Glastonbury Virgin

[Gedh]

On 1/4/2019 at 7:46 PM, Sawdusty Surfer said:

Quote @Gedh

"Let the kids stay awake longer than advisable and meet the sweet weirdos that only come out at night. We were having a lovely chat with a guy who said words to the effect of "oh well better get on with the job" - this seemed to consist of putting a live coal fired stove on his head and wandering off into the night. Glastonbury!!"

Haha, guilty as charged

Lovely to confirm you are real and not just a Glastonbury dream!

 

[stuie]

On ‎1‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 1:18 PM, kalifire said:

My tip would be not to expect every moment to be the time of your life. There's an extraordinary amount of hype attached to Glastonbury, most of it totally deserved, but to some, it distorts expectation and can lead to a belief that every moment is going to be great. Spoiler: it isn't. At times, you may feel tired, hungry, your feet will hurt, you'll regret your choice in a clash, the whole thing will be a bit overwhelming and there'll be a voice somewhere in your mind that blames you for not getting more out of it. I've seen people really struggle with this, and some even leave the festival early as a result.

So when one of more of those moments inevitably happen, give yourself a break. You're there for five full days, so you can afford half an hour to have a sit down, or maybe a couple of hours in a quieter field. There's nothing wrong with how you're feeling - everyone will at some point. There's also nothing wrong with not enjoying things that are popular with others - I enjoy a lot of the SE corner, for example, but being there for more than a look around for a while isn't my idea of a great night. At the same time, it's incredibly popular, and that's fine.

 

Great post.

I love the festival with all of my heart.  I count down to ticket day, I count down to the festival, I hate fallow years, I compare every other festival I go to with Glastonbury, I can't sleep properly in the days leading up to it...

But every single time I'm there, there's at least one moment where I wonder 'what am I doing here' and if I could click my fingers and magically be at home on my sofa I probably would.

It's utterly brilliant but can be exhausting and overwhelming too.

 

 

[paulshane]

I'm just echoing what everyone else has said really, but my tips:

get there as early as you can, gates open 8am-sih on the Wednesday

take care of your feet - you'll be walking literal miles and miles

I prefer boots and cycle clips on my trousers if it's damp underfoot, but if you take wellies, wear long socks if you wear shorts/skirt etc as they -will- rub the back of your legs

plan on seeing a few 'big' bands, then you can say you saw who you went to see, and for the rest of the week, just pick what looks good on the program, or pick a stage/area at random and see whats up - explore new things! the cabaret and comedy tents are surprisingly good

for wednesday and thursday, when all the main stages are closed, check out everything above the railway line - green fields etc

theres a skatepark in the greenpeace area, they will lend out boards, but I take my own

regarding the railway line - it's a handy way to cut across the site, but the shangri-la end gets cordened off from 11PM-sih on fri-sat-sun to help with a one way pedestrian system (this may change for this year, who knows)

try different food - theres hundreds of food stalls from all over the world budged about £7-9 per meal

loads of bars on site, so no need to drag loads of beers around with you, but I find it's worth having enough on me to last a headliner performance, that way I don't need to go to the bar half way through.

and one I fail to observe every year - don't peak too early! if it's sunny and dry on the first day you get there, the temptation is to run around all day trying to see everything - don't do it! you'll probably end up with blisters and will hobble for the rest of the festival Pace yourself.

 

also, use the bins, if the bin nearest you is full, go to the next one, and so on.

I -do- hope it's dry

 

 

[Gnomicide]

I love this thread. 

I know this stuff but it's great to see it written down again. Gets me excited every time I read it.

[Little Andy]

Every single year I get a feeling of how amazing it is, but how I haven't enjoyed it as much as I should have. Usually cos I'm too unfit and end up pushing myself too far. And occasionally when I'm not getting into a band. So there's some great advice in this thread, it's totally normal to feel like that sometimes - and obviously there's always loads of great moments too, its just impossible to always feel like you've done it perfectly.

[bennyhana22]

It's incredibly reassuring and comforting to read other people's posts that include something along the lines of "at least once per festival I wish I wasn't there".

It sounds crazy that that would be the case, and almost blasphemous to say it out loud, but it's lovely to know that so many that people who adore the festival and think of it as the greatest place on Earth, can also have a wobble when they're there. Just knowing that there are kindred spirits on the Farm should help anyone having such a wobble to think "this is OK. It's normal to feel like this sometimes", as it always passes and the other 98.6% of your time there is just beyond wonderful...!

Ben

[Hotchilidog]

I saw someone earlier say take care of your feet as you may well wear them out. This is very sound advice, last year my feet were killing me. I was wearing my hiking boots all weekend but without extra insoles, by Sunday I could barely move which limited my stage hopping immensely. Cushioned socks and gel insoles are a must!

[Gedh]

19 hours ago, Hotchilidog said:

Cushioned socks and gel insoles are a must!

Two pairs of socks is the key. Thinner inner ones and thick outers. Change the inners daily, the outers only when so mud encrusted they stand up by themselves.

 

[Hotchilidog]

4 minutes ago, Gedh said:

Two pairs of socks is the key. Thinner inner ones and thick outers. Change the inners daily, the outers only when so mud encrusted they stand up by themselves.

 

Sound advice, and after last year I shall be taking it!