£200 barrier breached

[dicka]

Inevitable though mate. The BBCs coverage is one of the reasons. People want to be seen there. Society's shift towards putting on a game face via social media instead of actually just being and experiencing things is a big reason too. Kate Moss in the Hunter wellies all over the papers in 04 (I think) was another reason. A load of hip kids wanted to go after that. Seal of approval. Thats even worse than anything I typed above. Sheep.

Was reading an article on tourism recently and the change in tourists behaviour. Its a lot more to do with ticking boxes and putting snaps up on facebook or wherever as opposed to actually enjoying a city, finding cool bars, nice places to eat etc. I've been away with people who panic if you take a wrong turn or get lost for 5 minutes. "I don't know this place" and "this wasn't on the agenda" etc. Thats the whole fucking point!

Same as Glastonbury. People just seem to walk through the late night areas just to say they've seen it. Or hang out the back of a gig just to say they were there, but not get involved or experience it in any way. People would rather do something boring that ticks a box and makes for a nice photo as opposed to do something great they enjoyed.

My best "Glasto moments" have all been things that wouldn't sound great if I explained it to someone - walking on my own around the site hungover and picking up some fresh fruit and milk for brekkie, being passed a smoke by a complete stranger at the perfect moment at a gig, being randomly hugged by a bloke dressed up as a Storm Trooper at 11am, helping a stranger through a muddy area of the site, stumbling across a tent at 5am and finding a cool ska band who I'd never heard of, spontaneous international fussball competitions in Shangri-La as Suggs walks onto the decks unannounced in the Rocket Lounge, (drunk out of his mind) and spins "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash 4 times in a row, and so forth.

So I don't think ticket prices have as much to do with it as you may think. Its even worse, society is the problem.

[jimmyk83]

OMG drug users, squirt them as well.

[Spindles]

Can I just mention that being able to read and write is not the exclusive practice of the higher classes.

I'm working class, I can string a sentence together. My take home last month was less than £500 and I did not receive any benefits. I managed to scrape together my deposit (and my kids) by amassing some rent arrears.

But cheers for the assumption that anyone who is working class or unemployed is illiterate. Betrays much.

[MEGABOWL]

Good post megabowl. I genuinely don't think it is tokenism, but I see where you're coming from. I don't know how to do more than one quote in a post, so this might be a bit of a pigs ear, but I'll have a go.

"Why do the unwaged get more help for a Glastonbury ticket than someone who is working two jobs to pay the bills but can't afford a Glastonbury ticket? Significant numbers in society work full time hours but because of the shitty system we live in need tax credits to top up their wage so their ends meet. Why do they not get help? Students are the engine of society in the future and thanks to this government have been shafted and will have mountains of debt to pay off, why do they not get help?"

Yeah, honestly, I like my second idea more, where I say you pay 0.0081 of your annual income. Makes more sense on refection.

"Allocating 17500 for the unwaged, in fact allocating any number is unfair. It isn't comparable to student discount at HMV because Glastonbury tickets are a finite resource. At the minute if you don't get a ticket it's down to being unlucky in the lottery. All of a sudden people-including the people I mention in my first paragraph-will be wondering if the reason they can't do the thing they were dreaming of doing is because their ticket was set aside for someone who, because they are unwaged, was deemed more worthy of a ticket. Not exactly inclusive"

I'm going to disagree with that, I think currently, society is at a worrying crossroads where the gaps are widening. One of the most depressing things on this site is the regularity with which 'chav' is used. I fucking hate it. Look at some of the scorn poured on the unwaged in this thread. if it takes a bit of positive action to equal things out, then so be it. Price, in my opinion, worth paying.

"I would suggest that any arbitrary scheme to make Glastonbury 'inclusive' is in fact not, because it will be based on a prejudice that one group within society is more worthy than another"

Much of society currently deems people to be more worthy based on their income. To which I can only inarticulately mumble 'fuck that'. I don't believe a banker is more valuable than a nurse just becuse they earn more money. That's arse about face. Anything that begins to redress that current way of thinking is a step in the right direction for me.

"The only economically fair way to sell Glastonbury tickets is to issue everyone with a winning ticket, then ask for all 137,500 people to send in proof of what they earn. Then divide £28,187,500 (£205 multiplied by 137,500) among the lucky winners according to what they earn. Any other scheme is going to be unfair. Of course you then get the problem that if 110000 unwaged get the tickets, the other 27500 have to find that £28,187,500. In reality, the current system is probably the most practical."

I've said, everyone should pay .0081 of their annual salary. I didn't realise we were sticking to what's practical. Glastonury itself is a ludicrous brilliantly impractical place. Start looking at in practical terms and there's cost cutting all over the shop, the unpopular stages get shut down, the bins don't get painted, the flags don't get put up. I'm always mildly worried when people start talking about practicality as a rationale. Most of the changes in society (good and bad) haven't been driven by practicality, lets not start now.

