Firewood, Melvin, Emily and me

[hoils]

This year was my 17th Glasto, and I've kept the faith since 1992 as it's altered beyond recognition. The place has utterly changed my life; given me some of my closest freinds in the world and definitely shaped the person I've become today. I thought I would go to Glasto until the day I die, that I would never even consider being anywhere rather than Pilton in the last weekend of June. But this year may well be my last. And over an issue as trivial as firewood.

So, who had a campfire this year? Who had the room to actually have a fire safely at camp? Were there any big piles of wood to be found anywhere?

The reason I ask is that a campfire has always been such a massively important part of my Glastonbury. Once the day was over and all my gang had been to see whoever they fancied we would always head back to camp to talk bollocks, party, welcome stangers as new friends, watch the sun come up and celebrate a new festival day. In essence, we made our entertainment.

With so many people crammed into the site nowadays there's so little room to have fires. And if you can't have a fire people are more likely to head off somewhere else to be entertained. And to have somewhere to spend money. So - Melvin gets his health and safety, the traders get their extra dosh, people demand to be entertained rather than to entertain and I retire gracefully to Beatherder.

What was the point am I was trying to make? I've forgotten, if truth be told.

[rexclark]

It's not Melvin's fault there's health and safety laws. I can kinda get where you're coming from but I think you just have to face the fact the festival has evolved. The late night entertainment is as popular as the daytime stuff now and most would see it as a waste to just sit around chatting when there's so much to do. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be sitting around having a chat at night. Glasto is what you want it to be and we all want a different experience. I hope you had a good Glasto and I hope you have many more.

[geebus]

I did. First one at 1pm on Wednesday to 'mark the spot' (in a brief dry spell).

Then one later on, on Wednesday for a proper sit-around the fire.

However, as well as having some issues with my wood transportation from my vehicle, the other nights I was always doing something - and that's the thing, with so much late night revelry options open, I don't find the time to justify a decent camp fire.

Oh and when we DID have the fire, which had flames just reacing 30cm, security came around and told us to 'keep it under control'. Didn't see any free firewood.

Can't help but feel that if they made it easier to have more decent sized fires, less people would be queuing for the late night stuff.

Think next year I'll take the wood up the stone circle and try and get a decent fire going there for Wednesday evening; doubt I'll bother on the other days, again.

[ste]

So you wont be going again as you couldnt find firewood?

This year we were in dairy ground and there was plenty of firewood at the entrance to the field.

we did arrive very early wednesday but there was a fair bit to be had... took a few planks and that was it.

If i had to have a gripe over firewood then id say that it could do with being cut into smaller planks... but thats nit picking.

i dont spend long enough back at camp to complain about a fire or not - there's a whole festival to explore.

[rachmac]

We had a fire Wednesday and Thursday nights. But we had to buy the firewood as we couldn't find any of the free stuff - the free stuff they had a few years ago were 3m planks and so we couldn't see how that was safe.

We like to do a bit of everything, so having a fire on the first few nights (esp Wed) helps us to unwind after the inevitably stressful day of set up and chill out and catch up with people we haven't seen for a bit. But other nights we like to go and do some stuff - Shangri la et al one night, maybe the park another night, Circus areas etc

I was surprised not to see the free wood this year though!

[davelucs]

Im kind of in a similar place as the OP, and i blame myself for always doing the same stuff at glasto. The posters who put that they never go to the pyramid always used to annoy me, but as i the years go by this approach does start to make more sense and i can see myself adopting a similar view in 2013.

[hoils]

So you wont be going again as you couldnt find firewood?

[rachmac]

So you wont be going again as you couldnt find firewood?

This year we were in dairy ground and there was plenty of firewood at the entrance to the field.

we did arrive very early wednesday but there was a fair bit to be had... took a few planks and that was it.

If i had to have a gripe over firewood then id say that it could do with being cut into smaller planks... but thats nit picking.

i dont spend long enough back at camp to complain about a fire or not - there's a whole festival to explore.

[G1T]

There was free wood there this year, but it mostly went before the gates opened. Not for firewood as such though, more for building things around the site. The interstage compound has a little stage in it that was covered in it for one.

