glasto-worker
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Posts posted by glasto-worker
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On 6/5/2023 at 10:08 PM, Harry MonkFish said:
Thanks for this. I've checked and I'll be sent a parking permit through the post. The bloke with my tickets and stuff is on site from the Monday so I'm fully prepared for a pain in the arse trying to get the tickets from him. But I'll worry about that once I'm there.
You must be well connected as I know many who tried but did not get a parking permit - the last time I had one was many years ago { parked in the press area - Big note - a lot has has changed since then } - they used to have a portacabin { outside the wall } but no bugger was there but by Luck Scottish Security { they work in the bars } was driving past in a Land rover and offered me a lift to the Crew site - I was driving in and went hunting for the guy who should have been working in the portacabin - He Claimed there was no one waiting when I knew there was 40 people outside it waiting -
A shot from 2022 all that mob in the middle are waiting for worker tickets - it was so hot even at 17.40 ' I was sitting in shade ' - I would imagine they will use the same area this year.
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10 hours ago, Harry MonkFish said:
Yeah. I have let the organisers know, they've not said there are any issues with me driving there. Just that I have to either go at 2pm or 9pm. I hope they don't change it because I may struggle to go if that's the case.
I was not meaning Your group organiser HQ I was meaning WBC HQ as after all they are the ones handing out tickets.
The main problem is ' you cant get a private car ' though yellow gate
without a pass so you cant drive in and dump your stuff and then park.+ you may not even get into public parking without a letter of authority
2pm Tuesday 20th of June would make sense but you have to make bloody certain that you can make it { allowing time to park and walking down to Gate A }
9pm would be risky as I don't know any coach that would plan to arrive at that time { big note I am only going on previous years }
but provided its cleared by the WBC anytime in the afternoon as they will be there for all the various Coach arrivals { they will send the letter of authority to get into parking }
+ you could wait hours - Last year they could not find my ticket even although I have been with them 34 years !!! and there was about 50 of us waiting for nearly 2 hours before they found them.
Years ago it was easier as there was a Portacabin you could go to but I think they have ditched that unit.
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20 hours ago, Harry MonkFish said:
Yes, I have to drive there.
Please note ' I do not see the normal e-mails ' but I am sure in 2022 the Master plan was ## to get everyone on a coach ## unless they had permission from HQ { who I assume would be sent extra information }
have you let them know ?
I know people who wanted to drive but were told to book a Coach.
The whole entry system is set up for people walking off a Crew Coach.
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On 5/31/2023 at 10:47 AM, Harry MonkFish said:
Thanks a lot. Appreciate the reply.
irritatingly I'm arriving separately as I'm coming from Brum and going back home to London after Glastonbury.
It sounds like I'll be there before the others I'm working with but I also have to be there for 2pm.
Hopefully they send out better info soon. But I'm impatient and excited.
you will need a time machine if you want better information - at one stage they used to send out a Clear map showing the actual crew camp but that was dropped many years ago. When you write ## I'm arriving separately ## - not sure if you mean on the Coach or Private car - By Coach its simple as they will be waiting but Private car will be tricky - its all designed for people arriving by Coach.
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7 hours ago, Harry MonkFish said:
Does anyone know where the WBC volunteers camp and/or what the facilities are like?
Also if anyone knows the opening hours of the Mandela bar that would be nice.
they moved last year ' except the new area this year the area has more crew camping { far more than the WBC need } so its not clear if it will be in the exact same spot + crew entry gates may change this year - You should find out when you come off the coach ' to pick your ticket up ' - Big note last year they were doing it by Coach order so if your Team arrives by later coach they may have to wait longer. Last year they did have a van running down camping gear ## so look out for it ## many just rushed in after picking up their ticket so they did not spot the van . Facilities are roughly the same as other years. the crew bar has phone power charging
its though Gate A and Pylon is down the hill - you can see the pylons in the photo - crew bar was on the left { out of sight } and the Pyramid would be on the right { out of sight } - that is not all the camp - it was split in two { but the same field }
I always work in the crew bar { well for the past 15 years } so don't know the times of the public bars.
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On 2/12/2023 at 5:54 PM, Leyrulion said:
I think 24 hours is the standard volunteer allocation over the festival tbh.
It seems very hard to get into through this route though.
