The dark side of the festival

[simian_mobile_mushrooms]

2 hours ago, Stokesy10 said:

Great post!

If you do see someone in serious trouble/in need of rapid medical assistance, is there a direct number whilst on site? In the booklet or anything? 

Thanks, I wrote it when I was a bit pissed actually, haha. I'm not sure if there's a number to call actually. I don't think you're ever further than a hundred metres from a steward or someone so we just yelled and ran over to someone who had a radio and then they called someone. It was suprirsing how quick the medics turned up

[Smeble]

10 hours ago, Mark E. Spliff said:

I've accompanied a friend to the medical tent and seen some of the casualties and spoken with the staff - there's a conveyor belt of very desperate people coming through there, and it's a bit sobering to see.  But to me that's just part and parcel of that many people having a good time in a field - the stats are probably no different to what you'd expect in any comparably-sized town.

However... the real dark side of the festival has yet to manifest itself: the dodgy transport arrangements.  It's only a matter of time before one of the vehicles which you see steaming along the railway line and other thoroughfares takes someone out.  When it does, the festival will be prosecuted and this will have major knock-on effects.  The festival requires a fairly lax approach to traffic management in order to keep the 'city' supplied, but their standards would be torn apart in a coroner's court.  I'd say this is the biggest threat to the festival right now - anyone that thinks the South East Corner late night crowd management arrangements were a bit draconian hasn't seen anything compared to what's going to have to be done to make the vehicle movements legally acceptable.  

As far as the era of 300,000-plus attendees is concerned, we're still in the honeymoon period: it will only take one or two serious incidents and changes will be forced on the festival which will transform it beyond all recognition.  Enjoy the current laissez-faire approach while you still can...

Every vehicle I saw moving along the old railways line had at least 2 staff out front of it moving people out of the way, the only dangerous vehicles I saw were those cycle rickshaws who has the usual cyclist attitude towards pedestrians, I had 3 near misses with them.

[Trout Mask Replica]

34 minutes ago, Pink_Tequila said:

All plant is disabled by code and special key which are logged out to registered vehicle users. I am not going to worry about rogue terrorist vehicle users at Glastonbury. Provisions and plans are in place to prevent an attack anyway.

That's really good to know. I'm perhaps more nervous than most as I was very near an incident on 7/7. Glastonbury is a place where I relax and regain some faith in the goodness of humankind but my eyes are always open now. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

If they reduce the number of acts playing it'll reduce the number of vehicles ferrying people about between stages. Simples.

[musky]

On the vehicle front I seem to recall that there was some mention of vehicle movements in public areas in the last MDC report, so it's clearly being monitored.

As for the other reports of deaths/rapes at the festivals mentioned, I can't help feel that there's been some miscommunication. There was one (widely reported) death at Glasto last year, but there was a girl found hanged at Boomtown. A quick google doesn't turn up reports of any deaths/rapes at Reading 2012, let alone any in the first 6 hours.

Reading through the posts in this thread there does seem to be a difference of opinion between those who had attended before the super fence and those who started going after. Perhaps it's a matter of expectations.

[Mardy]

Just now, CaledonianGonzo said:

If they reduce the number of acts playing it'll reduce the number of vehicles ferrying people about between stages. Simples.

I heard this is precisely why they booked the Foo Fighters, they don't need any transport for Dave Grohl, you just give him a guitar and he runs about from one side of the site to another.

I believe Emily Eavis is going to use him to give other artists a piggyback all over the farm this June.

[russycarps]

2 hours ago, Peroni said:

@russycarps never said "drug free" and I'm interested to understand what you mean when you say "people like me"  I'm fairly sure we've never met... is your perception that I'm anti drugs? 

My point it more around the impact it has on others and not the act itself... there's a fine line between having a "good time" and causing harm to yourself or impact to others...

Out of interest... why do you prefer acid induced folks to other class A's. What makes one better or worse?

I mean people like you who seem to want to limit people's drug intake.

Glastonbury is a place a huge amount of people go to get fucked up. You either join them, or avoid them. You shouldn't expect them to change just because you feel a bit uncomfortable around them.

As for acid, I believe the whole world would be a better place if everyone took it at least once, if not multiple times. It makes me sad that so many people are willing to experiment with drugs, but avoid acid.

 

[Trout Mask Replica]

9 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I mean people like you who seem to want to limit people's drug intake.

Glastonbury is a place a huge amount of people go to get fucked up. You either join them, or avoid them. You shouldn't expect them to change just because you feel a bit uncomfortable around them.

As for acid, I believe the whole world would be a better place if everyone took it at least once, if not multiple times. It makes me sad that so many people are willing to experiment with drugs, but avoid acid.

 

Whilst I'd broadly agree with you re psychedelics I honestly think Glastonbury is perhaps the worst place in the world to take them for the first time. Just too busy, crowded and confusing for the uninitiated I think. 

My first trip, some 26 years ago, was with a lovely group of friends, in a nice room with lots of Orb, Pink Floyd and Ozrics being played on a good stereo. We played like children and laughed and all came down together with screamadelica. We're all still good friends to this day having been part of that experience and I married one of the girls years later.

