Volunteering 2025

[ilovelanegan]

All Oxfam festivals have now disappeared from site...

[-TLR-]

in a way i'm kinda glad they've taken them all down...  i got a shitload of work i should be doing....

[incident]

6 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

(or if you're on one of the main gates you'll be rammed busy all the time)

 

Tbh even the busiest gates can have long spells of f**k all going on - especially overnight.

 

The problem being that they need to staff according to peak demand - so for example you'd be rushed off your feet between midnight and 1am, but then after about 3am it feels stupid having so many stewards standing around doing nothing and getting 1 customer an hour. But it realistically has to be like that - they needed the staff on duty to cover that busy spell, and it'd be horrifically complicated to try and stagger start+finish times to more closely meet demand.

[-TLR-]

things are listed again now...

[ilovelanegan]

1 minute ago, -TLR- said:

things are listed again now...

 

Ugh, Stop teasing us Oxfam!

[balti-pie]

I dont mind the quiet periods, and i dont mind the busy periods either - its just part of it. Its hard work on the feet, and definitely means you wont be running around the place all the time you're not on shift, because its quite knackering, but it does hone your abilities to find little napping spots here and there around the site. The Greenfields are great for this! 

[efcfanwirral]

14 minutes ago, incident said:

 

Tbh even the busiest gates can have long spells of f**k all going on - especially overnight.

 

The problem being that they need to staff according to peak demand - so for example you'd be rushed off your feet between midnight and 1am, but then after about 3am it feels stupid having so many stewards standing around doing nothing and getting 1 customer an hour. But it realistically has to be like that - they needed the staff on duty to cover that busy spell, and it'd be horrifically complicated to try and stagger start+finish times to more closely meet demand.

I got through the night shift thinking that every minute doing that is a minute more music I'll be watching the next day

[Johnnyseven]

34 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

I quite fancy the look of Wateraid as well, i'd like to know where they camp, but thats 6hr shifts that start in the campsite, and when you're done you're done. As long as there's good showers etc, that would be pretty decent. 

 

When I volunteered for Oxfam in 2023, Wateraid were camped up by Emily Eavis' house on the farm.

[astrowerks]

lets be honest Oxfam is massively overstaffed on the main gates. need about 10 people tops. 

[Leyrulion]

1 minute ago, e_p said:

lets be honest Oxfam is massively overstaffed on the main gates. need about 10 people tops. 

If you want it to take two hours to get out of Gate C to go to the campervan field then sure. 

[incident]

1 minute ago, Leyrulion said:

If you want it to take two hours to get out of Gate C to go to the campervan field then sure. 

 

I mean, you could certainly spread the load reducing the downtime to near enough zero that way.

[astrowerks]

maybe you worked at a different gate c to me last year then 

[philipsteak]

Been a good few years since I worked Gate C but the one thing I remember is the crazy long queues to get out after the main stages finished..

[philipsteak]

21 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

I got through the night shift thinking that every minute doing that is a minute more music I'll be watching the next day

 

When stewards are getting a bit grumbly and bored and moaning it I just point out that yes, it might seem a bit pointless being where we are, in the numbers we are, but without these seemingly pointless, seemingly over staffed positions they probably wouldn't be at the festival. The longer all those positions are "over staffed" the better.

[Leyrulion]

8 minutes ago, e_p said:

maybe you worked at a different gate c to me last year then 

When I did it you certainly needed more than 10 people at peak times. 

 

Sure other time's f**k all happens and it feels like a waste. 

[stuie]

18 minutes ago, e_p said:

maybe you worked at a different gate c to me last year then 

 

I'm a supervisor on Gate C every year and you can't do peak times effectively with 10 people - that's a ridiculous suggestion.  I'd struggle to cover all the positions in the middle of the night with that number of stewards.

 

Asides from that, less stewards means less chance of getting a place so I'm not sure why you'd want that? 

 

Congratulations to all who got places today!  I hope to see you in June 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

[astrowerks]

didn't say I wanted that.  

[Paul ™]

4 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

When I did it you certainly needed more than 10 people at peak times. 

 

Sure other time's f**k all happens and it feels like a waste. 

This was a major point on the gate managers feedback.

[stuie]

17 minutes ago, Paul ™ said:

This was a major point on the gate managers feedback.

Each shift has a peak time so I don’t think much will change. 

[Leyrulion]

26 minutes ago, Paul ™ said:

This was a major point on the gate managers feedback.

That there were too many stewards?

[Leyrulion]

When did Oxfam close off campaigning at Glastonbury to new people? 

[dondo]

6 hours ago, balti-pie said:

It really depends on what you like doing - bar work would be much faster paced, potentially noisy, and i've got to be honest there's not much more i'd hate these days! Oxfam is stewarding so can often be right on the very perimeter of the festival, great swathes will involve standing around (or if you're on one of the main gates you'll be rammed busy all the time) but i dont mind it at all, the shifts go by pretty quickly. I'd aim to get there as soon as is practicable on the monday, cos you can have a good wander around the site while its all quiet and clean, and pitch up in the Oxfield. The staff bars and the showers would be the two main advantages that working provide, as well as parking in the field next to the campsite. 

I quite fancy the look of Wateraid as well, i'd like to know where they camp, but thats 6hr shifts that start in the campsite, and when you're done you're done. As long as there's good showers etc, that would be pretty decent. 

 

5 hours ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

When I volunteered for Oxfam in 2023, Wateraid were camped up by Emily Eavis' house on the farm.

Wateraid used to be up in Tom's Field up by the farmhouse next to recycling crew.  Last year, however, they moved to outside the fence near gate B and Tom's Field became all recycling crew. 

[philipsteak]

13 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

When did Oxfam close off campaigning at Glastonbury to new people? 

 

Just saw that mentioned on the Facebook page. 

That's a new one. Only open to "super campaigners" so not even just having campaigned before is enough. 

Blimey.

[philipsteak]

26 minutes ago, stuie said:

Each shift has a peak time so I don’t think much will change. 

 

I've always assumed there's some kind of minimum requirement for numbers of stewards too as part of the licence. As well was factoring for no shows.

Edited February 11, 2025 by philipsteak

[CaledonianGonzo]

Is there a set formula for the shift patterns?