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Glastonbury 2022

Some people clapped. Some people were just looking at each other.

It was really weird to have a President of a nation state addressing Glastonbury. Felt like a sea change in the festivals culture.
I missed Zelinskiiy ( :( ), but semi-irrelevantly, I did catch a bit of The Libertines set following -- we were on our way to work, along the old railway track ;) :)

But (boldened bit above), I don't think I agree.

Corbyn spoke from the Pyramid ( :eek: ) in 2017, and went down an actual storm!! :cool: :)

The legend! that is Sir David Attenborough in 2019. Similar!! :) :)

Also, The Dalai Lama (2015). Rocked onto stage with Patti Smith! :) ...

As well as a different, and longer, speech from him that year, at the bottom of King's Meadow (Stone Circle Field). Attracted a crowd!! :D

This shit does sometimes work!

Not when Billy Bragg brought Boris Johnson along ( :mad: ) though -- partly what Billy did back then, was because of Have I Got News for You :facepalm:

Billy did semi-apologise in the Glastonbury Free Press about that embarssment this year though .....

More generally, as for "festival culture changing"??? :eek: :confused:

After experiencing forty-plus years of it :p, and developing my real profession over it ;), I'd suggest not ;) .... altogether!! :) :cool: :) ;) :weed:

Meet me over a Cider and spliff to discuss!! :cool:
 
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Anyway, my quick review:

Bummers
Not getting a crew ticket.
Bus being late leaving Bristol.
Not being able to get a decent night's sleep as I was on quite a slope. Also struggled getting in and out of my 3-man tent which I've managed fine in the past. Now considering getting a lightweight tipi.
Going down with food poisoning on the Saturday which wiped-out most of that day.
More hedge-pissers, especially near John Peel (hedgerow yards from some long-drops) and Other Stage (next to the compost loos). Other Stage STILL needs more bogs in the area.
Small increase in litter.
Procrastinating a few times and missing meets and some bands.
Diana Ross - oh dear!
Mistakenly thinking the bus to Glastonbury was half-hourly. It was hourly and I'd just missed one when I got to the bus station.

Trips
Not getting stuck in horrible traffic on the way in.
Quick walk onto site. 30 minutes from getting off the bus to walking through PGA.
Managing to get camped with all my crew.
Being dragged by William to a drum and bass thang called Mr Bruce. Class!
Getting passes to a couple of crew bars and hanging out with a couple of certain Urbanites. :)
Perfect weather meaning lots of site wandering.
Lots more water points which was needed in the hot, dry weather.
Ziggy Marley getting the festival proper off to a nice, chilled start.
Sam Fender - Geordie pride!
Percy doing a great version of "Battle of Evermore".
Skunk Anansie knocking it out the park before my food poisoning really hit.
Recovering from my food poisoning in time for Macca and getting a bit "emoche" during "Maybe I'm Amazed".
Late-night shenanigans at The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Black Dyke band's gentle Sunday morning tootling.
Helping someone at the Info Point in front of my potential bosses for next year <fingers crossed>.
Playing pinball at Glastonbury on Sea.
Bootleg Beatles Sunday afternoon singalong.
Cabaret tent.
Watching the burning lotus.
Late night circus acts.
Having enough energy to climb the Tor on Monday and look across to the festival site where my camp had been.
Coming back without painful feet. Spending £165 on hiking boots (I do a lot of hiking anyway) was well worth it.

Can I go back and do it all again, please?
 
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Downers and Uppers -- Non-Music related

Downers
1.
My Feet. My progress across site was constantly slow, and I missed a lot of acts and happenings in consequence :(
2. For the first time ever! at Glastonbury (G-Fest 2022! : my 23rd! :eek: ), I was busted on our way in. Admittedly, we erroneously "chose" the wrong gate to enter site on Sunday 19/6 -- somehow, we/Van contrived to enter via Yellow Gate, not Red! But a bored-looking team of Security just inside this gate found my weed stash (merely abut £18= worth!) very easily. Partly my fault for not concealing this at all effectively! :eek: :oops:
3. Absence of paolo :(
4. Absence of enough competence on my part, to get to the Cider Bus in time for Urban meet-ups on Wednesday (22/6) and Thursday (23/6) evenings (I hope they went well!! :thumbs: )

More to follow** .... :oops:

ETA!! : **Including NOW! :) :

