Camp Triangle: A Lovely Spot To Get ROBBED!

[LusciousLucy]

Well said. As a "scouser" I did find it a little offensive simply because had her neighbours been black I doubt she would have included it in the story...just saying.

[Wooderson]

Attributing the slightest hint of blame to this poor couple is downright f9cking dispicable.

[PabloCoke]

WTF? Had my neighbours that unfortunate year been from Cardiff or Dublin or Glasgow or the Midlands or the West Country, South London and so on I would have made the point of where they were from because the accent gives it away. Had the thieving c**ts been of a skin colour other than white then it still would have been mentioned and no paranoia about being branded a racist.

Please dont get your knickers in a twist about where you are from and all the people from your part of the world, but you know full well that there is a tarred brush associated with certain members of society that live within the postcodes that cover Merseyside and they carry with them a stigma that will never ever go away. Demonstrating to witnesses and then the police why and how they have earned that stigma doesnt help their case.

[Lucyferrr]

Please dont get your knickers in a twist about where you are from and all the people from your part of the world, but you know full well that there is a tarred brush associated with certain members of society that live within the postcodes that cover Merseyside and they carry with them a stigma that will never ever go away. Demonstrating to witnesses and then the police why and how they have earned that stigma doesnt help their case.

[Lucyferrr]

Yeah I hate when blacks and jews get all touchy as well.

[boskobalaban]

This was because in the far corner of Bushy Ground (about 2 metres behind our tent) people without tickets were climbing over the fence, wading across the stream and climbing over the metal fence (just behind us) and robbing/ attempting to rob the tents in Bushy Ground. Security came over to warn us a few times, check we had wristbands on and remind us to keep valuables on us.

Think a few security guards chased two people back towards our tent saturday night and one of them jumped over the fence and got away.

Got very noisy Fri/Sat night!

[TheBigJT]

I've been holding back from commenting again (I guess I commented in the duplicate thread the first time).

Ended up reading this site all weekend and following the ups and downs of so many folks.

Brought back a lot of great memories from last year for me.

I just wanted to mention a couple points based on my experience in 2010 with CT, being American and security.

First off....the folks at CT that I met were uniformly welcoming and friendly in 2010. I can't in my wildest dreams imagine any of them being involved in anything underhanded. You'd have to be pretty calculating to befriend a group of folks simply so you could take advantage of them in the dark of night....(unless you're in politics I suppose...because some things are alike all over...)

So, the title of the thread makes me feel bad for everyone.

I'm sure it was the anger and frustration of the moment, but I can very much understand why it could be offensive to some.

The CT campers were a part of my "Glastonbury Experience" and lived up to every hope I had as a random guy flying halfway around the world to hang out in a field with folks that I only knew from an internet message board. I believe in general that 95% of the rest of the folks there are just as friendly, generous and trustworthy as the folks I had closer contact with personally....it's always a small group who of a few percent who seem to cause the problems....that's the same pretty much anywhere too.

Being an American who loves the UK and visiting there. It saddens me to see a few condemn the OP for generalizing about the UK by generalizing right back with very broad stereotypes about America. I live in So Cal and have for 51 years....never been mugged, robbed, shot at or assaulted. I live in a very normal safe middle class neighborhood and the worst that ever happened was my son having some CD's stolen from his unlocked car a few years ago (Much like leaving valuables unsecured in a tent I'd say.). Is there violence in parts of So Cal...of course. But, its not the wild west, we're not all armed to drive to the market and back. There are parts of LA I wouldn't walk alone in after dark, but I can say the same about London.

So, please...don't respond to generalizations by doing the exact same thing in return. I like to believe that that we all are very much alike deep down inside....and isn't acceptance of each other a part of the whole spirit of Glasto? Accepting each other as part of a big group who just want to relax, have fun and forget the outside world for a few days?

The only label and generalization that I'd use is one about the low thieves who actually did the stealing and caused this mess....But, I can't use my label for them in polite company....so lets just say ---holes.....

Lastly, security.

A few ideas for anyone else reading this in the future:

Maybe because I'm a planner by nature and profession, I read a lot of advice about security before I ever climbed onto a plane....and I took a number of steps that seemed to have kept me trouble free...maybe it was luck, who can say?

I left my really valuable stuff at my B&B in Glastonbury (Laptop, passport, one credit card)...of course not an option for everyone, but I felt more comfortable knowing they were safely not even with me in the field...This related to the frequent advice of never taking anything you weren't prepared to lose.

I dropped my camera, wallet and cash (all kept inside the backpack that I carried with me) at the lockups each night.

The only things I kept in my tent was the 5 pound cheap cell phone that I'd bought from London, a few pounds and my iPod for occasional music to drown out the noise...those all tucked under my pillow. I spread my stuff around my tent as suggested and used a luggage lock to disable the wheels of my trolley and link it to my backpack....not obvious visible locks, but enough to make it pain to remove them or wheel them out. I would place the trolley in front of the door and then clip the inside of my zipper pull to a tent peg to hold it down...not an obvious lock, but it kept it from casually being opened. Then, my last touch...I bought "bear bells" at a camping store, the trolley and the zipper to my inner room each got a large bell. Had they been moved or opened, it would have made some noise....thankfully they never were. In all honesty, I felt pretty safe and as far as I know, no one ever even poked around in my tent at any point.

