Flares or Not?

[StePotts]

Everyone's in favour, unless the person next to you is holding one. then you might reconsider. in my view, most people at Glasto are too fucked to be trusted to hold a cig and not burn people, let alone a flare.

[DeanoL]

4 minutes ago, StePotts said:

Everyone's in favour, unless the person next to you is holding one. then you might reconsider. in my view, most people at Glasto are too fucked to be trusted to hold a cig and not burn people, let alone a flare.

Yeah. People don't get hurt because when you see a drunken guy start to light a missile on fire you fuck the hell off. That doesn't make 'harmless'.

[russycarps]

40 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

Someone just said in this thread that they got burned by one at last years festival.

Yeah. The same person who said they were unable to move away from the flare because of the size of the crowd. The same crowd that I was in. In the field that was no more than half full, at best.

If they are going to lie about the size of the crowd, then why on earth would anyone believe the rest of the statement?

 

[russycarps]

42 minutes ago, StePotts said:

Everyone's in favour, unless the person next to you is holding one. then you might reconsider. in my view, most people at Glasto are too fucked to be trusted to hold a cig and not burn people, let alone a flare.

I stood right next to one at arcade fire. It was brilliant. Some of the little pellets hit my bare arm. I didnt feel a thing as they werent bits of molten metal, like some would have you believe.

But I get it, they look like they might be dangerous, so BAN THEM, BAN THEM NOW. Let's not let facts get in the way.

 

[Yokel Again]

Can I ask why it was brilliant?

[StePotts]

18 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I stood right next to one at arcade fire. It was brilliant. Some of the little pellets hit my bare arm. I didnt feel a thing as they werent bits of molten metal, like some would have you believe.

But I get it, they look like they might be dangerous, so BAN THEM, BAN THEM NOW. Let's not let facts get in the way.

 

i'm not talking about a bit of falling debris hitting you, I'm talking about some drunk bellend waving one in your face

[DeanoL]

12 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I stood right next to one at arcade fire. It was brilliant. Some of the little pellets hit my bare arm. I didnt feel a thing as they werent bits of molten metal, like some would have you believe.

But I get it, they look like they might be dangerous, so BAN THEM, BAN THEM NOW. Let's not let facts get in the way.

It's almost like people have different sorts of skin and pain tolerances. You do strike me as one of those fairly tall, large blokes that has no concept of what's it like to be smaller/lighter/female.

I'm not a big guy and I know I can shrug off impacts that would cause some of my smaller friends to develop huge bruising.

One of my best mates is absolutely tiny, 5 ft tall, barely weighs a thing. We go to gigs and you see these larger guys just flinging themselves around, and it's fine, they're just having fun, there's nothing malicious in it. But they don't get that if they bump into her they'll knock her flat on the floor. It took me a while to get that, that different perspective, the constant existence of people twice your size and four times your weight that you do have to be careful about. She's got nothing against them, but her point is always - they just don't get it. They're not that size, and they don't have any friends who are, so they never think how certain things might look or be scary to someone different.

[NoBallGames]

It is interesting to hear all the perspectives of everyone on here. In the States every festival bans flares, campfires and fireworks. I thought they looked awesome.. In a crowd using them seems like more stress than its worth but then again never been around them. 

All I do know is the camp fire situation is brilliant! Great opportunity to sit and chat with new folks. 

[SpiralGirl]

Stood in front of one during Muse the other year.  The lad was on his mate's shoulders, completely off his face on something.  Felt the sparks on my neck, and my friend's coat ended up with a burn in it.  Nothing brilliant about that in my view :-/

[RichardWaller]

I thought this thread was gonna be about trousers.

Yeah, not so much to flares for me. Maybe a bit narrow minded of me but they're not something I associate with having a good time. I associate them with being lost at sea or in the middle of nowhere and football hooliganism...

I do like a Chinese lantern though, beautiful watching them float out from the stone circle but course, like most things, there's the risk and impact to the surroundings. Remember seeing one get stuck in a tree while Stevie Wonder was on the Pyramid in 2010, got quite anxious about it at the time till it went out.

[fur_q]

36 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I stood right next to one at arcade fire. It was brilliant. Some of the little pellets hit my bare arm. I didnt feel a thing as they werent bits of molten metal, like some would have you believe.

 

 

Thier effect is created by burning magnesium and stontium, so it quite literally is

[russycarps]

17 minutes ago, SpiralGirl said:

Stood in front of one during Muse the other year.  The lad was on his mate's shoulders, completely off his face on something.  Felt the sparks on my neck, and my friend's coat ended up with a burn in it.  Nothing brilliant about that in my view :-/

Someone accidentally burnt a hole in my tshirt with a cigarette at glastonbury once. 