5. Very noticeably increased prices for all food and for all drink :(
6. In relation to 5., hearing on Worthy FM that 80%, yes EIGHTY PER-CENT!, of all food and other stalls had changed! :eek:
7. In relation to 6., immediately! noticing that Manic Organic had gone! :(. As had the traditionally excellent Gandhi's FlipFlop just before the bridge on the main drag, at the exit from the West Holts field -- Gandhi's were not at Bearded Theory 2022 either :eek:, which had also bothered me at the time :(
8. Park Home Medical Centre closing at 11 am! on the closing Monday! :facepalm: Surely, main Exodus Day!, straight after the Festival, would be a day when they ere still! in much demand? :confused:
9. First World festival "problem" this, :D, but absence of any timetable, or of any knowledge from Crew in general, of Crew-Bus-Tracror!-service! timetables! (Great special crew '+-service though, TBF ;) -- despite the bumping and bouncing tracks! :hmm: )
10. Everything (bar-wise and entertainment-wise) coming to The End! on Exodus Monday! :(

More!! :D Downers and Uppers (mainly Uppers!! :) ) to follow over this coming weekend, Sat 2/7 and Sun 3/7! -- and in new posts! :) :cool:
 
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Downers and Uppers -- Non-Music related

Downers

1. My Feet. My progress across site was constantly slow, and I miised a lot of acts and happenings in consequence :(
2. For the first time ever! at Glastonbury (G-Fest 2022! : my 23rd! :eek: ), I was busted on our way in. Admittedly, we erroneously "chose" the wrong gate to enter site on Sunday 19/6 -- somehow we/Van contrived to enter via Yellow Gate, not Red! But a bored-looking team of Security just inside this gate found my weed stash (merely abiut £18= worth!) very easily. Partly my fault for not concealing this at all effectively! :eek:
3. Absence of paolo :(
4. Absence of enough competence on my part, to get to the Cider Bus in time for Urban meet-ups on Wednesday (22/6) and Thursday (23/6) evenings (I hope they went well!! :thumbs: )

More to follow .... :oops:

Bad luck getting busted :(
 
I missed Zelinskiiy ( :( ), but semi-irrelevantly, I did catch a bit of The Libertines set following -- we were on our way to work, along the old railway track ;) :)

But (boldened bit above), I don't think I agree.

Corbyn spoke from the Pyramid ( :eek: ) in 2017, and went down an actual storm!! :cool: :)

The legend! that is Sir David Attenborough in 2019. Similar!! :) :)

Also, The Dalai Lama (2015). Rocked onto stage with Patti Smith! :) ...

As well as a different, and longer, speech from him that year, at the bottom of King's Meadow (Stone Circle Field). Attracted a crowd!! :D

This shit does sometimes work!

Not when Billy Bragg brought Boris Johnson along ( :mad: ) though -- partly what Billy did back then, was because of Have I Got News for You :facepalm:

Billy did semi-apologise in the Glastonbury Free Press about that embarssment this year though .....

More generally, as for "festival culture changing"??? :eek: :confused:

After experiencing forty-plus years of it :p, and developing my real profession over it ;), I'd suggest not ;) .... altogether!! :) :cool: :) ;) :weed:

Meet me over a Cider and spliff to discuss!! :cool:

You're probably right that the festival isn't changing. But Zelensky is a pro-big business politician. It's not the same as Corbyn or the Dalai Lama.

Will avoid commenting on the eugenicist Attenborough as despite his loathsome politics I do sort of love him.
 
See above (#732) for some updates to my Downers and Uppers -- Non-Music related post.

More! to follow, and with many more Uppers!, over this coming weekend (Sat 2/7 and Sun 3/7) :) :cool: :thumbs:
 
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Downers and Uppers -- Non-Music related

Uppers

1.
Festival Medical Service's professionals in both the Field Hospital in Big Ground (early version -- a hut! :D ) and in Park Home Medical. In the latter I was seen by actual Podiatrists! :cool: :oldthumbsup:
2. The Weather!!! :thumbs:. festivakldeb found conditions too hot on Wednesday (22/6) and Thursday (23/6), but personally, given The Feet! :(, I was much! more happy abiout the near-entire absence! of both R-Word! and M-Word! Because I would very likely have had to stay at home!! :eek: :( :thumbsdown: if any real propsect of a M*db*th had been shown in any forecast. (We're well! overdue one for 2023, mind!! ;) :D )
3. As every year, I absolutely love! our Info Crew job! :cool: :cool: :) :)
4. Which we have been near-promised (by our lovely Green Info bosses!) that we'll get back again in G-Fest 2023!, Same base, we think! :oldthumbsup:
5. My very helpful Rollator Trolley! -- very well worth the £99= investment for it shortly prior to Glastonbury! I can't find the exact same model online, but it looks very much like the one in the picture just below (apart from the higher but still-worth-it price of my one! :confused: ) : Note the built in seat,, and also! note the under-seat box! -- just the right size for an eight-pint box of Weston's Vintage Cider!! from Morrisons! :p
1656812701777.png
 
