Volunteering 2022

[Jay Pee]

1 minute ago, stuie said:

makes volunteering a whole lot less attractive! 😞

Agreed mate. Fingers crossed but as stated, if there is a tightening up then it's likely to hit all of us whatever the colour of our t shirt

[Pipine]

Wasn’t the EPO thing just a trial in 2019, maybe it was either go full on and adopt EPO for everyone or ditch it?  
 

[Scrump]

I'm unitinitiated, can someone explain the EPO for me?

Have q&a with wateraid in a week and a bit.. presumably whatever this is will be explained to us then 

[stuie]

17 minutes ago, Jay Pee said:

Agreed mate. Fingers crossed but as stated, if there is a tightening up then it's likely to hit all of us whatever the colour of our t shirt

Well then we’ll have to riot on Monday 😂😂

[dondo]

15 minutes ago, Scrump said:

I'm unitinitiated, can someone explain the EPO for me?

Have q&a with wateraid in a week and a bit.. presumably whatever this is will be explained to us then 

Easy Pass Out

Basically means you only need to show your band to get in and out as opposed to paper ticket and pass out bit of paper as well as your wristband

[Jay Pee]

15 minutes ago, stuie said:

Well then we’ll have to riot on Monday 😂😂

We will fight them. At the accreditation kiosk*.

*Onli joking any organisation reading. Peas n love

[dondo]

When I went in 2016 (with no EPO) I collected a few crew bars wristbands but in 2019 (with EPO) I was told my crew wristband was fine. I'd always assumed that meant the recycling crew separate band and not the EPO one. Sounds like I may be incorrect but hopefully we should get something sorted. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by dondo

[Scrump]

3 minutes ago, dondo said:

Easy Pass Out

Basically means you only need to show your band to get in and out as opposed to paper ticket and pass out bit of paper as well as your wristband

Thank you. Presumably to stop people slipping their band off so someone else can take it out and sneak a pal in. 

So this means no access to the crew bars cos we'd have a standard band, right?

[dondo]

55 minutes ago, Scrump said:

Thank you. Presumably to stop people slipping their band off so someone else can take it out and sneak a pal in. 

So this means no access to the crew bars cos we'd have a standard band, right?

Potentially yes. Though given how many people are returnees on recycling crew I'm not sure many if any would chance it.

I think it may boil down to what the non EPO band looks like and whether it's different from an ordinary one or whether the one you need to get into your crew camping will suffice. 

I'll probably check on the Monday and Tuesday to verify 

Edited May 21, 2022 by dondo

[Leyrulion]

Maybe there's no epo volunteering specific because all the wristbands have it? 

I know for Oxfam you'd still have your Oxfam ID card so that might still work if you don't get any other wristband? 

But I'd be very surprised if you only got one wristband, part of the fun of volunteering is collecting all the different wristbands. 🤣

[incident]

1 hour ago, giantkatestacks said:

I'm sure it is OK and I think all the rest of the volunteers with water aid and oxfam will receive the same info unless we are singled out for unusual punishment.  Basically no EPOs this year.

I'd be surprised if Oxfam didn't have EPO (or a comparable equivalent) - given that they're camped outside the fence, and work the gates so need to pass through often.

They've never been as necessary for crews camped inside the fence.

[giantkatestacks]

I think @dondohas what I was thinking. If they replace the EPO with a generic crew band then it doesn't matter.  If we have punter band and recycling band then we may get refused depending on the bar. 

[Beergirl]

27 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

I think @dondohas what I was thinking. If they replace the EPO with a generic crew band then it doesn't matter.  If we have punter band and recycling band then we may get refused depending on the bar. 

What kind of bands do recycling usually have? I'm greenfields crew and we just have one wristband that says Greenfields crew, that's always been gone at most crew bars (those that are open to all crew anyway) 

[dondo]

17 minutes ago, Beergirl said:

What kind of bands do recycling usually have? I'm greenfields crew and we just have one wristband that says Greenfields crew, that's always been gone at most crew bars (those that are open to all crew anyway) 

Last time it was a plastic one rather a fabric one if memory serves me right 

[March Hare]

The staff bars I visited didn’t check my wristband, I had my Oxfam ID round my neck and that was enough.  Entry was pretty much based on a 30 second pleasant conversation started with “hey buddy, I’m here working with Oxfam, just popping in for a drink”. There really wasn’t much more to it.

The ones that are likely to be difficult would be difficult with an EPO or not

[Jay Pee]

9 minutes ago, March Hare said:

The staff bars I visited didn’t check my wristband, I had my Oxfam ID round my neck and that was enough.  Entry was pretty much based on a 30 second pleasant conversation started with “hey buddy, I’m here working with Oxfam, just popping in for a drink”. There really wasn’t much more to it.

The ones that are likely to be difficult would be difficult with an EPO or not

Which is all good advice and experience.  I have said it many times over, a smile and the right attitude is a bigger door opener than certain wrist bands at festivals. 

In a past life, I've got into football stadiums and gigs all over the world without a ticket. It helps going solo also

[tarw]

Is it just the scanning EPOs they’ve got rid of? We were told that we needed to check that our photo was up to date on our profile as they would be issuing laminated IDs and lanyards. Will it just be crew wristband and laminated IDs for passout. 
 

The crew wristband will get you into crew bars (apart from a few area specific)

[Havors]

4 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

I'm sure it is OK and I think all the rest of the volunteers with water aid and oxfam will receive the same info unless we are singled out for unusual punishment.  Basically no EPOs this year.

EPO is the pass out yeah? Oxfams campsite is off site so you have to have an EPO? Or you can't work.... 

Can you tell us what has actually been said rather than some vague hints? 

