Melvin Benn Back As Director

[incident]

5 minutes ago, blutarsky said:

That's not operated *by* Coca-Cola though. Traders decide what products to bring on site, and as long as it's not in single use plastic bottles, all good. 

Traders decide what product to bring on site on their initial entry, but then when they need to restock they do so from the on-site wholesaler. There's some exceptions to that but not generally for "off the shelf" stuff like soft drinks - so there is a "lack of trader choice" in that respect.

But yeah, I don't think there's any formal arrangement with the Coca Cola Company and certainly not an exclusive one. Can't specifically remember seeing Pepsi on site, but I certainly have seen traders selling Whole Earth Cola and other soft drinks from that range.

[stuartbert two hats]

2 hours ago, fred quimby said:

Is this in relation to losing Money or Melvin?

If Melvin then he was in this position for years and nothing changed so not sure why it would this time

Agreed.  He was there between 2002 and 2012.  During that time, there was a substantial rollback of the visible sponsorship around the site.  There wasn't a Rizla or Smirnoff Ice tent in 2011, but there was in 2000.

[gooner1990]

2 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Another obstacle to commercialisation with companies that fit the ethos. 

That's not operated *by* Coca-Cola though. Traders decide what products to bring on site, and as long as it's not in single use plastic bottles, all good. 

We had single use plastic bottles behind the bar in 2019. 😶

[Leyrulion]

2 hours ago, incident said:

Traders decide what product to bring on site on their initial entry, but then when they need to restock they do so from the on-site wholesaler. There's some exceptions to that but not generally for "off the shelf" stuff like soft drinks - so there is a "lack of trader choice" in that respect.

But yeah, I don't think there's any formal arrangement with the Coca Cola Company and certainly not an exclusive one. Can't specifically remember seeing Pepsi on site, but I certainly have seen traders selling Whole Earth Cola and other soft drinks from that range.

I was extrapolating a bit from the trader application FAQ

"Successful applicants will be advised of the brands they are allowed to sell, these brands will be available from our approved wholesalers."

They never say what their approved brands are but that suggests they do have deals in place, albeit not necessarily with coca cola. 

I think a lot of the sponsorships, if any, will be that behind the scenes stuff that sort of subliminally seeps in even though it's not in your face. E.g. EE and the guardian

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Leyrulion

[stuie]

7 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

The main difference with current technology is that there is no need for a constant WiFi/5g. As long as the devices at the till have power (and battery technology has improved) then the transaction will go through.

So one of the main points of failure is gone. But I completely agree that it is when it fails and no one on site can get a beer that the problems begin.

How would all the trader terminals and bar POS talk to the payment server? I can’t see them all being hard wired.

[stuie]

I really hope this RFID is an absolute shit show for Boomtown, just so no other festival ever thinks this is a good idea ever again! 

Also, Boomtown is the festival that kept us waiting outside the gates for 10 hours a few years back.  Good luck 😂

[Leyrulion]

3 hours ago, stuie said:

How would all the trader terminals and bar POS talk to the payment server? I can’t see them all being hard wired.

The assumption built in is that you have WiFi/5g/whatever for your POS system. But if there's ever a lag or bad signal that doesn't delay the sale as it can communicate with the server 1, 5 or even 30 minutes later when there is signal or space for it to do so. The customer shouldn't notice anything as the small delay in syncing all the data isn't enough to throw anything out of whack.

I guess it's not designed for long periods of blackout over half a day or so. Not sure what happens if you buy something and it hasn't updated your "credit" yet. 

I experienced it in a city where phone coverage isn't an issue but in rural Hampshire where they might not get phone signal for half a day I guess they may have issues if they haven't put enough onsite provision in. 

I am at the edge of my knowledge here I'm afraid, if anyone knows more jump in! 

 

I'm hoping to volunteer boomtown this year, so equally invested in them having cash alternatives!

Edited January 11, 2022 by Leyrulion

[dotdash79]

Mesh networks and low power networks will work for most festivals sites. So long that it’s kept separate from other networks. 
 

here a place that does them. https://www.intechnologysmartcities.com/smart-festivals-and-events/
 

some permanent festival sites will have fibre internet installed to a central point. Others will use microwave line of sight. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by dotdash79

[whitehorses]

9 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Easy as anything to do it - we have an iZettle device (bought for £30) which we use to collect the fines at rugby. Quick tap of the card and done. 
However, I'd imagine smarter dealers would be concerned about the paper trail that would be establishing. I definitely wouldn't want to create an electronic link between myself and a dealer.
 