So, it's just being sensible and accepting that you'll find a few jerks in every crowd that you have to be on guard against.

SoCal, I hope that you'll someday give the UK another chance...I've been 9 times and I'd go back in a heartbeat given the opportunity.

Don't let a few idiots taint your views of an entire country or even of Glasto itself.

I hope that you're home safe now!

JT

[eFestivals]

I know for a fact that it was the same as the last couple of years

according to CCCheese (a senior copper) who posts here, there were fewer old bill this year.

[Staberinde]

<snip> It saddens me to see a few condemn the OP for generalizing about the UK by generalizing right back with very broad stereotypes about America. I live in So Cal and have for 51 years....never been mugged, robbed, shot at or assaulted. I live in a very normal safe middle class neighborhood and the worst that ever happened was my son having some CD's stolen from his unlocked car a few years ago (Much like leaving valuables unsecured in a tent I'd say.). Is there violence in parts of So Cal...of course. But, its not the wild west, we're not all armed to drive to the market and back. There are parts of LA I wouldn't walk alone in after dark, but I can say the same about London.

So, please...don't respond to generalizations by doing the exact same thing in return. <snip>

JT

Edited June 29, 2011 by Staberinde

[sisterofmercy]

Sounds like a terrible ordeal but at least there was no violence involved. You do hear some stories of people with knives so it could have been much worse. It does seem to me that camping in the more popular areas like Pennards is a bad idea though. Obviously crime happens everywhere on site, but a large amount of the stories come from people who camped in those areas. This is a good lesson for everyone for next time though, so at least we can take something productive from it.

[rabid]

This is a good lesson for everyone for next time though, so at least we can take something productive from it.

[sisterofmercy]

Yes, it's very simple:

There will always be tent thefts as long as there's stuff to steal in tents.

Hardly rocket science really.

[rabid]

I was thinking more like a good reminder for people to use the lock ups and generally watch their backs, but yes if you want to be like that then fine.

[sifi]

If I was wearing knickers I can assure you they would remain twist free.

The "stigma" you refer to, really only still exists with people who are pretty ignorant to be fair Lucy. Take that however you want, I'm not really "bovvered"

[Magma]

The idea that things are getting worse or the Peace & Love elements are disappearing is a bit rich. The first year I went to Glastonbury someone got shot.

[bumpy_capers]

The police who we spoke to on Friday morning told us that a lot of the reports they had received that the accents of those doing theiving were as much Manc as Scouse.

[sisterofmercy]

The idea that things are getting worse or the Peace & Love elements are disappearing is a bit rich. The first year I went to Glastonbury someone got shot.

[sifi]

Often confused

[PurpleFire]

Not being rude... like many other people who have stated its your own fault...The risks are well stated by everybody and every festival site. You should never leave anything you class as valuable in your tent NEVER NEVER EVER! Full Stop!

This happened at Leeds last year to our pals, they had a bag stolen whilst sleeping in there tent, they found the bag the next morning but all but the cash had gone. They had been through my tent to but i had absolutly nothing any value on me it was all in the lockerhouse, money phone car keys everything was in there and did we come away feeling unhappy and disapointed no!

Your rant has angerd me greatly, you slate our country down after an experiance which you SHOULD have and COULD have easily prevented...

Ive never been angerd by sombodies post before on here, you come on here saying our people and country are terrible for a minority of people who might not have been english in the first place who stole your valuebles. There must have been a reason for you to come to this amazing festival in the first place, proberbly because your country couldnt cope with the amount of crime that goes on there.

I for one do realise what you are going through but for god sake it was easily prevented!

[ukslim]

I got to be honest, I feel pretty uncomfortable about the blaming the victim here, not sure it would be appropriate in other areas of life.

Edited June 29, 2011 by ukslim

[ukslim]

(Manc and Scouse accents)

Often confused

[lynz_star]

The idea that things are getting worse or the Peace & Love elements are disappearing is a bit rich. The first year I went to Glastonbury someone got shot.

[sisterofmercy]

(Manc and Scouse accents)

Forgiveable if you're from abroad. If you're British there's no excuse.

[eFestivals]

Really?! Someone was shot in 99?! I know someone got shot (at Bjork, I believe) in about 94-95ish, but I had no idea there was a shooting the first year I went!

wasn't it '97 that someone was shot? Or 98? I can't be 100% sure, but I'm pretty certain it was a muddy year.

It's only happened once, somewhere near the dance tent (which means 95 was the earliest year it could be) and while someone was shot everything I read at the time suggested that the person with the gun wasn't actually trying to shoot anyone but () someone got in the way of the bullet the guy with the gun was discharging.

So while someone got shot and someone was on site with a gun to do that shooting, it sounds worse than things actually were when it's said that "someone got shot".

edit: I'm a fool. It was 1994.

Edited June 29, 2011 by eFestivals

[robith]

If you don't often venture up north though it may be hard to distinguish between accents, just as it can be hard to tell apart southerners a lot of the time. I admit that as I haven't encountered many people from up north I have a difficult time of telling apart accents from that kind of area. The Mancunian accent is an exception though, that seems to stick out quite well.