"The offer of Glastonbury tickets for £135+travel+drink+food rather than £205+travel+drink+food would be a complete irrelevance to me."

That's you, not sure you can extrapolate. Put the offer out there, if you're right, no-one will take it up. What's to lose?

Nice one, though, appreciate the engagement, it's got me thinking.

[gizmoman]

Can I just mention that being able to read and write is not the exclusive practice of the higher classes.

I'm working class, I can string a sentence together. My take home last month was less than £500 and I did not receive any benefits. I managed to scrape together my deposit (and my kids) by amassing some rent arrears.

But cheers for the assumption that anyone who is working class or unemployed is illiterate. Betrays much.

[abdoujaparov]

But cheers for the assumption that anyone who is working class or unemployed is illiterate. Betrays much.

[Spindles]

have I missed something?

Edited October 10, 2012 by Spindles

[abdoujaparov]

Sorry, referring to a post quite some pages back that said that because we were all able to string a sentence together we must all be middle class. I'll dig back, edit and quote in this post in a minute...

Edited October 10, 2012 by abdoujaparov

[Spindles]

I didn't post. I stopped reading. I'm genuinely offended by some of what I've read.

My first thought on this thread was it was russy's usual "everything used to be better, everything new is shit" nonsense, but then people piled in and proved me so very, very wrong.

[eFestivals]

I didn't post. I stopped reading. I'm genuinely offended by some of what I've read.

My first thought on this thread was it was russy's usual "everything used to be better, everything new is shit" nonsense, but then people piled in and proved me so very, very wrong.

there were just as many people with the same sorts of attitudes back in the 80s as there is now. Just not at Glastonbury.

It's not that Glastonbury has changed. It's that society has changed to embrace the likes of Glastonbury, and with that comes more of society's norms to Glastonbury.

[Spindles]

Agree 100% mr eFests.

[abdoujaparov]

there were just as many people with the same sorts of attitudes back in the 80s as there is now. Just not at Glastonbury.

It's not that Glastonbury has changed. It's that society has changed to embrace the likes of Glastonbury, and with that comes more of society's norms to Glastonbury.

[Spindles]

You and me both, it appears. Mind you, I spend most of my time south of babylon and it was only when I ventured to Paul simon last year that I encountered the kind of people who believe they have more entitlement to space in a field than others.

Thanks, btw, for everything you've written in this thread. I was so genuinely angry at some of it I had to step away.

[abdoujaparov]

You and me both, it appears. Mind you, I spend most of my time south of babylon and it was only when I ventured to Paul simon last year that I encountered the kind of people who believe they have more entitlement to space in a field than others.

Thanks, btw, for everything you've written in this thread. I was so genuinely angry at some of it I had to step away.

[MEGABOWL]

You and me both, it appears. Mind you, I spend most of my time south of babylon and it was only when I ventured to Paul simon last year that I encountered the kind of people who believe they have more entitlement to space in a field than others.

Thanks, btw, for everything you've written in this thread. I was so genuinely angry at some of it I had to step away.

[whisty]

what was so bad about the crowd for Paul Simon?

Edited October 10, 2012 by whisty

[mcshed]

Thanks, btw, for everything you've written in this thread. I was so genuinely angry at some of it I had to step away.

[abdoujaparov]

what was so bad about the crowd for Paul Simon?

[abdoujaparov]

Some of the horrific views earlier in the thread have made for a very odd discussion as I don't think anyone actually thinks an unemployed discount is the best idea but some of the ways it was being dismissed was hard to take/ignore.

[MEGABOWL]

most of them were sat around picnic blankets, reading the Sunday Times, scowling at anyone that came near them. It was just a horrible, unfriendly, atmosphere

Paul Simon was bob as well

[russycarps]

paul simon was shit as well, which didnt help

[mike99]

paul simon was shit as well, which didnt help

[Spindles]

^^^^ This.

As a result the crowd got stuck at the fringes (certainly where I was on the Top Webbs Ash side) and it got unpleasantly crowded. But heaven forbid someone would fold up their chair or have their picnic blanket trodden on. I left after 20 minutes.

[abdoujaparov]

^^^^ This.

As a result the crowd got stuck at the fringes (certainly where I was on the Top Webbs Ash side) and it got unpleasantly crowded. But heaven forbid someone would fold up their chair or have their picnic blanket trodden on. I left after 20 minutes.

[dan05delaney]

most of them were sat around picnic blankets, reading the Sunday Times, scowling at anyone that came near them. It was just a horrible, unfriendly, atmosphere

Paul Simon was bob as well