Edited April 23, 2017 by Trout Mask Replica

[simian_mobile_mushrooms]

15 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

Official advice if need ambulance is to ring 999 as normal. They know where on site everyone is. 

Yeah makes sense. Good to know

[scaryclaireyfairy]

The fact that the negative events that happen at Glastonbury are so few is remarkable. I've been in 'scarier' crowds etc at Glasto than anywhere else yet I've never seen/felt that mass over-reaction that makes a bad situation exponentially worse. Could be the leylines, could be that just the right amount of people are a bit bubbled on their substance of choice and perfectly content doing the slow shuffle along.

[Lucy92]

I remember a few years ago when it was raining there was a guy face down in a puddle clearly off his face and no one batted an eyelid. I realised he was in trouble and managed to get him rolled over and it turned out he was choking in the puddle and couldn't breathe. I just couldn't believe people were walking over him and not helping. Managed to get medical help in the end and left him with that team. I guess In the dark it's quite easy to miss people like that, it's why I'd never let myself get to that point where I loose control, you never know what could happen! 

Edited April 23, 2017 by Lucy92

[MetaKate]

1 hour ago, russycarps said:

I mean people like you who seem to want to limit people's drug intake.

Glastonbury is a place a huge amount of people go to get fucked up. You either join them, or avoid them. You shouldn't expect them to change just because you feel a bit uncomfortable around them.

As for acid, I believe the whole world would be a better place if everyone took it at least once, if not multiple times. It makes me sad that so many people are willing to experiment with drugs, but avoid acid.

 

I'm one of those people avoiding acid...but I'm also careful with other drugs, wouldnt say id put anything in my body, but also of the "try anything once" mindset. Why do you advocate for acid so strongly? Genuinely interested... I do enjoy mushrooms of the magic variety. 

[Mr.Tease]

4 hours ago, Trout Mask Replica said:

The vehicle situation does give cause for concern, not so much in its normal operation which appears to be well marshalled and as safe as can be. What is a bigger concern is the recent trend, as seen in France, for a lone ranger terrorist or trouble maker to comandeer one and start driving into the crowds intentionally. 

Of course, such an incident would be the end of the festival and large crowd events of all kinds. I'd expect that due to the difficulty of getting tickets and such the likelihood would be low but I'd hope the festival were giving greater thought to vehicle security given how many tractors and landys are onsite. Maybe having some facility to disable them, dead hand switch or remotely will become a requirement for the festival. 

Sorry if this all sounds a bit bleak but an attack on Glastonbury would be an attack upon freedom and liberal values more generally and it is a high profile event with so much coverage. 

As festival goers and music lovers it also means we have a greater responsibility to keep our eyes open and look after each other, especially in large crowds. 

What if a non-terrorist driver has a heart attack and crashes into people? The risks of that are way higher. What if we crash on route? What if we get cancer? What if we have a heart attack? What if we get alcohol poisoning and die? What if we fall and hit our heads? What if we take some bad drugs? What if we get hit by lightening? what if a stage collapses? What if everyone turns against us?

As an generally anxious person, who fears many things ranging from social humiliation to existential worries, I find people who only get anxious about terrorism odd, when that's one of the least likely scanario's! What the heck's wrong with you?! 

[Mr.Tease]

2 hours ago, russycarps said:

I mean people like you who seem to want to limit people's drug intake.

Glastonbury is a place a huge amount of people go to get fucked up. You either join them, or avoid them. You shouldn't expect them to change just because you feel a bit uncomfortable around them.

As for acid, I believe the whole world would be a better place if everyone took it at least once, if not multiple times. It makes me sad that so many people are willing to experiment with drugs, but avoid acid.

 

I think MDMA is better- there's a higher chance of someone having a freak out on acid than MDMA. Either are better than spice and coke, which seemed to be the weapons of choice for a while- or worse that plant fertilizer! (do people still take that?)

[Sasperella]

2 hours ago, musky said:

As for the other reports of deaths/rapes at the festivals mentioned, I can't help feel that there's been some miscommunication. There was one (widely reported) death at Glasto last year, but there was a girl found hanged at Boomtown. A quick google doesn't turn up reports of any deaths/rapes at Reading 2012, let alone any in the first 6 hours.
 

12 in the first few hours does seem (hopefully) a bit of an exaggeration, but rape at festivals is definitely a problem

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11822420/Bestival-UK-music-festivals-have-a-rape-problem-that-needs-action-now.html

Think the safegigs4women movement has become a thing because of that...not sure how long they've been about for though

[Michaels denim shorts]

17 minutes ago, Mr.Tease said:

I think MDMA is better- there's a higher chance of someone having a freak out on acid than MDMA. Either are better than spice and coke, which seemed to be the weapons of choice for a while- or worse that plant fertilizer! (do people still take that?)

