The International Contingent

[Ayrshire Chris]

19 hours ago, John the Moth said:

Seems like a fair assessment. There’s a way forward on the table now though and it will be awesome to have gotten to open borders without the mortality rates seen elsewhere.

Been a tough road though, Mrs Moth’s income has been exactly zero since lockdown started.

Hopefully things start moving in the right direction for you and the international contingent. Avoiding the terrible death and cases totals will certainly be awesome for you. Getting the vaccination rate up over 90% is I reckon vital. Today I was in a football crowd of 50000, it felt normal and had the proof of vaccination app on my phone. Sorry to hear about the loss of income, I’ve a mate here whose main cash source is from playing in a successful wedding/events band. Only now is he beginning to earn. It’s so good to get live music back not only in the big venues but also in the pubs and clubs.  I am sure we will see all those flags from around the globe on the farm next June! 

[John the Moth]

6 hours ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Hopefully things start moving in the right direction for you and the international contingent. Avoiding the terrible death and cases totals will certainly be awesome for you. Getting the vaccination rate up over 90% is I reckon vital. Today I was in a football crowd of 50000, it felt normal and had the proof of vaccination app on my phone. Sorry to hear about the loss of income, I’ve a mate here whose main cash source is from playing in a successful wedding/events band. Only now is he beginning to earn. It’s so good to get live music back not only in the big venues but also in the pubs and clubs.  I am sure we will see all those flags from around the globe on the farm next June! 

I’m confident we will be there, as long as no one folds like a cheap suit before the job’s done.

What really annoys me though are those that protest the loudest about lock downs etc. are the ones doing the least to help put that behind us. In many cases they are acting in such a way that will actually prolong the things they object too. Crazy.

Anyway...

99% / 95% 🙂

Edited October 4, 2021 by John the Moth

[The other Bellboy]

On 10/4/2021 at 3:47 PM, John the Moth said:

I’m confident we will be there, as long as no one folds like a cheap suit before the job’s done.

What really annoys me though are those that protest the loudest about lock downs etc. are the ones doing the least to help put that behind us. In many cases they are acting in such a way that will actually prolong the things they object too. Crazy.

Anyway...

99% / 95% 🙂

This is spot on, the ones that are supposed to be more affected if they get Covid are the ones that are refusing to get vaccinated - crazy for sure! 

I hope you do get to go, i really do, it won't be on the cards for us - unless the lotto numbers come up!

[kalifire]

Started to have conversations about Glasto arrival/departure strategies, which is exciting! In a strange twist of fate, when tickets were booked, I was still with my ex and her Glastonbury ticket was supposed to be a 40th birthday present for 2020. We split the following May, but I decided to honour the gift if she still wanted to go, which she does. So she'll be coming along which is a bit odd but we're good friends now so not a bad thing, just different.

Looked at flights this week as well, but Melbourne > London is still fucked right now, because there's no international travel into Australia yet. Hopefully prices will come down and availability will increase in a few months when it's time to book.

[John the Moth]

44 minutes ago, The other Bellboy said:

This is spot on, the ones that are supposed to be more affected if they get Covid are the ones that are refusing to get vaccinated - crazy for sure! 

I hope you do get to go, i really do, it won't be on the cards for us - unless the lotto numbers come up!

Cheers.

If my numbers come up, I’ll drag you along with us 🙂

[The other Bellboy]

On 10/9/2021 at 5:34 PM, John the Moth said:

Cheers.

If my numbers come up, I’ll drag you along with us 🙂

right back at ya! Lets start a new version of the resale club - the overseas lotto club!

[BlackZeppelin]

I'm starting to feel confident now and rallying the troops.

It seems a bit surreal after being hedged into 5km zones for so long in Melbourne  to consider international travel and the wild expanses of the Farm.

I haven't looked at flights yet, but we're hoping to leave in May and have a couple of months in the UK.

Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg.

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by BlackZeppelin

[kalifire]

Sorry to hijack this thread for a specific area, but we're overdue a Melbourne contingent meet up, surely. There's at least half a dozen of us here and it would be lovely to get together when we're able to, hopefully in a few weeks.

[MaxPower]

@kalifire how much do your flights for Glastonbury cost in normal times? 

[kalifire]

9 hours ago, MaxPower said:

@kalifire how much do your flights for Glastonbury cost in normal times? 

About $2k (AUD). Sometimes slightly less, usually a little bit more. 

[sirjonnyp]

16 hours ago, kalifire said:

Sorry to hijack this thread for a specific area, but we're overdue a Melbourne contingent meet up, surely. There's at least half a dozen of us here and it would be lovely to get together when we're able to, hopefully in a few weeks.

Down for that. Likely won't be able to do much on Saturdays past mid-November once we open up due to cricket. Getting a pub spot might be a bit tricky the first few weeks unless we go early arvo or book well in advance, otherwise I've had plenty of practice recently of drinking in parks again.  

[MaxPower]

9 hours ago, kalifire said:

About $2k (AUD). Sometimes slightly less, usually a little bit more. 