How many bars do they cover generally?
On 2/12/2023 at 6:26 PM, incident said:Don't know the numbers, but general rule of thumb is that WBC cover the major high volume bars around the Main Stages. Dreamtime, Village Inn, Mandela, etc and a fair few others I can't remember the names of. Also the Bread and Roses in the Main Markets.
somewhere in a post many years ago there was a full list - at different periods of time the number has varied and for god knows how many years I think it reached 44 Public Bars but when Avalon was formed they were divided up so the list is much smaller now but as 'incident' has reported they tend to the major high volume bars which in general are 'Counter bars' but with a few exceptions.
As I now only work in the Crew area I am not sent the full list as its not relevant to me.
taking the old list and the current list the only bar I have not worked in is the Mandela bar -
sure Oxfam etc etc may use a 'standard volunteer allocation' but its more flexible in a few limited bars due to staffing requirements - Volunteer groups
get paid for the hours worked per Volunteer so some of the smaller charities may be glad for the extra money earned. Its not uncommon for some Groups to seek out extra hours in the past. Each member of that Group will have a choice if they wish to earn extra money or not.So Volunteers are not just involved just to get a ticket they do have a strong link with their individual Group.
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2 hours ago, stuie said:
I respect that you’ve done this a long time but it just doesn’t sound very attractive to me. Between 4 and 6 shifts, unable to swap, arriving on Tuesday and coaches leaving early Monday. There’s too much there that tips the balance more towards the work than the fun, in my opinion.
Fine - sure it will not suit everyone - when I first started in 1988 the shifts were far longer - these days its about 6 Hours so most will do between 18 and 24 hours - it all depends which bar that Team has been allocated to.{only a few Teams would be expected to work 6 days as most bars are not open on the Tuesday}
+ these Volunteers are keen to raise money for their team/Group so they are not just doing it for a free ticket.
Everyone arriving on the Tuesday makes sense due to the GFL security checks they have to go though.
Entry last year was by Gate A - tickets were handed to Volunteers once their ID was checked just before entry and after going though GFL security they made their way to the Crew Camp
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being part of a Team means that trying to swap a shift is very tricky so its all the luck of the draw.I have never met anyone who was concerned about the departure time of the Coaches { its designed to depart before the main bulk of the public Coaches.} last year it was 5am when the first London coach departed.
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On 1/31/2023 at 8:53 PM, Leyrulion said:
Does anyone know about workers beer company? I've found their website but has limited info- is it recommendation only? https://www.workersbeer.co.uk/volunteers
On 1/31/2023 at 10:25 PM, dondo said:@glasto-workeris your man for WBC information
The WBC was set up before the Internet {The World Wide Web} began so
its a bit more complicated because # they don't Directly recruit Volunteers #They have many authorised Groups as listed at
https://www.workersbeer.co.uk/volunteers/current-organisations/
so a person ' who has a connection with that Group ' should contact them.
but please note - even well connected authorised Groups may not get all the places they are after.
My Group in the 90's used to get 25 places at Glastonbury - because there is now far more groups that has reduced my allocation - I have to tell people who have been a volunteer for 20 years+ that they will have to skip a year.
This is the right time to contact a authorised Group { provided you have a connection } - they should be able to tell you ' if you have a realistic chance ' - they will have to register you with the WBC { including face image }
please understand Your Team Leader Cant Change Any Shift - depending where you are you could be working 6 days { although most will be 4 } - give them hassle and you can forget getting a allocation for other years.
when I joined I certainly did not think I would still be a volunteer 35 years later { at Glastonbury and at loads of other events }
Being a volunteer will not suit everyone but most bars at Glastonbury are easy compared to other events I have done in the past.
You have to arrive by WBC coach on the Tuesday { they depart from various places in the UK } if they don't know you bring photo ID as you may be asked for ID before they let you on the Coach.
They have a canteen { 2 food vouchers per day } and cheap bar + showers etc etc ' you will be expected to camp in the crew area ' The Coaches will leave on the Monday morning so most people will pack up on the Sunday as its a mad scramble in the morning. Always double check its the right coach - some who thought they were on the London Coach ended up in Glasgow !!! - not sure at what point they twigged.
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4 hours ago, incident said:
That's of course true - but it's not something that can or should really be factored in.
