March Hare

I don’t want to wait for Glastonbury tent fires and then a reactive move to stop campsite fires. I’d rather people didn’t have them where tents are such closely packed together. Avoid the risk if you can imo. I just head to the woods which has a lovely fire going. If any of you haven’t been I recommend it. I’d like more organised fires around the site like they have in the woods (pic from 2017)

Tilda Swinton was there Thursday night, saw her walking down the hill from the Greenpeace stages

Oh Mendip Moments, just when I needed a boost, this came along... two types of cookie!!!

And I’m biased. Missed out on coach sale, general sale and the two resales. Also I try to set my days up to peak in the SE corner.

I agree @mikegday . I posted the shift patterns to help facilitate that decision making- it could be a deal breaker. I could have missed more acts than I did and still had a good time. But that’s a personal choice. You’ve got to look at the shift patterns and ask yourself “if I got the worst case scenario would it still be worth it?”.

Did Oxfam for the first time and would do it again if mates were volunteering with me as you can register to do the same shift times with them. I can live with a few missed acts.

Buddy, what you trying to do to me?! By Monday I’ve eaten into the reserves and then some. Couldn’t handle any more

That makes sense. This is a indicator of shift patterns (not from an official source or anything) but I’d expect them to front load stewards as the gates inevitably get quieter Friday-Sunday afternoon. I’ve no doubt people got shifts that felt pretty rubbish. But you are never going to get 2.5k people happy with their shifts. And it’s inevitable that they need stewards when the big acts are on i.e the 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6pm. For me it was a way in, a privilege to be there given I missed out on a regular ticket. Then, as a bonus, ended up enjoying the volunteering - fellow stewards had huge part to play in that. I just made the most of the free time I had (and drank a lot of coffee!) I had my late nighter straight after my 10pm finish

The shifts follow a pattern like this. Some, like C, would take a chunk out of party time.

I’d put another vote in for Green Man, got a bit of a Glade/West Holts feel about it. Very friend crowd, total size is probably that of The Park. But mostly because the Goan Fish Curry stall was there last year In truth, I don’t think there is anything.

So this was my first time volunteering at a festival and I was with Oxfam. I was lucky with my shifts as I didn’t miss any artists I wanted to see (saw The Killers on their last tour) but did end up on on a ped gate in the sun (jeez it was hot). So my post is with that perspective. Working 8 hour shifts in any capacity at a festival is going to drain your energy, in the sun or rain. Some shifts were 60mins from camp. I was burning into the reserves and booze free days would have helped with hindsight . I thought the briefing was stern but needed to be. Oxfam have a reputation to protect and not everyone thinks in the same way. Some people will want to put a lot into the shifts and some are shirkers (I definitely saw one of them - so annoying). Some will just downright take the piss. I had no problem with them setting out the boundaries early doors. Some tasks such as an incredibly quiet vehicle gate are boring. Having stewards who are good company is essential but also down to luck. All my supervisors were polite and friendly. We were rotated out of the sun when it got hot. I cant comment on the number of stewards as I don’t know anything about the deal with the festival or licence conditions etc etc. Loved parking close to the camp, loved the caterers (cracking late night chips), loved the showers (I missed one planned shower when they prioritised drinking water). It was a long walk in to the festival, so chilling out at the tent for an hour between acts isn’t an option. Left with the mantra “if I’m going out, I’m staying out” . I thought Oxfam could have been clearer that at Glastonbury all the shifts are on the perimeter. A part of me thought we would be stewarding around the music venues but maybe that is just me. Other than that, training was good (did mine online), pre-festival information was clear, campsite was full of lovely people and there was a sense of community around the place. I was there with someone and appreciated that they put us on the same shift times (at different locations). The shifts you end up with make a huge difference. If my mates are volunteering too, i’d work with Oxfam before getting a regular ticket. Even if it means missing an act or two.

Brilliant splits! Far out stage is looking great.

Just left the tent as it’s eased off. Ground is still hard-ish

It will be fine. I was in trainers yesterday. I expect to be in trainers tomorrow. Hiking boots for today though

I’ll post as soon as it stops (which is also when I leg it to the loos!)