Jay Pee

Was also there. Absolutely loved it. At times it felt like 1989 and back in some rave in an old warehouse. So many people off their nut. Potential fiasco averted entry wise as we got to the venue at about 19:40 and the queue was beyond belief to get in. I said to the other half that someone senior needs to make a decision on speeding up entry or we ain't going to be in until 20:30. They had a load of staff with scanners on the VIP lanes and accessible lane doing zero so they made the correct call and just opened up everything to general admission. I think the drug dogs also took a back seat. A great venue and will certainly be keeping an eye on it for future shows and a fantastic gig

Well you see, there's the rub. My hard unit is actually quite large. I don't want to boast but it is easily capable of dealing with any festival scenarios and conditions.

I have similar but in a fetching yellow. Nursing a semi thinking about it.

Agree. Solid all day long FTW. And fishing wheelbarrow > trolleys. They are so robust over the Worthy Farm terrain and don't underestimate the joy of pushing rather than dragging.

It is also influenced by height AMSL plus the soil / ground composition. The south downs / Hampshire area with the chalky aquifers will have the ground water causing challenges in some areas for the next several months even if it does not rain for the next several months. The areas is like a soaking sponge. Pilton is higher / more hilly and will start to lose the high ground water levels more quickly. As long as we get some breaks rainfall wise in the 6 to 4 weeks pre festival.

This. I was on site on Monday prior and spent a fair chunk of Wednesday morning on Muddy Lane helping tearful / argumentive folk with knackered (overloaded) trolleys get down to Williams Green Area. Not helped by the downpour the precise time the gates were opening. Muddy name muddy nature

My theory is to hit the best food you really like at the right time. Get a fish curry the first couple of days they are available if that is your must have. The logic is that in those early first days, the traders have time and capacity to work at a reasonable pace but once the manic times kick in and 200 thou people are looking to eat between pyramid acts, the attention to detail gets sacrificed due to quick turnaround and volumes sold. I get a curry from my local takeaway on say a Wednesday and it tastes miles better than the one on a busy Friday. I made a lamb curry on Tuesday and it has been sat on the back of the stove since then. Today, it tastes righteous and completely different to Tuesday.

A good honest account Steve and the only thing i would add is that the SE corner loos are the only ones that are an overnight stint for fairly obvious reasons. You pulled the hardest shift there which i am sure you are well aware of 🙂

Its Novichok mate. They do it for Lolz

I volunteer each year and almost always on the train and swear by a 2 litre plastic water bottle of Aldi Brandy. It's so ubiquitous and adaptable. It can be drank warm or cold and with or without mixer. It's a win hands down. Take that and a decent sized hip flask and you can buy the cider / beer on site as and when and always have a shot (or two) in the day sack.

Mega Lolz

A chap at an old workplace brought his mum's passport as proof of ID as he couldn't find his own. Still makes me chuckle

Understood. Different strokes etc.

Do you adapt your lifestyle to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce waste or other initiatives? I am not being contrary here either and I am one of those people who has adapted their lifestyle because of WaterAid but not for them and the entry ticket. The point I was trying to make in one of my earlier posts was that prior to my first festival with them, I also just saw it as a way in but, dare i say it, I had a bit of an epiphany at the festival and started having some quite deep thoughts along the lines of "folk are complaining about a smell and the toilets are actually really clean. Lots of people would kill for just a toilet near to their house and running water to wash in." It was probably the sun and the cider and not enough water. that zapped my noggin. It had a quite profound effect on me but I do often think deeply and have some issues with PTSD from combat operations and find volunteering very rewarding. A long drop at Glastonbury is luxury compared to some of the places I have had to drop my back over the years. I got the seed sewn at Glastonbury and have committed more time to the charity because of that and because of the reward one gets from giving ones time for a good cause is hard to quantify. I get your thought process and understand and there will be many similar but can see that in a couple of years, to make the cut with many of the charity organisations at Glastonbury will become harder and harder. Also, surely a sponsored walk or some fund raising at work is hardly a lifestyle change is it? All that said, if i was still 25 my thoughts and reflections may be very different. Age and life experience does tend to make one look at things very differently as one gets older.

Don't knock it until you have tried it. Honestly and I deffo ain't looking to cause any arguments but having done it, it is absolutely not as bad as many seem to fear. I do think people underestimate the benefits of virtually all Wateraid volunteer shifts being between 06:30 and 22:30. It's fantastic to not have an overnighter and the disruption that causes to the days either side of that shift.