 

[giantkatestacks]

I only know that recyclers won't have EPO wristbands this year and as a result will have the usual fiddle faddle back and forth to the car park. Obvs  no idea about other crews. 

[incident]

29 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

I only know that recyclers won't have EPO wristbands this year and as a result will have the usual fiddle faddle back and forth to the car park. Obvs  no idea about other crews. 

Even if they don't have EPO (and in all honesty for a crew camping inside the fence, there's no need for them to have them), they'll still have crew wristbands of some description.

It wouldn't shock me if the festival finally did a long overdue rationalisation of the various wristbands out there - there must have been at least 20 different types of crew band alone in each of the last few years, which makes identifying them problematic and actually reduces security. It's a large part of why sneaking into Interstage has been so easy.

Could legitimately reduce that to 2 general staff bands (one with EPO, one without), and then use passes or secondary bands for area/team identification.

[marathonsteve]

We still get a crew wrist band and a Toms field wristband and I didn’t read any thing else in that letter  The epo was just used to tag us in and out if we left the site

[Leyrulion]

1 hour ago, incident said:

Even if they don't have EPO (and in all honesty for a crew camping inside the fence, there's no need for them to have them), they'll still have crew wristbands of some description.

It wouldn't shock me if the festival finally did a long overdue rationalisation of the various wristbands out there - there must have been at least 20 different types of crew band alone in each of the last few years, which makes identifying them problematic and actually reduces security. It's a large part of why sneaking into Interstage has been so easy.

Could legitimately reduce that to 2 general staff bands (one with EPO, one without), and then use passes or secondary bands for area/team identification.

Someone posted the lanyard of a person with stage access to the pyramid and the the number of bands that had been collected was ridiculous.

You're right that it reduces security, no way every security person on site paid minimum wage has all the intricacies of each wristband and day overrides commuted to memory. They'd have to refer to a crib sheet and that slows everything down which they won't be able to do if there's a huge volume of people coming through.

[MrZigster]

23 hours ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

Training was done on Zoom, which was just as well. Bus only from Bristol though, which is a bit of a logistical pain given I’m coming from Scotland, but I’m so glad to be going I don’t mind. Coach pick up is in Millenium Square, about 20 minutes walk from the train station.

So 40 minutes with a rucksack and an unfit body probably then? Are you driving to Bristol or getting a bus or train?

22 hours ago, ohmygod said:

I think after everybody's initial surprise, we're all fine with it now really.  As tranquility said, just glad to be going.   Was speaking to other volunteers and it would appear that Shelter is a notch up on other volunteering options.  Good camping spot fairly central,  no overnight shifts, unlimited showers, better food allowance, cheap beer.   I think they seem to treat their volunteers fairly well as they want people serving customers to be fairly decent and with it especially if handling mountains of cash.

Probably offended others now and having only volunteered with Oxfam and worked with DC Site Services, I may be wrong, but we'll see.   

Have they moved the campsite then? If not I'd hardly call it central. Outside the fence at the extreme East I'd call it. A fair plod from Ped Gate C. And right next door to THE NOISY CORNER.  Rest is good though (not that you'll likely get much rest).

22 hours ago, ohmygod said:

They didn't state who gad made the call oh the coaches.  Just said that costs had hugely risen and after 2 years they needed to get back on their feet.  They did say though that they may reconsider next year though.

So glad too hear that but not optimistic. Once a cost has been cut they tend to stay cut in my experience.

21 hours ago, garc1a said:

aye im heading down from scotland also, it was a bit of a pain and cost a wee bit more as i already had my train tiks to london and accommodation booked in advance.. i thought i was being well smart booking in advance. a few jigs here and there and its prob added another 100 on to my travels and accommodation.  i am now heading to bristol to stay on the monday night where as i would usually be in london.  

all sorted however, i do hope it goes back to travelling from London next year, i did enjoy getting a day/night out there before heading to the sommerset fields/.

I think the train and then overnighting on the Monday would be the only way for me to do it if the Bristol thing remains. Unless anyone knows where I could park in Bristol for a week nearish the pick up point. Did you have much problem booking accommodation? Is it close to the pick up point?

[Tranquility of Solitude]

12 hours ago, MrZigster said:

So 40 minutes with a rucksack and an unfit body probably then? Are you driving to Bristol or getting a bus or train?

I’m driving, from Scotland, leaving on the Monday, and staying overnight just off the M5 near Birmingham. I’ve booked a car park spot near where the bus leaves Bristol. I also plan to stop over Monday night on the way back at the same location. No way could I safely do that drive in one go after 6 nights at the festival.

My bus time is 10am on the Tuesday. I’m travelling solo, so have plenty room in my car. If the timings fit in with you, happy to give you and your gear a lift from the train station to nearer the bus departure point, DM me if that’s something you would like to arrange. That goes for any other Shelter volunteers on here struggling to work out how to get to the bus.

[amfy]

13 hours ago, MrZigster said:

 

Have they moved the campsite then? If not I'd hardly call it central. Outside the fence at the extreme East I'd call it. A fair plod from Ped Gate C. And right next door to THE NOISY CORNER.  Rest is good though (not that you'll likely get much rest).

 

To be honest I loved the site of The Shelter campsite, it’s actually nearest to where I used to camp in my early Glastonburies, that you can’t get anywhere near now. We were always somewhere round what became Lost Vagueness and then Shangri La, but camping round there was gradually shunted out.

I love coming in through the cabaret fields, being nearest to them and Avalon & Acoustic, not too far to West Holts, before you know it at the Glade. 

As for noise at night, at Glastonbury I find I am always tired enough to sleep after the first night, & I am better with the steady noise of the night stages, than a quiet field being randomly disturbed by people getting home at different hours of the night.

I think it’s a great spot.