Mephedrone was never plant fertiliser. It was just sold as that on the research chemical websites for a while. Before RCs exploded and were simply sold as their chemical names 

[Mr.Tease]

8 minutes ago, Michaels denim shorts said:

Mephedrone was never plant fertiliser. It was just sold as that on the research chemical websites for a while. Before RCs exploded and were simply sold as their chemical names 

Ah, I had forgotten its name (mephedrone)- in fact I had forgotten it even existed!- was all the rage back in 2011 ish, and nowadays I don't hear much about it (I work in a youth project). I would say it has been replaced by spice in terms of popularity. Not good stuff. I do think MDMA and weed are better and safer, though that may be just me getting old!

[Trout Mask Replica]

37 minutes ago, Mr.Tease said:

What if a non-terrorist driver has a heart attack and crashes into people? The risks of that are way higher. What if we crash on route? What if we get cancer? What if we have a heart attack? What if we get alcohol poisoning and die? What if we fall and hit our heads? What if we take some bad drugs? What if we get hit by lightening? what if a stage collapses? What if everyone turns against us?

As an generally anxious person, who fears many things ranging from social humiliation to existential worries, I find people who only get anxious about terrorism odd, when that's one of the least likely scanario's! What the heck's wrong with you?! 

What's wrong with me? Nowt. I'm just one of those who sees a risk and wonders if it has occurred to anyone? Fact is it has as another poster here has confirmed vehicles require a code to operate. 

In terms of my own anxiety, we'll I was near one of the 7/7 incidents and that had an impact on me. Also seeing recent events from the Bataclan and Nice just makes me think that Glastonbury would be a target for those types of things. It wouldn't stop me from going though, just as I still ride the tube and go to gigs. 

[Michaels denim shorts]

7 minutes ago, Mr.Tease said:

Ah, I had forgotten its name (mephedrone)- in fact I had forgotten it even existed!- was all the rage back in 2011 ish, and nowadays I don't hear much about it (I work in a youth project). I would say it has been replaced by spice in terms of popularity. Not good stuff. I do think MDMA and weed are better and safer, though that may be just me getting old!

By spice do you mean the synthetic cannabinoids sprayed various leafs? (Fake weed) that's stuff is shit I agree

i don't really like mdma, it makes me sleepy

[Flysheet]

16 hours ago, Sasperella said:

After reading this I had a look at some old articles about 1990, and have been checking out some of the old maps. Where exactly was the travellers field? The maps at the bottom if you scroll down

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/glastonbury-festival-1990.html

Was proper lively in places that year. I went up the Travs field in 92, they were up the hill of death somewhere off site then and it was pretty anarchic

[stuartbert two hats]

59 minutes ago, Mr.Tease said:

Ah, I had forgotten its name (mephedrone)- in fact I had forgotten it even existed!- was all the rage back in 2011 ish, and nowadays I don't hear much about it (I work in a youth project). I would say it has been replaced by spice in terms of popularity. Not good stuff. I do think MDMA and weed are better and safer, though that may be just me getting old!

It's legality made it attractive because it made it cheaper and cleaner than MDMA, as well as being legal, even though the high wasn't as good as ecstasy. Once they banned it, those advantages evaporated, as well as the supply channel. No wonder nobody uses it any more.

[Peroni]

3 hours ago, russycarps said:

You either join them, or avoid them

 

Easier said than done....  

I've been in the position where i have has to explain to younger members of my group why that man keeps falling over, turning blue or worse why is an ambulance rushing though the crowd.

You can't obviously believe that people intend to get that mashed that they risk injury to themeleves... I don't mind drugs in general as I've said... But i do think people go more than little over the top but that's society positioning it as acceptable to be in that state as it's okay someone else will sort you out...Save your life...Make sure you don't swallow your tongue... The last one came experience as we had to put a guy into the recovery position during muse's head line set... His mates were close to useless

We were at the back.. of the pryamid. "Avoiding them" as you say...

[hurdy]

4 hours ago, Mardy said:

I heard this is precisely why they booked the Foo Fighters, they don't need any transport for Dave Grohl, you just give him a guitar and he runs about from one side of the site to another.

I believe Emily Eavis is going to use him to give other artists a piggyback all over the farm this June.

They best still have the accompanying stewards either side of him cos he moves pretty fast... 

[Flysheet]

8 hours ago, duke88 said:

It didn't make me fear for my own safety, but it was ridiculously tight on the paths to the right and back of the Pyramid before Coldplay last year. Told a lady with her kids not to try to fight her way through it with them. I do sometimes wonder why it's judged unsafe and illegal for a few thousand people to stand on a concrete terrace, complete with barriers, at a football match, yet it's completely fine for tens of thousands of people to stand in a field at a gig!

The top right corner heading back out towards family was a nightmare. Thick mud you got trapped in and folk converging from two or three directions. It was as uncomfortable a situation I've ever been in and I've done down the front at most venues and festivals going back years. It's more so because most of the folk there at that point were at the back of the field due to NOT wanting to be in a huge crowd, but then all left at once!

[Mardy]

20 minutes ago, hurdy said:

They best still have the accompanying stewards either side of him cos he moves pretty fast... 

'Mind your backs please, ladies and gentlemen, watch out now, nicest man in rock coming through'