Gate A does almost always open first for "ceremonial" purposes (ie Michael declaring it open), but unless something has gone wrong then all of the others should be open within 5 minutes or so of that - once Gate A has opened a radio message goes out to the effect of "get yourself open now", and by that point they all should in theory be ready given all the shifts started/changed at 6am.
Of course sometimes it does go wrong - like in that example it sounds like Gate D was delayed for some reason or another (and there's loads of moving parts that could cause that to happen), and I know that delays have also happened at Gate B in the past, but those will be near impossible to predict in terms of where and when it might happen next.
They were about to open Gate D but I suspect they were contacted by Gate A and were told to stand down.
I have all the time codes { As I was there long before the gates actually opened so have lots of preparation shots } and it had to be a 25min delay from when they were about to open - why I don't have a clue as I was up at Gate D.
Whatever the problem was it was not at Gate D
## Must Have Baffled the ticket holders as the gate was swung open and then there was a frantic rush to close it ##
All the staff was called back - they were formed into 4 or 5 groups.
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On 12/21/2022 at 8:52 AM, Crazyfool01 said:
Scenes … I hate the dark days of winter so things are definitely on the up from here … once I shake this illness . Has anyone on here been one of the first punters through the gates as they swing open ?
On 12/21/2022 at 9:03 AM, mike46 said:Been the first 10 through Gate C and Gate D over the years - never the main opening with the Eavis though!
Yes and No - because I was already inside so have been standing there taking photos ' as the public has been let in '
Not Sure If This Has Been Mentioned Before - All the gates do not open up at the same time
one year I was up at Gate D and just as Gate D was swung open I spotted some people shifting bags who had walked from Gate A - A fair old walk.
I have a sequence - below is only one of them - all the preparation you don't see - the odd thing is ' its very quiet the other side of the gate ' { sure if you are in that queue you may not agree but if your inside its quiet }
Unlike other years ' this year we entered using Gate A Tuesday 21st of June '
but I am sure it was far more hectic on the Wednesday - lucky enough I arranged for all my camping gear to be transported to the Crew site so I did not have to carry anything as it was a scorching day.there was no mad rush to get in - we all had to wait for staffing to hand us a named ticket { a staff ticket does not have a photo on it }
The Big change this year was ' we were using a new Crew site ' - always a
pain in the Arse because Crew entry gates may not be where you expect them { which was the case this year } - I know a fair number who got a bit lost { some who have been going for donkey years } - after 34 years I don't walk anywhere until I am sure I know where I am going so I sat in the shade and waited for one of my Team to call me once they were inside the crew site.I cant walk as far as I used to so no photos of Gate A being swung open.
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23 hours ago, garc1a said:
The shelter route was a pain in the erse last year. Prior to fest I had train tickets and accomodation booked for London, travelling from Glasgow. My own doing booking in advance before announcement, tho train tickets need to be bought in advance for a decent price. Ended up having to book extra transport from London and Bristol accomodation. My own dilemmas out of the way, I would never rely on workers bus to get you off site for a designated time, too many variables out with control to guarantee a 9 or 10am departure off site. I know they say first packed up first go , your then reliant on a bus company/driver plus logistics and I've seen that go sour over the years. I prefer another over night on way home or similar.
The shelter decision was apparently based on lack of bus hires and drivers etc after covid. Let's see if it changes back this year or not. They had mini buses with no room for luggage meaning the isles where piled up to the height of the seats with all the luggage and no room to move. A bit dodgy and altho I'm all for breaching rules etc, im more for a bit of comfort in aulder age. If it's the same shenanigans this year, it could be my last with shelter and I'll look at alternative options .
Despite the transport issues, the rest was great. Hopefully won't be the same this time round and the transport announced will come in time for people like zigster and moi to book transport to the buses in adequate time.
That must have been a pain in the Arse for you.
photo is from 2009 when we were camping in 'Bushy ground' {first time we had used that as a Crew site}
I had persuaded two friends from Iceland to Volunteer - they had never been to Glastonbury before !!!
by the way ' the London Coach driver got lost when we were driving down '
- the idiot turned left down a single track road ## that took us close to
the M5 { I am not kidding } ## and when we reached Glastonbury Town there was a massive traffic jamwe should have arrived at 8pm but we did not arrive until After 2am and GFL Security at first would not let the Coach in - lucky enough I had my pass from 2008 and that was enough and they let us though.
