Glastonbury 2010 - 40th Anniversary

[LilMissHissyFit]

I need a tent I can stand up in but this year managed to get hold of a Sunncamp Tarn 300 which is tall but doesn't have a massive footprint. I wouldn't want to go family camping in it for a week but for festivals it's just the job.

I have a 4 man but then usually theres either 3 or 4 ( once 5) kipping in it
I was staggered at the amount of space the bitchfight lady wanted to save for 'her children'
They had no more children in their group than we had in ours but they had three 6-8 man tents with living areas and so on and they STILL cordoned off enough space for chairs and a campfire in the middle.. ( our camp covered about half the space and eventually contained 5 adults and 6 children in small tents.

as she set up I thought "Oh fuck off you stupid cow" the fuss she made, and she continued to whinge about "people who wanted to take space from children" well after the stewards had reasoned, failed and buggered off

 

[Badgers]

Two room tent for a couple is nothing to moan about compared to the groups who set up their big communal space areas amid the circled wagons. Those that bring big Gazebos and such though surely?

Anyone else noted that fat people seem to steal more space than the thin?

 

[Badgers]

Also please note the rule:

2 person tent sleeps 1
4 person tent sleeps 2
6 person tent sleeps 3
100 person tent sleeps 50
Etc...

 

[madzone]

I have a 4 man but then usually theres either 3 or 4 ( once 5) kipping in it
I was staggered at the amount of space the bitchfight lady wanted to save for 'her children'
They had no more children in their group than we had in ours but they had three 6-8 man tents with living areas and so on and they STILL cordoned off enough space for chairs and a campfire in the middle.. ( our camp covered about half the space and eventually contained 5 adults and 6 children in small tents.

as she set up I thought "Oh fuck off you stupid cow" the fuss she made, and she continued to whinge about "people who wanted to take space from children" well after the stewards had reasoned, failed and buggered off

Selfish cow

 

[Badgers]

Oddly this is never an issue at other festivals I go to. Perhaps Glasto should sell less tickets or something?I know people like Bono are essential to making it fucking amazing but they are expensive to book? That could reduce the need for so many tickets?

 

[madzone]

Oddly this is never an issue at other festivals I go to. Perhaps Glasto should sell less tickets or something?I know people like Bono are essential to making it fucking amazing but they are expensive to book? That could reduce the need for so many tickets?

Fewer

I did wonder this year if it really has to be so big. You can only ever see about a fifth of what you want to see. But that maybe just me because I can only get to about three stages.

And that's one of the very few problems about disabled camping - there are always issues of space because they never seem to have a big enough field despite knowing exactly how many are coming.

 

[mysterygirl]

Has anyone blamed big tents yet? They should do. 10 years ago couples generally slept in 2 man tents. Now they have 4 room Behemoths. With porches. No wonder the camping gets crowded!

It was touched on earlier in the thread and we mentioned it at the festival within our group. I'd love to have a small tent that I could stand up in - bad back, bad ankles, getting old... I don't want heaps of space but I would like to be able to stand up in my tent. Fortunately this year wasn't so much of an issue because it was dry

I need a tent I can stand up in but this year managed to get hold of a Sunncamp Tarn 300 which is tall but doesn't have a massive footprint. I wouldn't want to go family camping in it for a week but for festivals it's just the job.

and Im going to have a look at this, madz thanks I don't need a new tent yet but when I do I shall be looking for a smalll standy-uppy one

 

[Badgers]

Fewer

I did wonder this year if it really has to be so big. You can only ever see about a fifth of what you want to see. But that maybe just me because I can only get to about three stages.

And that's one of the very few problems about disabled camping - there are always issues of space because they never seem to have a big enough field despite knowing exactly how many are coming.

I organise events and if there is an appetite for bigger space then we will normally increase the size, pay for more space, advertise a bit more and add more staff to accommodate.

Perhaps the Glasto organisers see adding more people as a service to the music community and a chance to give more to charity? I like Glasto and the fact that it is not like a corporate festival but space is always a major moan by most people isn't it?

