the toilets this year - but (at least in part) happened thru them trying to have the best toilets of any festival ever.

They decided to get the very best - proper flushing loos everywhere. Unfortunately, there wasn't the mains water pressure available to be able to supply them all with water, and the result was that all had very low water pressure. This problem was *exactly* the same for all toilets everywhere on site, including the backstage ones (depending where toilets were on the supply chain tho, some suffered worse than others over the water pressures). This issue had mostly been resolved by Sunday.

There were also issues with them not being emptied soon enough and sometimes overflowing - hence the leaks around some of them.

None of this was due to any 'money grabbing' I can assure you - the same number of toilets could have been provided as portaloos for a far lower cost to the organisers.

They know they cocked-up very badly over this, and did all they could to address things as soon as they became aware of the problems. They of course won't make the same errors again.

I've not trying to excuse all this - it wasn't good. But it happened thru them having good intentions and not bad ones.

Edited by Neil, 16 July 2007 - 02:03 PM.

[5co77ie]

I have to say i thought funky end and that area was much better this year than last - yes lots of teens but all being nice this year - camping - admittedly i wouldn't leave family camping for anywhere else to pitch after a couple of nightmare years.

[Neil]

5co77ie, on Jul 16 2007, 03:07 PM, said:

yes lots of teens but all being nice this year

on Saturday night at least, that quite possibly had something to do with the 30 or so old bill stood around keeping an eye on them.

I can't quite understand it. Guilfest got rid of the Guilfin lounge because it was getting a reputation for trouble (when in fact there wasn't any), while what there is now is far worse potentially. All I can think of is that the old bill are used to the pissed-up and wanna-fight possibilities so don't see that as anything objectionable, but some hippies doing a hippie thing was weirding them out.

Edited by Neil, 16 July 2007 - 02:15 PM.

[5co77ie]

Think those TVs in washing machines were just too bizarre - have to say (in my capacity as a hippie) I preferred the Guilfin it was more festival feeling - Funky End feels like a bad trip at a nightclub. All those freaked pale faced old folk! Wobbling their way to the Rock cave - which was terrific BTW but wayyy too hidden by Funky End. Good to see comedy tent moved out of the 'teen zone' though - and how i laughed at the oxygen, popper and nitrous abuse - kids eh so funny to watch.

[janeem]

Back to the bogs again-sorry-I felt really sorry for 'Tracys Hygene Team'which seemed consist of one peson,Tracy? wearing flip flops when waders were the order of the day!

[Muffin man]

Yes the toilets were bad this year, but!!!

That's not an excuse to avoid the best festie is it?

[Song Simon]

I was too busy being pissed to get pissed off about pissing, I think. Compared to Reading toilets it was wonderful.

A bog that not that many know about, though not quite up there with the Glastonbury flushing toilets 'secret' - a public loo on the edge of the park, just off Nightingale Road. Right next to the festival site, open all day, usually empty.

[Marshall]

I went to the tolet in the campsite around 6am each morning to avoid the queues. they were fine, nice and clean and flushed. I used the urinals in the arena after that which were ok. so no complaints from me. I wouldn't recomened you lot getting up early to go for a poo though as it'd mean me having to queue!!

[McShug]

Neil, on Jul 16 2007, 03:01 PM, said:

They decided to get the very best - proper flushing loos everywhere.

I"m sorry but I can't believe this statement.

Toilets with no doors, no locks, no toilet seats, toilets that didn't flush & sinks not plumbed in.

This was the condition of the toilets Friday morning at 10.30am, before the festival started over at the campsite.

This also has nothing to do with the water pressure.

Heaven help us if the organisers ever decide not to go for the very best in toilets.

McShug

[Marshall]

here's what the toilets looked like when I was in them!

ok I know it seems a bit sad taking a picture but I'd never seen a festival toilet as clean before!!

[Neil]

McShug, on Jul 16 2007, 04:37 PM, said:

I"m sorry but I can't believe this statement.

Toilets with no doors, no locks, no toilet seats, toilets that didn't flush & sinks not plumbed in.

This was the condition of the toilets Friday morning at 10.30am, before the festival started over at the campsite.

This also has nothing to do with the water pressure.

Heaven help us if the organisers ever decide not to go for the very best in toilets.

McShug

Every toilet I used had doors, locks, seats, had working sinks (if there was the water there to run into them) and flushed (if there was the water there to flush) - and this was certainly the case in all the loos I used, both on the campsite and in the arena.

I can only presume that what you experienced was the result of using toilets that were still being put together as it was early on Friday (tho I've no idea why they would come un-assembled), or that some moron trashed them into that state during the night (and if that was the case you can hardly blame the organisers).

I'm not trying to excuse the toilet facilities - as I've already said, they weren't good (but WERE much improved by Sunday). But if you really experience what you say then it was a short-lived thing which the organisers did put right because the campsite toilets certainly weren't like that by late afternoon on the Friday.

I've been to hundreds and hundreds of festivals (and that's no exaggeration). I have never seen a festival anywhere near as big as GuilFest (around 20,000 people) have all-flushing loos before; it's certainly the case that those sorts of loos are significantly more expensive than the alternatives - only the daft could say the problems were down to cost cutting or the festival not caring about their customers; it was cock-up, nothing else.

Edited by Neil, 16 July 2007 - 04:12 PM.

[McShug]

Neil

Before this turns into a slanging match,
I will add my final comment

This morning the toilets still did not lock, were missing toilet seats - I didn't check up on the one that wasn't flushing
due to the towel some one had put over the pan (probably to cover the sight or the stench or both)

The sink still didn't work as there was no water to it - - I could go on and on but I can't be bothered.

I am not a festival virgin either and I accept that flushing toilets are pretty unusual at festivals, but if you are going to provide them make sure they are in an acceptable condition before letting the general paying public loose on them

McShug

[Neil]

McShug, on Jul 16 2007, 05:32 PM, said:

Neil

Before this turns into a slanging match,
I will add my final comment

This morning the toilets still did not lock, were missing toilet seats - I didn't check up on the one that wasn't flushing
due to the towel some one had put over the pan (probably to cover the sight or the stench or both)

The sink still didn't work as there was no water to it - - I could go on and on but I can't be bothered.

I am not a festival virgin either and I accept that flushing toilets are pretty unusual at festivals, but if you are going to provide them make sure they are in an acceptable condition before letting the general paying public loose on them

McShug

Where the f**k were these elusive f**ked up toilets then? Cos I saw NOTHING at all like what you're suggesting (and I believe that I used the toilets at every toilet point during the weekend).

As I've said, every toilet I used was not damaged and fully working; the only exceptions were a lack of water for sinks, due only to a lack of water pressure (is the festival responsible for the water company's failure to have enough pressure? ), and I saw one sink under one of the toilet trailers, which had either been ripped out by a punter or taken out by the organisers because there was some issue with it.

What I did see a lot of were piss on the floors and leaking from the things - but even with the piss on the floor, they didn't seem to be like that for long as they were generally spotless on my next visit.

Edited by Neil, 16 July 2007 - 04:42 PM.