amfy

Can I just say that whilst being old is not in itself a disability. It does increase the chances of you having one. Disabilities such as arthritis etc are far more common and likely to require adjustments in old age. That was the reason for mentioning the aging Oxfam volunteer population. I’m 60 and have not needed or asked for Reasonable Adjustments but it does get more likely as the years pass. I would also argue that they can be requested for temporary conditions. As previous NHS manager I know we have provided a reasonable adjustments for people recovering from illness or accidents & I have seen people with temporary incapacity accommodated by Oxfam.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying Stonecircle wasn’t poorly treated, or that Oxfam shouldn’t be catering for RAs. All I’m saying is that in practice theres a limit to the number of people with RAs you can take. I think one possible reason they end up treating people with RAs badly at times, is that they can’t accommodate the numbers they recruit with the roles available and there’s no getting round the need to manage that better. As an extreme example - Oxfam cannot do the job they are there to do, if everyone they recruit needs to sit down……or to be fair, even if half need to sit down. Saying we’ll always cater for RAs is great in theory, but in practice, there is a limit to how many there can be, & if they don’t manage that somehow, it’s the people needing RAs that suffer. Also in my experience on shift their management of RAs has been fine, & there wasn’t anyone I couldn’t accommodate when I was supervising, but StoneCircle isn’t the first person I have heard complain, I have met several people in the Oxfam canteen tent that haven’t been happy.

I was an accidental one last year. I somehow ticked that box and ended up having to do it when I didn’t really want to. I also had some not great experiences with those higher up, but some good ones too. In terms of RA - my husband hadn’t put it on his application but pulled his back in the week leading up to the festival. We ended up spending a lot of Wednesday at FMS to get some stronger painkillers for him and spoke to Oxbox about the fact that he might not complete his shifts (he did). When we got on shift he was on the Team Leaders sheet as an RA despite it having been added late, and they said he should just ask if he needed to sit or lie down for a bit, or let them know if he couldn’t complete the shift. As it turned out, he just got through it, but I had some pre-noted RAs on my team who I looked to put where they would be OK, but then also some others on my team who said they need to sit and others had been ‘sitting for ages’. It’s just not as easy as it looks sometimes. I think some managers/supervisors have a bad attitude, but others just end up with a lot of people who don’t want to stand up for 8 hours. That’s not saying that anyone isn’t genuine in that requirement, just that there is such a thing as too many.

I honestly think that one difficulty Oxfam, or any organisation Tbf, might have is around the number & range of reasonable adjustments they can reasonably accommodate. Reasonable adjustments have two levels. Firstly is it a reasonable thing for the volunteer to ask? Then can it reasonably be accommodated and still get the job Oxfam are employed to deliver done. I think if volunteers are asking for quiet shifts, certain times if day, shifts where they can sit down, shifts that aren’t too far from base etc, those aren’t unreasonable to requests in themselves, but if they get too many volunteers needing this, they have a problem with covering what needs covering, and their recruitment process doesn’t seem to cover this eventuality. i think that’s where they might run into problems as they have more and more returning volunteers who are getting older and needing more allowance to be made for their physical condition. Having been a supervisor, I know it can be heavy going trying to rotate people when half of them need to sit down for most of the time. That’s not meant as a criticism of anyone with a genuine need, but Oxfam also have a job to get done with the people they employ, & their recruitment process doesn’t seem to do anything to protect themselves against the extremity of literally everyone turning up & needing to sit down! So maybe that’s something they need to think about - maybe 2 volunteer pots - one for straightforward ‘I can go anywhere I’m put’ applications, & one for people who need to request adjustments, with a bit of wriggle room for people whose circumstances change. It would be over simplifying it, but not as much as they are now. Otherwise they are promising people with additional needs something they possibly can’t deliver.

Prada is one of her more recent hits and it was actually part of her Brits medley so I think she’s fine with that one. I know from the Louie Theroux interview that she doesn’t like ‘Bed’ but she still seems happy with ‘You don’t know me’ as she did it at Glastonbury last year. i’m surprised Black Mascara didn’t chart because it got a lot of radio play and is well known. Again - it went down a storm at Glastonbury last year and would sit comfortably as a big tune in any set.

I don’t think she should this year, but I think the certainly has potential to in the near future.

Take ear plugs, but you’ll be tired enough to sleep.

Due can definitely sing but as far as I can tell she chooses to ‘perform’ instead at big gigs now. We saw her headline at Sziget - great show, definitely felt like a headliner, but I don’t think she sung a note. Not sure how that works for a Glastonbury headliner these days , but I suspect it’s a direction we’re headed in.

Agreed that influenced is right, inferior copy is wrong. I loved Amy and she had a definitive and authentic style, but Raye is as talented vocally and lyrically, whilst also being more versatile, and not destroying her talent with addiction. I also think Amy would have headlined if she hadn’t tragically lost control of her life in the way she did….& in that sense Raye is the polar opposite as she is taking greater and greater control at the very age Amy was slipping away from us.

Prada? Black Mascara? She does also have ‘You don’t know me’ from her previous life which is a tune she still rolled out last year and it went off!