 

[tarannau]

There is space though, just not where people want to camp. To be honest after you've schlepped an hour to your preselected point to find it rammed with tents, the last thing you want to do is find another distant spot.

But there was a fair bit of space available - friends discovered big open patches of land on Thursday afternoon for big tents, the area remaining quiet all festival.

 

[newbie]

Of course it doesn't have to be so big, though it's worth considering how much heartrending disappointment comes up on the annual threads about getting tickets. The demand to be there far exceeds capacity. I reckon the aim of the thing is to make people happy, so which is better, less people being slightly more happy, or more people with slightly greater irritations?

If there was an aim to make it smaller by reducing demand it's entirely possible, with an obvious first step: kick the BBC out. Just get rid of them, and let it be a festival for those who are there, without the emphasis on people on couches watching big name popstars on the telly.

 

[madzone]

Of course it doesn't have to be so big, though it's worth considering how much heartrending disappointment comes up on the annual threads about getting tickets. The demand to be there far exceeds capacity. I reckon the aim of the thing is to make people happy, so which is better, less people being slightly more happy, or more people with slightly greater irritations?

If there was an aim to make it smaller by reducing demand it's entirely possible, with an obvious first step: kick the BBC out. Just get rid of them, and let it be a festival for those who are there, without the emphasis on people on couches watching big name popstars on the telly.

I meant big in terms of entertainment/venues - not a reduction in numbers of punters

 

[tarannau]

No way - the sheer breadth and diversity of Glastonbury is what makes it special imo.

The late night area's finally come together, compensating for the decline of the Dance field and the loss of the chaotic fence-down days. I don't know where else you'd cut tbh - maybe fuck the John Peel tent back down to size, reduce Kids or Circus areas or make similar alterations, but they'd impact somewhere.

 

[The Octagon]

Also please note the rule:

2 person tent sleeps 1
4 person tent sleeps 2
6 person tent sleeps 3
100 person tent sleeps 50
Etc...

This ^^^ and then some, I had to buy a 3 man pop-up tent from the on-site Milletts on the wednesday, having found out too late that the "2-man" version I had bought was too short (and I'm not that big a guy).

 

[newbie]

I meant big in terms of entertainment/venues - not a reduction in numbers of punters

ah, my misunderstanding. Oh no, if anything the expansion west means there ought to be more entertainment venues out that way, especially a late one.

 

[madamv]

I get that it's people's holiday but it's also a festival and overly big tents is one of my bugbears. I had to buy an emergency tent that I could stand up in last year as mine leaked like buggery and the only one I could get was a two bedroom vis a vis. It was kind of ok taking that to Womad where I had the kids with me but I just felt hideously guilty taking it anywhere on my own. I need one I can stand up in and that was the only one I could get at the time but I was still aware that I was taking up way too much space. I think if people are complaining about lack of space then everyone needs to work out if they can maybe downsize a bit. It is a holiday but it's not a camping holiday per se.

Of course, and I am certainly not suggesting the like of which LMHF has been talking about... The gazebo/camp fire festival is a smaller concern, not something like Glastonbury. But a decent (not huge) tent isnt something scandalous or outrageous.

Next year, there will be 3 of us in a 6 man which is no where near a 6 man tbf. And my fat arse takes up too much room when getting dressed etc to reduce it

 

[William of Walworth]

Has anyone blamed big tents yet? They should do. 10 years ago couples generally slept in 2 man tents. Now they have 4 room Behemoths. With porches. No wonder the camping gets crowded!

Well not quite 4 room ..... but big enough ... this larger tent is our intermediary stage before eventually graduating to LiveIn Vehicledom!

At least we don't clutter up the public fields

 

[Looby]

Also please note the rule:

2 person tent sleeps 1
4 person tent sleeps 2
6 person tent sleeps 3
100 person tent sleeps 50
Etc...

This is true. Ours is a 4 man which would fit 3 at a push, I can't see where you'd put a 4th as although it's got 2 bedrooms they aren't equally sized and the little one is very little. The porch is quite large which we didn't realise but as others have said, if you want to take food and a stove etc you need space for that. You also need somewhere for muddy boots and wet clothes in rainy years.

