Shangri-La

[cei]

Cheers for this, I knew some of this but not all. The Avalon Back Stage bar had ales ready by Tuesday night so ...

I suspect that some of the real ale stock in the independent bars MIGHT be sourced separately or by more unconventional routes though, you could perhaps ask the Matt and Chris of Bar Humbug at Avalon backstage and it's possible (if they knew/trusted you) that they'd give an 'interesting' answer. They promised to order more next year though and were very nice about it.

I'm sure the people running Slippery Dicks and 'The Pub' could, with planning, be similarly 'creative' in sourcing what they need -- Mr Bizarre, would you say WBC has a total monopoly over the supply chain?? because that's not the impression I got (except 'officially') ... perhaps we should be cagey with detail on here though.

[fat leia]

It wouldn't have been Wednesday, but you're saying they had band times for Thursday after midnight? You see the original plan was for the grand opening to be on Friday, but they were ahead of time and anounced they would open a day earlier and close at midnight, sort of 'testing the water' We did this and a few minor problems were uncovered and sorted with very quickly. By the time Friday came along we were a well oiled machine

Edited July 10, 2008 by fat leia

[fat leia]

WE went twice and visited it all, with the kids...

My only grip would be that it appeared pretty dead both afternoons we went. It was such a shame because on the Thursday it looked full of promise, the kidsw were absolutely desperate to go back. Unfortunately the night time, after the main stages is just too late for them.

I know it isnt designed for kids as such but it would be so nice to have stuff really happening and lively in the day too, just so that people who cant go in the night could really get to experience it.

Im sure you would have a receptive aucdience if you put some more input into the afternoon/early evening times. We liked what we saw but I personally came away very sad that we didnt really see it in its glory IYSWIM???? Maybe thats something you can do something to change, maybe it isnt ( because of timings, crowds, atmosphere etc) but its nice youve asked and Ive been able to give my feedback too. We have some fab pics there.

[mr_bizarre]

Hi Mr Biz, that area always opens on thursday its the official "sound check" X

[fat leia]

I totally agree! The Rum Shack's sign never even went up! How were people to know! Another thing on my list.

[mr_bizarre]

Hey there mr biz, there were no less than 2 signs up for Shackney!

x

[William of Walworth]

There's not very many independent bars on site - Brothers being the big one, with the cider bus. Those that are independent run their own sourcing and stocking themselves, the WBC has no say in what goes on - so of course, if they want to do things differently they can! That said, they're still restricted by the normal laws of the world (24 hour sitting for some ale, when it can get on site etc...)

The Pub is a WBC run/managed bar, so is stuck with the normal WBC supply chain. I must admit, the WBC isn't very creative at times - they're used to serving lager at speed - and the recent push towards more bespoke bars/wider stock ranges is taking a while to adjust to. The WBC, in its bars, controls all stock - even the Red Flag, as the WBC purchased all the "guest" ales before the event.

Edited July 10, 2008 by William of Walworth

[cei]

That's all very interesting, thankyou.

If the WBC is starting to adjust to a wider range of stock, there's hope they might refine/improve this next year and get more and different ales and other less conventional drinks in to places like the Pub -- especially if staff/managers at The Pub know what's being said here (hello Mr B!!) and apply lobbying/pressure upwards.

On the bit in bold though, I feel nearly sure, if what I was told last year is right, that the Red Flag is managed semi-autonomously or at least differently in some way from the other more mainstream WBC bars. So while under the WBC umbrella and supply chain, the beers might well have been intially selected by the bod in charge on the ground?

I can't remember full detail though, the manager who told me told me something along these lines did so over a year ago! So feel free to contradict if I've misrecollected.

Are you a bar manager yourself at Glastonbury?

[bicycleboy]

Concerning Real Ale;

last weekend i ran a bar in a field and carried 9 different real ales, all were perfectly settled and served. I had a full product range till sunday night, when I had to run lines out as they were finished.

There are problems with serving booze (especialy real ale) in fields and there are alot of variables effecting what and how much people want to drink. If it is the first year you have done that event, in that format, everything is guess work...but there are ways to manage the supply chain so that you have all you need pretty much all of the time.

I drank in the pub in SH and was served Butcombe Blonde on friday and a differnt ale on the sunday

I like it that there is a bit of a real ale (or real drink) 'lobby' going on here!

d

Edited August 6, 2008 by bicycleboy

[danbailey80]

Does anyone know if the baseline circus will be coming back? It was a great find last year..busy but not rammed and some great music...and a bar with no q...word of mouth soon spread and it would be a worthy return