Absolutely this. No one is going to get fined for taking their kids to Glastonbury if their kids are there the rest of the time. You might get a pretend telling off, possibly in writing, but that’s about it.

A lot of the bars don’t open until Thursday so the shifts are more weighted towards the main days, but you don’t get a full overnight. Usually a 2-3am finish on the late shift, except Stonebridge which went to 5am when I was there, & no mega early starts either. Shifts are something like: 11am-7pm, 3pm - 11pm, & 9pm-3am as a rough guide. You are far more in amongst the festival than the vast majority of Glastonbury Oxfam jobs.

When I worked for Shelter I had my early shift on Friday (I think something like 11-7?), my late on Saturday (something like 8-2) and my mid on Sunday (something like 2-10). I don’t think it could have been much worse but I did still enjoy the festival. I remember chatting with Jeanie & she said my shift pattern was ‘rough’ and that they’d look to get anyone who was on that pattern, and came back, onto a better pattern the following year. I have no idea if that would have actually happened and even less if it would now!

I’m going to edit! 🤣

The shifts at Boomtown are mostly one morning, one evening and one overnight same as most Oxfam festivals. The overnight shift could be 9pm to 5am at a stage. Overnighters often go quicker at Boomtown because the public are out and about til all hours! You often get a mixture of positions so that you don’t spend the whole festival either in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of the madness. In the middle of the madness can be very full on. You can be trying to monitor an exit to stop people going in and if they hear ‘their sound’ they will really want to be in! You just need to remember you are a steward, not security and do what you can within reason but call for assistance rather than trying to physically stop people. You may have to do a few ‘recovery positions’ with people who’ve overdone it. At Glastonbury, people will more often try to pretend they haven’t taken anything naughty but at Boomtown they mostly trust us and will tell you. They often come for help if they are feeling weird so you might just spend some time re-assuring someone or helping them find their friends. It’s an interesting and engaging festival to work, as well as being amazing in itself. The crowd are just lovely - so up for it! I really recommend it! It’s bonkers, at times it’s really challenging, but it’s a lot of fun!

Good Luck today everyone! x

Sorry - your missus doesn’t have you in the ball at 6.30am, then she’s not getting places for her mates. No one who doesn’t have to be up at that time is setting their alarm for before 6.30am in case Oxfam drop some places at that time randomly one day - no matter how organised they are or how much they want to go. anyone who saw that, or got notified, got lucky, and some didn’t.

I don’t think you’re being TOO positive @stuie because I think a lot will be successful, but I remember the first time I couldn’t get an actual ticket, nothing made me madder than people saying ‘ if you want one enough’ or ‘if you try hard enough’ or ‘if you prepare well enough’ you will get one. I could not have wanted, tried or prepared any harder and still got nowhere near! I just have a feeling Oxfam volunteer places are sneaking in that same direction that’s all and I wouldn’t want anyone who didn’t get one to think that we think they didn’t really deserve it.

A good number of those that want to will get in, but nowadays it won’t be everyone. It does get harder every year.

Join the Oxfam chat on Facebook and there’ll be WhatsApp groups for each festival nearer the time which will be great for questions and getting to know people. x

Just after the ticket resale, just before the cancellation deadline, & especially in the last few weeks before the festival when unexpected issues arise that prevent people from going. People have got places up to a few days before the festival - but as I say, keep a general eye out. Don’t lose hope!

Keep an eye out over the next few days as double bookings, and those who got through but their mates didn’t, re-appear. you can keep checking back in general for cancellations. There are key points that have already been listed, but they can just appear at any time. Don’t give up, there’s still a pretty good chance you’ll find a spot.

It’s widely accepted that D is the worst shift pattern in terms of what you miss. Use the lockups to make the most of your time there. On your overnight shift - take your overnight bag to the nearest point to your shift at the start of the day then you can go straight from the headliner to your shift. You don’t want to have to head back up to Oxfield before your shift. Similarly. If you want to dump all your extraneous stuff when your end your day shift or morning shift & just go straight out- same applies. Last year we were on Ped gate C and you could leave your stuff at that gate in a little fenced off enclosure, but use the nearest lock ups if you are in a position where there isn’t anywhere safe to leave your bag.

Yep - that was our spot in 2022 and exactly what I had in mind with my description. Saturday overnight - one attempted fence jumper straight into the security compound was the only thing that happened all night!

There’s no getting away from the fact that night shifts are tough, but you just take plenty of layers, some sweets & treats, and it passes. Only one of your shifts will be a night shift (unless you get pre-festival shifts when you could get 3x nights but then you get the whole festival off so that’s no cause for complaint!) I always hope I’ll get it out of the way early in my shift pattern, because it does get harder as the festival goes on and you get more tired before you even start! At Glastonbury, if you are lucky you’ll be on a gate that is busy for most of the night (Ped C stays pretty active til about 4-5am -and you finish at 6am). Sadly at Glastonbury there are also some deadly dull spots where it is interminable. No point in dressing it up! Some people prefer it to the early shift which starts at 5.45!