 

[killer b]

ours is a 5 man, but including the living area could easily sleep 10. maybe more at a squeeze.

i wouldn't dream of taking it to glastonbury though - the bastard weighs a ton...

plus. who spends any time at the tent?

 

[Velouria]

Has anyone blamed big tents yet? They should do. 10 years ago couples generally slept in 2 man tents. Now they have 4 room Behemoths. With porches. No wonder the camping gets crowded!

Michael did mention, in his talk, that big tents are an increasingly large problem [so to speak]...

I'm still using my two-man Eurohike my mum (bless her) bought me but, after seven years it's finally developed a rip . I am contemplating repairing it but this does also provide a fine excuse to upgrade to something roomier ... thus making myself part of the problem

 

[Velouria]

while that may be true for a lot of people it's not universally what packs us all into those fields together, there's so much more to it than just music and that includes making it as wonderful as possible for kids and always has.

Personally I think provision for kids is outstanding (although there's a bit of a gap for early teens), I've certainly never been to another festival that compares in any way at all. It's very hard work for the parents, though, which they have to be prepared for because they have full responsibility for their children throughout. That must include provision for the weather as well as everything else, as it always has. And for the, rather predictable, problems of getting in if they arrive at the same time as everybody else.

While I think the festival is responsible for getting people (everybody) in as smoothly as possible, and this year wasn't good, it's not really responsible if anychildren spend hours queuing in direct sun. That, I think, is down to the parents- I imagine they created portable shade or co-operated to enable kids to play under a tree or something. I don't want to underestimate the difficulties they faced, at all, but nor do I think the festival should change well established policies because an experiment in an exceptional year (world cup, so hot) didn't work perfectly.

Heh. I very much doubt YOU actually have ever had to queue to get in, eh. Lucky for some

 

[paolo]

Following in from newbies point...A few years ago, in an interview with Eavis snr, he misunderstood a reference to boutique festivals, and said "oh no, we wouldn't want to do that. We want as many people to enjoy it as possible."

Closer to home, a poster here once remarked that it's as much for a gang of blokes with an England flag surrounded by empty Stella cans as it is for (insert fluffy stereotype).

It's not quite Britain in microcosm (race is the obvious anomaly), but in many other ways it's fairly close.

I like that. Big thumbs down to cutting the numbers.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Has anyone blamed big tents yet?

I feel like a somewhat of a pioneer in this area

My uberdome was the biggest thing on site by a mile back in 2002, now it's compact and bijou compared to some of the things you see

 

[Velouria]

I feel like a somewhat of a pioneer in this area

My uberdome was the biggest thing on site by a mile back in 2002, now it's compact and bijou compared to some of the things you see

Gosh I remember that tent.

It was a godsend when it rained

 

[Ranbay]

We have a 5 meter bell tent for the two of us..... it's fucking awesome

 

[Sunray]

I'm unconvinced by the tent thing. These mega tents that you see are often used by more people than would have occupied the same space in smaller tents, quite possibly less people in the smaller tents.

 

[Sunray]

We have a 5 meter bell tent for the two of us..... it's fucking awesome

I've a 3m awning and that's plenty for four people, 5m is truly ridiculous for two people.

 

[free spirit]

I'm unconvinced by the tent thing. These mega tents that you see are often used by more people than would have occupied the same space in smaller tents, quite possibly less people in the smaller tents.

I've a 3m awning and that's plenty for four people, 5m is truly ridiculous for two people.

have you changed your mind yet?

 

[Sunray]

Often is the key word in the paragraph.

 

[free spirit]

Often is the key word in the paragraph.

ok, but it's definitely true that the amount of tent space taken up per person now is way higher than it was 10-15 years ago (at festivals generally, not just at glastonbury)

Personally I blame wheel barrows / trolleys

 

[newbie]

Heh. I very much doubt YOU actually have ever had to queue to get in, eh. Lucky for some

some


though never 5 hours in blazing sun. I've no idea how I'd cope with that.