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6. Gaining access to various Back-Stage Crew Bars!, including the Gold-Dust one -- Theatre & Circus! :cool: The latter has quality Ciders! and Ales! (none of them being available anywhere else!) at significantly cheaper prices (£4:50 a pint! :eek: ). I realise that I'm pulling Crew Privs here ( :oops: ), but after all these years, I do know "people" and their names these days! ;) :)
7. I mentioned the Crew-Tractor-Bus Servce! in my Downers post above (#732), but at certain stages of the Festival** this was absolutely invaluable! :oldthumbsup:
**(Not after public admission though, with only a couple of very early-in-the-day exceptions! :) )
8. Not eighth in positivity or importance, but we both found that almost everyone we encountered, whether Info-seekers when we on-shift, or just generally at bars, or when going around site, or when waiting for gigs, whether Crew or non-Crew, was near-inevitably Polite!, Kind!, and Nice! :)
9. All the Absolutely Lovely! Art-work! and Creativity! on display!, all around site :)
10. Almost Everything Else!! about Glastonbury 2022! -- up there with the Very Best! :cool: :) :thumbs: :beer:;):weed::p :D

More! to follow soon (in a new post! or two!) -- mainly Uppers and Downers about music/artists/gigs! :thumbs:
 
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8. Not eighth in positivity or importance, but we both found that almost everyone we encountered, whether Info-seekers when we on-shift, or just generally at bars, or when going around site, or when waiting for gigs, whether Crew or non-Crew, was near-inevitably Polite!, Kind!, and Nice! :)
I found the same this year, lots of politeness and consideration for others, on the whole. Stallholders were mostly lovely and especially friendly too.
 
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Enjoyed your Downers and Uppers William of Walworth, glad your foot didn't stop you enjoying things, and there were things to help with getting around (not least the weather!).

Thought I'd give this a go too.

Downers:

Missing things I wanted to see: Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Jarv Is, Tankus the Henge, Nova Twins, Chems, Four Tet, some I hadn't even realised were there until after I got home: She Drew the Gun, oh I've forgotten who else now.

Long walk home at night to campervan East, and we had an East general ticket and all our friends had East Quiet and they wouldn't let us sneak in with them, so we got split up from the rest of the convoy. Didn't matter in the end though, we weren't far away.

Could have spent longer sitting round fires.

Struggling to think really, there really weren't that many downsides to it this year.
 
Uppers:

Saw so much brilliant music, top for me were Bicep, Samantics, Jess Silk, Olivia Rodrigo. Second tier: Charlotte Campbell, Diana Ross, 2 young lads that Billy Bragg was showcasing Tom A Smith and Seb Lowe, Moulettes, Mitski, Beans on Toast, First Aid Kit. Saw more music this year than I usually do, probably cos my kids are now old enough to actually enjoy/tolerate the music more. Only spent 1 hour in the Kidzfield (youngest is 12).

Weather was ideal on the whole, bit bastard hot Wednesday, but we'd arrived by campervan Tuesday (smug), so didn't have any lugging in the heat to do like usual. It was a nice mix of hot/warm/only slightly rainy/overcast/sunny. Perfect festival weather, nice sunsets and dawns.

Friends, caught up with so many, some I only see at Glastonbury, so not seen for 3 years. Lovely to be chatting and watching music again together.

Our kids are more independent now so don't need so much keeping an eye on, the eldest did her own thing mostly (17), youngest was content to mostly do what we did, plus a bit of kid's stuff. So much easier than having little ones. And they both had a great time, saw friends too, enjoyed music, and just being there. The Dragon, and climbing the hill to the Glastonbury sign are particular favourites.

Oh, just the whole atmosphere, as I said, people (punters) were on the whole friendly and considerate, got given free stuff/extra stuff at food stalls, a free CD from a performer, people were just generous, kind and helpful. Lovely atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be so glad, overjoyed even, to be back there to party again, it was really special. I thought I might be done with Glastonbury, in '18 & '19, but this has rekindled my love for it, and I deffo wanna be there next year, working hopefully.
 
Don't want to be a downer but are there no scallies and tents getting robbed anymore? Or have they all been priced out?
 
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