Should we ban smoking at the festival? Imagine if it had gone in my eyeball and blinded me to death!

BAN SMOKING

BAN IT ALL

[Little Andy]

If someone is enjoying themselves and its not harming other people or stopping them from enjoying themselves, thats of course fine. That is clearly not the case with flares.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Little Andy

[jonodillieono]

1 hour ago, StePotts said:

Everyone's in favour, unless the person next to you is holding one. then you might reconsider. in my view, most people at Glasto are too fucked to be trusted to hold a cig and not burn people, let alone a flare.

I always get paranoid about that in crowds. Someone flicked a ciggie when I was in a crowd once and it hit me in the open eye. I've been quite scared of them since. Im definitely up for a glasto ban on them

[sjseabass]

If the argument is "Flares are cool and safe usually, but dangerous in the hands of wrecked people", why is it the flares that should be banned, and not alcohol?

[russycarps]

Someone mentioned getting hit by a can of beer earlier. 

Presumably you people are in favour of banning cans? You can buy your beer in those nice safe paper cups instead.

Edited May 19, 2016 by russycarps

[DeanoL]

47 minutes ago, russycarps said:

Someone accidentally burnt a hole in my tshirt with a cigarette at glastonbury once. 

Should we ban smoking at the festival? Imagine if it had gone in my eyeball and blinded me to death!

BAN SMOKING

BAN IT ALL

I'd be in favour of banning smoking in the middle of crowds too, sure. Equally I'm not really fussed if someone sets off a few flares at the top of the Park hill.

But it's not about banning. Flares are already banned. And if you're smoking near the front and it gets hairy, any decent security guy will have you put it out. It's about what the festival should or shouldn't encourage people to do /bring.

[dentalplan]

1 minute ago, theevilfridge said:

If the argument is "Flares are cool and safe usually, but dangerous in the hands of wrecked people", why is it the flares that should be banned, and not alcohol?

This sounded smarter in your head b.

[razda101]

Was in what I would call a ring of fire last year at the chemical brothers. Flares were popping off everywhere around us. They looked cool but did put me on edge a bit until they went out because you just don't know if you can trust the drunkard on the shoulders on the shoulders of another drunkard. Lol!

So for me it's a no flares. Spoils the enjoyment of those around you.

[DeanoL]

5 minutes ago, theevilfridge said:

If the argument is "Flares are cool and safe usually, but dangerous in the hands of wrecked people", why is it the flares that should be banned, and not alcohol?

Because flare stores won't pay as much money to sell their wares at the festival as bars. Plus you'd also have to ban stupid people.

3 minutes ago, russycarps said:

Someone mentioned getting hit by a can of beer earlier. 

Presumably you people are in favour of banning cans? You can buy your beer in those nice safe paper cups instead.

Presumably you're in favour of relaxing the ban on glass?

[Mezhyp1]

2 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

I'd be in favour of banning smoking in the middle of crowds too, sure. Equally I'm not really fussed if someone sets off a few flares at the top of the Park hill.

But it's not about banning. Flares are already banned. And if you're smoking near the front and it gets hairy, any decent security guy will have you put it out. It's about what the festival should or shouldn't encourage people to do /bring.

How much does the festival really do about it though, there's seems to be as many if not more every year, so the people in charge clearly don't have so much of a problem with it

The festival needs no more security and the punters need no more eyes on them than there already is, I'm entirely with Russ on this one 

 

[Gacheezbo]

Got a scar on my neck and smaller ones on my arm from someone's flare while watching Metallica at Glasto. 

Found it equally hilarious and painful in my drunken state, luckily pulled my hood up before it hurt my beautiful face

[Gacheezbo]

inb4 "serves you right for watching Metallica"

[DeanoL]

1 minute ago, Mezhyp1 said:

How much does the festival really do about it though, there's seems to be as many if not more every year, so the people in charge clearly don't have so much of a problem with it

Well when there aren't that many, it's less of a problem. If it looks like it'll be a problem (because, say, there are more and more every year), then they will do something about it. That's what happened with pissing on the land. And NOS at the stone circle. And chinese lanterns. And gazebos.

When it's just one or two people doing it, it's easier to deal with just those one or two people. I've no idea if security had words with those letting flares off or not in previous years. When it becomes to many to police that way, you see them message it more strongly.

When it does become law this year, you can be next year they'll be heavily messaging against them because they can't afford the bad PR of "look at all these Glastonbury law breaker" and the license issues it might bring.

[russycarps]

11 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

Because flare stores won't pay as much money to sell their wares at the festival as bars. Plus you'd also have to ban stupid people.

Presumably you're in favour of relaxing the ban on glass?

Last I checked a Tory mp hasn't banned glass at festivals. Correct me if I'm wrong.