Ooft, thanks!

I flew return from UK to Sydney in late December 2016 and it was about £800, so was hoping a June flight would be a bit less but alas!

[kalifire]

26 minutes ago, MaxPower said:

Ooft, thanks!

I flew return from UK to Sydney in late December 2016 and it was about £800, so was hoping a June flight would be a bit less but alas!

It’s possible to fly for less than what I pay if you’re willing to put up with lower quality airlines and longer journeys. I usually fly with Malaysia or Singapore airlines, and upgrade to an exit row seat. That’s the sweet spot. 

[kalifire]

Started looking at flights today. I won't be in a position to book until mid-November at the earliest, but just to get an idea. Frustratingly, SkyScanner incorrectly lists basic tickets as flexible, so you click on the third party agent website and discover the price you thought it was is much higher.

Can't wait to book, though. Can't wait to see my family again. There will be tears.

[BlackZeppelin]

10 hours ago, kalifire said:

Started looking at flights today. I won't be in a position to book until mid-November at the earliest, but just to get an idea. Frustratingly, SkyScanner incorrectly lists basic tickets as flexible, so you click on the third party agent website and discover the price you thought it was is much higher.

Can't wait to book, though. Can't wait to see my family again. There will be tears.

I started looking yesterday too.

I called Flight Centre, because,  given the border closures and unpredictable Covid environment,  I want a travel agent involved this time, to do the running around if something goes wrong.

Anyway, she did have an interesting point, saying that travel insurance won't cover you for certain Covid related costs like quarantine and hospitalisation if you catch Covid.

But if Emirates and Qatar Airways do cover it with their air tickets.

Yet to find out the details, but for all those going from Aus and NZ it is worth looking into.

Quoted me $1800 return  on Emirates via Dubai,  by the way.

[BlackZeppelin]

https://www.emirates.com/au/english/before-you-fly/multi-risk-travel-insurance/

 

Worth considering 

[John the Moth]

I’ve been looking at flights also, currently a couple hundred $ lower than the flights I cancelled for 2020, although Emirates isn’t coming up as an option so can’t use my air miles.

[kalifire]

How are we feeling, international crew? Flights booked? Feeling good? 

[MaxPower]

Flights not booked yet but feeling good about it - currently trying to work out how I can make the trip from Sydney while taking the minimal amount of annual leave. 

[Butterz]

2 hours ago, kalifire said:

How are we feeling, international crew? Flights booked? Feeling good? 

Feeling pretty good.  Getting ready to book flights.

A little worried about potential international testing requirements and having the whole thing fall part due to a false positive or asymptomatic positive (obviously wouldn't attend if sick).  Probably we'll just quarantine before the flight to be extra sure.  Also a little worried about catching something at the festival and then needing to quarantine in the UK for 10 days or whatever before flying home.

[Heather90]

Feeling pretty confident for us

We have 3 coming from Switzerland and 2 from Poland. No flights booked yet but only because I'll watch I've had a few other trips to book. 

I've been getting back and forwards between UK and Switzerland since summer last year pretty easily, with just a few blips with quarantines being introduced. 

We plan to fly into London the Friday before, in case PCR test results are needed. Fingers crossed things will stay at least at the current state. 

I can see the festival (government) asking for a lateral flow in 48h before departure but that shouldn't be too hard to organise. 

[Calvin Klein]

Not feeling good AT ALL. 

Main thing is being able to afford the trip, which is not looking good. But then I am vaccinated with Sputnik, which is not recognized by most countries as valid, so I would have to quarantine I guess? 
The Mrs is terrified of crowds now so that wouldn't be very pleasant either. 

So...yeah, not looking good. I still don't completely accept that I will be giving up the tickets though. 

[Suprefan]

11 hours ago, kalifire said:

How are we feeling, international crew? Flights booked? Feeling good? 

Yeah, everythings booked apart from train fare leaving the festival the monday after. Just gotta pay the ticket balance and thats that.

only other concern is what the rules will be regarding entry. Still gonna be testing involved in 5 months or not. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edited January 15, 2022 by Suprefan

[Memory Man]

4 hours ago, Suprefan said:

only other concern is what the rules will be regarding entry. Still gonna be testing involved in 5 months or not. 🤷🏻‍♂️

If youre vaccinated & can prove it i personally doubt you will need to test. If testing even for the vaccinated is brought in, it would likely be a festival decision as at no point have uk gov required testing for vaccinated & i personally doubt the festival will go over & above the minimum requirement given the burden of checking at the gates

testing was not required for the vaccinated for summer 2021 festivals in UK. No reason to think it will in 2022

if you aint vaccinated then all bets are off but likely just a negative test 

Edited January 15, 2022 by Memory Man

[Butterz]

36 minutes ago, Memory Man said:

If youre vaccinated & can prove it i personally doubt you will need to test. If testing even for the vaccinated is brought in, it

Vaccinated visitors flying into the UK now currently need to test within two days of arrival.