That’s fortunate no one I know did that then at Arcardia 😅

[Paul ™]

9 hours ago, dotdash79 said:

Mesh networks and low power networks will work for most festivals sites. So long that it’s kept separate from other networks. 
 

here a place that does them. https://www.intechnologysmartcities.com/smart-festivals-and-events/
 

some permanent festival sites will have fibre internet installed to a central point. Others will use microwave line of sight. 

Not even permanent sites, eg Latitude and IOW this year had fibre/copper temporary installations all over the place, miles of it.. all ripped out after it. 

To do it on the scale of Glastonbury whilst isn't impossible, would take a hell of a lot of set up and infrastructure.

[Memory Man]

My view with the Melvin appointment is that he is an old friend doing them a favour. It seems a belts & braces thing to ensure they can navigate any restrictions & get the event on in any circumstances.

i would be shocked if anything of note visible to a standard punter (aside from covid entry process) changes whatsoever because of his appointment. I think theres so many aspects of what makes glastonbury, glastonbury that the eavii just wont compromise on.

[Pinhead]

Melvin's relationship/ deal was different with Glasto back in the early 00's. Then he took over logistics somewhat however Eavis remaining in creative control. May be different this time around - Melvin's backing / cred in return for Melvin getting some sponsor mates in or his preferred rfid people to harvest all that commercial spending behaviour...

[Leyrulion]

1 hour ago, Pinhead said:

Melvin's relationship/ deal was different with Glasto back in the early 00's. Then he took over logistics somewhat however Eavis remaining in creative control. May be different this time around - Melvin's backing / cred in return for Melvin getting some sponsor mates in or his preferred rfid people to harvest all that commercial spending behaviour...

The Glastonbury book talks about him being brought in so they could actually get a licence in 2002. Then he left in 2011 because he "rubbed people the wrong way".

[Pinhead]

Yeah it was the year of the fence and he was brought in on a contract with GFL where he gained an increasimg stake in the festival each subsequent year after up to 40% I think. MDC would only consider renewing the site license if he was brought on at the time (this was back in the days it used to be reviewed every year and we all used to sit on eFests waiting for Neil who used to go the the hearings and post up how they were going as it happened). Surprised he departed as late as 2011 tho as by then it was all very different and confidence in the festival under Eavis alone was much higher.

[MrHew]

3 hours ago, Pinhead said:

Yeah it was the year of the fence and he was brought in on a contract with GFL where he gained an increasimg stake in the festival each subsequent year after up to 40% I think. MDC would only consider renewing the site license if he was brought on at the time (this was back in the days it used to be reviewed every year and we all used to sit on eFests waiting for Neil who used to go the the hearings and post up how they were going as it happened). Surprised he departed as late as 2011 tho as by then it was all very different and confidence in the festival under Eavis alone was much higher.

All us ticket holders would be glued to the thread desperately hoping for positive news. No wi-fi or fast broadband in those days so Neil would go silent for ages as he had no signal. Or our dial up would go down and we'd scramble to get online again.

[Leyrulion]

43 minutes ago, MrHew said:

All us ticket holders would be glued to the thread desperately hoping for positive news. No wi-fi or fast broadband in those days so Neil would go silent for ages as he had no signal. Or our dial up would go down and we'd scramble to get online again.

Do those threads still exist? Find that fascinating!

[Paul ™]

12 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

The Glastonbury book talks about him being brought in so they could actually get a licence in 2002. Then he left in 2011 because he "rubbed people the wrong way".

He was only ever going to be there 10 years. 

[Gnomicide]

10 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

Do those threads still exist? Find that fascinating!

When Neil gets the site back up, if the old news articles come back, there are a couple that have blow by blow details of the appeals. 2002 and 2003, they are linked on The Thingy but obviously the links don't work at the moment.

 

[John the Moth]

On 1/8/2022 at 4:31 AM, Gnomicide said:

Niche. Did you know they only made 13 episodes?

I’ve got the complete series on DVD (remember those?)