Same pass got me though the Crew Gate and was able to track down some of the office staff ## but the crew site was full so we camped next to it { closer to the chicken sheds } ## - first time since 1988 that I did not camp in the official crew site
Anyway early Monday I spotted the driver arriving { the same guy who got us lost } so was able to get him to open up the coach ## so we were already loaded by the time the Coach Coordinator announced the first London Coach is here ##
I fully agree with your words - I always advise Oli { guy from Iceland } to book the Last Flight of the day as there is so many factors - one year a London crew Coach broke down - it was at that point ' they discovered the driver had been filling in for a Mate so had no clue who to contact at the coach company ' but lucky enough Sean Taylor (singer-songwriter) was on that coach so he called me as he knew I could patch him though to Staff HQ and they were able to sort out a replacement coach.
they were bloody lucky I had not switched my phone off.
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4 hours ago, Neil said:
theres a lot more space around the eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, than there is at brixham.
I am not so sure but I have not got a tape measure out
but if you take the length of 'astoria walk' its longer than the area on the left hand side of the Hammersmith Odeon they were using that night to do
the Covid checks but the main part of the checking was in front of the doors. -
21 hours ago, Suprefan said:
So sad.
would be curious to see if they make it more difficult to even be around the venue if you dont have a ticket. Thats the only thing they can attempt to do so that this has a lower likelihood of happening. Are they going to just have barriers set up in a way that they could check if you have a ticket before you even get into a queue to get in and such.
Have been to Brixton Academy many times but not in recent years .
at the Hammersmith Odeon { think this week its called Eventim Apollo }
when they were doing Covid checks they had a whole load of barriers up - lots of security.It started from the left side went down the side alley and then back up again
and then a whole zig-zag of barriers ## and at some point people were split
depending if you had a Covid pass on your phone or a paper print out ##
and at some point you reached the doors ' where they were checking if a person had a ticket { although seeing it took one hour to reach that point I suspect they did have tickets }it all worked because people were compliant.
In fact they could set up a similar system at the Brixton Academy using 'astoria walk' { photo } but that only works if people are compliant - and that mob the other day certainly did not look compliant.
from the various videos its not clear # who was who # - were they ticket holders or people pretending to be ticket holders.
I am sure we will find out at some point in time but we may be affected .{ new rules etc etc }
I have never seen the Brixton Academy that chaotic.
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On 12/15/2022 at 4:34 PM, Leyrulion said:
I've had a go at pulling together all the organisations with volunteering places into a spreadsheet.
Happy for others to give more info on options, but these are the 8 I've got the most info on.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Mp4ZMpJcffuwNSJBKKnEmfsdttyl0-kmpOHcPWVRD5E/
well you have been busy - wish that had been about in the 80's
Avalon/Shelter in the past may use
3 days x 8 hours or
4 days x 6 hours or
2 days x 8 hours plus 2 days x 4 hourshave no idea if this will be continued for 2023.
I have worked split shifts before {Not with Avalon} and had no problem with them but I do know that some people are not Keen.
Its all down to luck so be prepared for the unexpected.
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On 12/8/2022 at 10:44 PM, MrZigster said:
All this talk of, "Go with EE and you'll be fine".
Not my experience this year.
Managed to phone home every day no problem, but my SMSs from Thursday afternoon onwards didn't get through to my friend on site until late afternoon on the Monday when we were both nearly home. Probably missed a few meet ups because of that.
Should have tried ringing them I suppose. Doh.
OK I only had an old PAYG dumb Nokia phone with me but even so...
Hi Mark - Years ago - have not a clue which mobile provider - but that does not matter.
For reasons I forget - I had to drive back to London late Sunday night { more like early Monday morning } - a friend who lives in Croydon was working in the cash room but was uncertain when she would finish but she asked me if I could drive her back - anyway on the Sunday evening ' ever hour I sent a text ' ## but she never replied ##
- I was well baffled but I did meet one of her friends and she thought she would end her shift about Midnight so was hanging about in the Crew bar { as it was very busy sent another text with the table number } - still no show - anyway I did bump into her ## but she had not packed her tent ## after we got that sorted we drove out at about 3am - we were heading up to Shepton Mallet ' when her phone and my phone received streams of texts ' - she had sent me loads and so had I - I know I did try to make a voice call ' but it claimed her phone was switched off' ## and she also tried to reach me { and got the same message } ## but I know my phone was never turned off on that Sunday.