Now, before everyone rushes to have a go at the site crew for stealing the public's wood, what I suspect is happening is that there's the same amount of wood being delivered to the site as in previous years (it comes free from a sawmill in wales apparently), but there are a lot more people on site these days, so there's less to go around.

There's also the fact that the site was wet and muddy at times during the build this year, so more of it got taken as flooring than it would do in a dry year. I did notice piles of thinner unsawn branches and so on in some of the camping fields before the gates opened though, so there definitely was an effort to provide firewood for the public as well as sawn wood for the site build. I guess they just need to up how much they get hold of.

[Georgeh]

There was a large pile of fire wood near gate C not far from the blazing saddles stage & still quite a bit still there on the Saturday.

[nicktrow]

There was a large pile at the bottom of Michaels Mead, was still there Thursday amazingly. But I guess others had the same problem we had, no room. This was the first time 92 without a fire.

Not sure I wouldn't go because of it though.

[Craigston]

Try staying in a tipi- I'm pretty sure they had a large fire and plenty of wood there everynight, as well as a lot of SPACE.

Not that I got involved- too busy in SE corner...

[G1T]

Try staying in a tipi- I'm pretty sure they had a large fire and plenty of wood there everynight, as well as a lot of SPACE.

[Greenish]

we had a fire most nights. only once did the fire guys come to check, and they were happy with us.

it is still possible!

[sselma]

we were camped in the Bushy Ground, a fair way out, but loads of space to have a fire which we did most nights. Didn't see any free firewood this year though.

In 2008 I brought a holdall of wood with me, as it was dry, most people in my camp preferred to go out partying and exploring at night rather than sit around the fire. There is so much to do at night now that even if there was loads of wood, I think most people would still head into the site.

[geebus]

Oh and it should be noted that we were in Oxylers, overlooking the Pyarmid stage - somewhere usually fairly packed.

Didn't seem quite as busy as other years there to be fair (possibly due to weather meaning people stopped earlier), but we still managed to keep our spot including fire area - partly possibly because there was someone there all of Wednesday - though friendly neighbours and moving out tents to accommodate them probably helped.

[ste]

That's interesting we ended up in dairy and didn't see any - where about's was it? We got there around 11.30ish in the end. We got two fires out of the wood we bought between quite a lot of us so I can't really complain about having to buy it

[sisterofmercy]

I didn't notice any campfires this year come to think of it. I saw the massive one in the tipi field which seemed to constantly be lit, but other than that it seemed to vanish a bit. I would have thought the weather put people off, as there can't be that many more people onsite this year than last year (though feel free to correct me).

Edited July 3, 2011 by sisterofmercy

[izcuje]

I think I saw a campfire in one of the main stages' area one night. Most probably at the Other Stage.

[indisguise]

We collected fire wood from the bottom of cockmill family camping but by Wednesday lunchtime it was far too cramped for us to have a fire

[Sawdusty surfer]

pine bundles were in really short supply during the build. ran out on the saturday before then a bit more arrived on the monday. pic of my fire half way down this page http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/sunday-pictures-06-29-2011-1-19-pm-01

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

As you look at the Pyramide Stage we were kind of to the right of Top Webbs Ash. I noticed a mound of timber there on our entry to the camp ground on Wednesday afternoon. A big mound of it was still there Thursday morning. I think this was because the timber consisted of very thin branches which were difficult to disentangle from each other.

Anyway, we had room for a small fire and greatly appreciated it was too at about 5am, when the cold / alcohol combo don't usually mix successfully.

[budvar]

As you look at the Pyramide Stage we were kind of to the right of Top Webbs Ash. I noticed a mound of timber there on our entry to the camp ground on Wednesday afternoon. A big mound of it was still there Thursday morning. I think this was because the timber consisted of very thin branches which were difficult to disentangle from each other.

Anyway, we had room for a small fire and greatly appreciated it was too at about 5am, when the cold / alcohol combo don't usually mix successfully.

[rachmac]

Looking downhill of the dairy field (with your back to the Chinese buffet place etc) then it was in the very bottom right by the long drops - it's been there the past few years too.

[Buff124]

I'm with Hoils on this one.

Who's up for a 2012 boycott ?