Festival soundtrack

U2, Beyonce, Coldplay? Wu Tang Clan?

No, the soundtrack to this festival so far has been 'wooooooo', in a suitably high-pitched voice as you try to navigate a particularly tricky bit of mud. As the site dries out (for the moment, at least), the mud is particularly badly behaved. One minute you're sloshing around in the liquid mud, then you're on a thin, slippy bit, and then you're calf-deep in ooze and being sucked to your doom.

Just as well, really.

This is exactly what happened to me at The Park last night, as I remembered to try and take photos of myself in the mud. Finding somewhere particularly oozy (after spending a few minutes in a tent listening to some Eastern European folk band, with about 19 people crammed onto one tiny stage first, of course) I wedged myself into some ooze and demanded my sister take a photo of me.

Snap, perfect.

Except that I couldn't move my feet afterwards. Well, I could have, but it would have meant that they would have parted company with my wellies, which would have been utterly disastrous. While my sister rather helplessly pointed at me and laughed, I battled against the elements to remove myself from the mud. Eventually made it, with a lot of foot twisting and a fair amount of swearing (which may, or may not have helped, honestly.)

There's some fairly ominous clouds and we've been told it's expected to pelt down later this evening, which will make the mud situation a little better, I suppose, as it'll all turn to liquid, only to start to dry out again tomorrow, and Sunday, which (so far) are supposed to be dry, and about five degrees warmer.


Although the Crocs seem to manage well in the mud, they seem to attract it. I have these sort of...hobbit feet, made out of clumps of mud, which no-one else seems to have managed. The straw fairy has been overnight, so now, as well as big, clumpy mud all over them, I also have enough hay attached to them that I could attempt to make my own alternative-lifestyle house. Very green.

One scoop, or two?

Spotted the JCBs out, scooping up some of the mud before the straw was put down, too, and there's these mountains of woodchippings appearing like islands in the mud, with people sort of sitting down and camping out on them as they eat whatever food they've remortaged their house to buy. Do I sound bitter? Maybe because I paid flippin' £5.50 for a jacket spud yesterday. I could buy my own bodyweight of potatoes with that, in a supermarket.

After another aimless wander around the site, it was back to hospitality (Horse brutality) for a drink in the backstage bar and a bit of celeb spotting. Only Zane Lowe in attendance, which was a bit of a given, really. Still, with the main stages only opening today, I'm expecting Beyonce to pop over to my tent for a cuppa tea any time now. 

Former Midsomerset News and Media Battle of the Bands finalists The Inbredz are playing the Bandstand later, and my sister's making noises about Biffy Clyro, and someone else wants me to go and see Ce-Lo Green with them, so the day is starting to stack up already.