Anyway we did make it back to Croydon
hope your fit.
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1 hour ago, deepkittycaz said:
I wonder if it was the same idiot who put the Lockups crew WiFi in one of the actual lock ups halfway across the site, rather than in base control!
Could not say - Our site director tested positive for Covid { in Scotland } so did not show up until Sunday 26/6 so by then there was not much point trying to rectify it - whoever it was ' they will not get that job next year '
100% if he had been there at the start he would have spotted it straight away and it would have been running correctly.
just sods law.
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14 hours ago, Alcatraz said:
Wasn't there last year, but phones/4G was reliable in 2019. I'm on O2
14 hours ago, mungo57 said:I've been on 3 for Donkey's years, last time I went (admittedly 2016 so improvements may have been made) the signal was dreadful until the wee smalls then we managed to get signal.
The Joker who set up the Crew WI-FI screwed up this year and no one could access it ' even with the correct account/password '- he had moved on to another job so cant say what the problem was.
Anyway I am with ' Three ' and I can confirm to Mungo57 ' using a 4G Android phone was impossible during the day until 3.30am -
But the Clear Winners was people with 5G phones or people using EE/BT
I was not even trying to make a call ' just trying to show a bloody photo stored on my phone ' ## but it refused to work ## - cant connect to server - even although the photo is stored on my memory card. { Not in the cloud }
Very annoying and the people I was sitting with made a ' 5G video call '
and they got their kids to do a tour of their new house - no interruption - it
was amazing the quality.## but my phone would not display the bloody photo until 3.30am ##
But my friend who lives in Iceland { Icelandic sim card } and was working with me this year - 4G phone did connect to the internet and he could make and receive phone calls
## by the way it was not just ' Three ' but the clear winner is EE/BT ##
a short text would not leave my phone until 3.30am
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1 hour ago, Slugy said:
As I was typing my message I was thinking this.
I am meeting a friend this morning { flying in from Iceland } so I don't have time to deal with e-mails but I know by tonight my inbox will be insane from
a large pool of Volunteers { some who have been with me 30+ years } and I know many other Organisers will be in the same boat - 100% this will affect the allocation for everyone so I expect the 2023 allocation will be a 50% reduction from the 2022 allocation and I suspect many Groups will miss out completely next year. So good news if you have a ticket but bad news for Volunteers. -
Well that announcement complicate things - I had the same problem when the Stones played Glasto in 2013 !!! As all my volunteers wanted the night off but I was able to fix it { as amazingly the other team working in that bar wanted Sunday night off so we were able to swap { with permission from the tent Manager }} and I can imagine it will be like that next year + I will be flooded with requests for a place but sadly its not the 90's when I could secure 25 Glasto places for donkey years so its going to leave a lot of people disappointed.
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4 hours ago, dumski said:
I was enjoying that set too - Rudimental I think on the pyramid
You got Closer - I never got close to the Pyramid - I had arranged a buggy ride down from my Crew area when the radio buzzed - it was to let us know the power was being pulled - BBC called just seconds before all the lights in the crew area was cut - so I just stayed at the bar { lucky we had a fridge truck full of cans } - must have been weird for the Punters if they did not have a clue what was going on.
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On 11/27/2022 at 8:26 AM, incident said:
There's an element of uncertainty because until the 90s, both the BBC and ITV used to have a much stronger regional focus - so it's possible that there was stuff on HTV West that most of the country never saw.
and BBC West !!!
- in 2014 I was contacted by
Lee Madan Broadcast Journalist BBC Points West Newsroom, BBC West, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2LR
and he wanted to do a ' Live Interview ' on Friday 27th June 2014 about 6pm
because of how long I have been attending - god knows why they wanted it live as I would have preferred a pre recorded interview so they could edit out all the swear words.## BBC West Tent had a stand behind the Wateraid tent in the guest area ##
by sods law as you know they ' shut the Power down close to 6pm '
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28056363
so they phoned me up to cancel - they should have pre recorded it.
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On 11/25/2022 at 8:57 AM, e_p said:
i am quite looking forward to volunteering this year. assuming i can get a place. might not be saying that come july
I have ran into lots of new volunteers and some assume that they can
swap shifts or adjust shifts to suit themselves but they soon discover they cant.sure its all down to luck - best way is to assume the worst and you never know as you may be lucky.
when I started in the 80's I would work 30 events per year { not all weekend festivals } - longest event I worked at was 13 days at Hyde park in 2006 { over a two week period not sure why they had a gap of 1 day } so there was days I had no interest in the bands appearing that day but I had agreed to do the 13 days so there was no way I was going to miss those days.
so really if you have the right attitude you should be fine.
sure its not for everyone but I know people who have worked at events for
over 30 years. -
9 hours ago, OrlaGrace said:
Thank you so much for this, really good to know. I really want to volunteer and see a different side to the festival! I didn’t realise recycling crew needed a recycling crew reference, I thought litter picking would be okay! So hopefully I can find one but there are so many good options (oxfam, bar work, stewarding) - fingers crossed I’ll be there!! x
As times marches on charities and Companies can get very selective and build in all sort of conditions as they know there is a huge reserve of Volunteers but at one stage they were struggling to find Bodies.
Some of us even tried Oxfam - on a Glastonbury gap year and the next year we were placed on the priority list but we did not take up the offer as we had places at Glastonbury.
It was interesting to see how they do Production - very well organised
and I even ran into some Efest members who were well puzzled why I was working for Oxfam.At one event it was being a campsite steward and another event when we were checking tickets and wristbands.
at one event the car park was a fair old walk from the crew site but was able to wangle a lift from a Oxfam senior organiser ' there and back ' - one advantage of being Old - if you don't ask - you don't get !!!
so for a long term plan register with Oxfam as you will have more events than you can shake a stick at and a very good chance you get into Glastonbury in
2024.The campsite steward tent { well that is what they called it } and the Oxfam
crew site at a very small River Cottage - actually the trees gave good shade
from the sun - There was other campsite steward tents at various places but at our one there was only the two of us on duty. { we ended up on the same shift }
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On 11/7/2022 at 8:45 AM, OrlaGrace said:
Thank you so much - very jealous you've never had to use the horrendous ticket system!! I'm definitely up for volunteering next year, everyone that does it says they wouldn't go back to being a punter so it must be good! I've fired out a few emails last night and this morning so keep your fingers crossed for me 🙂 what is it you volunteer doing? hopefully see you in the fields!!
my broadband was playing up so could not reply before - the only time I bought tickets ' they were paper tickets ' and they were bought over a Counter { below is my last punter ticket }Good luck with your quest.
## I would warn you that being Volunteer is not for everyone because some people just cant handle the shifts and missing whoever - most common questions is ' can I change my shift ? 100% No ##
sure with some Volunteer jobs it may be possible ## but its best to assume you cant ##
best shifts I ever had was 5 days starting at 6am to Noon although it may be another 20 years before I see that again
amazingly others did not want to do those times but I had no problem with them
I gave my Team the option and they could pick their own shifts { as long as it balanced out } turns out the two oldest worked the early shift.
My team works in a Crew bar - but in the past I have worked in most of the bar's - some are better than others ' for various reasons '
Crew facilities are a big selling point - if you are lucky they may have a catering tent and there could be a Cheap Bar { at least 1/2 price } some crews have their own toilets and showers but some may have to share with other groups.
+ Crew camping will not be as cramped and a very big plus - Tent Security
as some have their own Crew security - who check people coming in or leaving - theft is very rareand over time ' its a good way to meet new people ' - I have some friends
who I have knowing for over 30 years.
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Volunteering 2023
in Chat
Posted
The Crew site was in that field { where people were waiting for tickets last year } in 2008 so it was outside the wall
{1} you could park next to the crew site { only feet away }
{2} No one had to produce tickets so no hanging about - they were checking ID if they did not know you
{3} I was setting up my tent within 5 mins of parking
{4} We had to leave early Monday morning to drive back to London so
missed all the traffic - forget why but it was the quickest exit I have encountered since 1979.
Hope all the paperwork arrives on time.