tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79367605692540775692024-02-07T12:49:09.292+00:00The CSG's Glastonbury Festival BlogYes, we know it's in Pilton...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger254125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-64592642348722900192014-06-18T15:23:00.003+01:002014-06-18T15:23:42.182+01:00New blog entry: Essential packing for Glastonbury FestivalClick here to read it :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-80361896295019015252014-06-16T09:43:00.000+01:002014-06-16T09:47:52.708+01:00New blog entry:Has gone up over here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-15970413454754231372014-06-09T09:36:00.000+01:002014-06-09T09:36:11.671+01:00New blog entryis here. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-77761685658539464642014-06-01T13:08:00.003+01:002014-06-01T13:08:23.452+01:002014 starts here. Sort of.The blog has been moved this year, so it actually starts here. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-47573075556494248932013-07-01T10:10:00.001+01:002013-07-01T10:10:32.556+01:00Sunday night roundupThe weather was a mixed bag on the final day of Glastonbury Festival - overcast, chilly winds, but when the clouds parted the sunshine was glorious.It was a day for exploring, more than anything else - the markets to see if there were any bargains to be had - (traders are just as lazy as everyone else when it comes to packing - they don't want to lug things off site any more than we do, so silly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-16722798805538547402013-06-30T18:00:00.000+01:002013-06-30T18:00:05.401+01:00Finally WorthyAh, the end. It comes too quickly.
I am trying not to get sad about it today, and to think of today as 'no more camping day', 'my own bed day' and 'hot shower day'.
I am looking forward to all those things immensely.
It is hard, when you are here, to remember that there is a real world going on outside this steel ring. That there are people who are going to supermarkets, and to work,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-22699305585118795122013-06-30T15:18:00.000+01:002013-06-30T15:18:00.268+01:00In Eavis we trustYou have to hand it to the residents of Shangri-La, they've picked a good deity.
They've always had a bit of a theme up there, that they worship the short-wearing one - and it's plain to see that he's held in rather high regard by the revellers (although, not enough to adhere to his requests to 'love the farm, leave no trace' or not to bring gazebos along, but still.)
This year the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-13099924524981273912013-06-30T12:38:00.000+01:002013-06-30T12:38:00.162+01:00OK, OK..I'm sorry I called the phoenix a duck.
You can just about make out the bird on the ledge of the Pyramid, before it awoke. Also, a massive thank you to whoever bought the massive pair of lips again. Totally didn't obscure the view of the stage or anything.
This was probably the closest approximation of my view. At least I wasn't behind someone tall.
I love the phoenix. Really. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-88046138395194030772013-06-30T10:21:00.002+01:002013-06-30T10:26:46.162+01:00The duck risesI got tangled up in a bottle neck yesterday, somewhere between the John Peel stage, the Other Recharge Tent (biggest queues of the festival are at the phone charging points) and my campsite.
Even the queues here are fun. As a sea of people heading in one direction found themselves confronted by a sea of people heading in the other direction, separated by a line of people who'd been waiting in Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-14525790305853634082013-06-29T18:26:00.000+01:002013-06-29T18:26:00.903+01:00My official favourite festival flagGenius. Been a while since I've seen one that made me laugh this hard.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-11631793909120755202013-06-29T17:20:00.000+01:002013-06-29T17:20:00.561+01:00Good grief! It's sunny!Proper sunny and warm. Official advice: Slap on the sunscreen, drink lots of water and don't drop your ice-cream.
Random band on bridge
Eventful couple of hours. Fuelled up on an amazing mac and cheese, then took a wander up to Shangri-La, Block 9 and the late-night zones. Yes, admittedly, I was a tad early, but they're reaaaaally far away. Those places are just amazing. The theme for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-35314453077307608352013-06-29T15:45:00.000+01:002013-06-29T16:21:35.217+01:00A few sights around the..er..site..This BBC cameraman, whose work will inevitably be obscured by 19,000 flags, yet works diligently anyway. We salute you, high-flying BBC cameraman.
This group playing to an appreciative audience at the bandstand.
This bit of the site, which somehow manages to combine a shanty town with a nightclub and a mahoosive statue.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-86512943545303522182013-06-29T13:18:00.000+01:002013-06-29T13:18:00.290+01:00Flags, gazebos and bottlesThe flags are in abundance this year. It's like with the other festivals trying their best to ban them, they all go crazy here.
I love a good flag, me.
You have to feel slightly sorry for the guy who didn't get a ticket, though.
His friends have lovingly made a flag with his name and number on, urging revellers to get in touch with him and tell how sorry they are he isn't there, and letting Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87452698179025997272013-06-29T10:32:00.002+01:002013-06-29T10:33:45.851+01:00The MonkeesI spent most of last time rammed into the crowd at the front of the Pyramid for the Arctic Monkeys. I was reasonably disappointed to discover I only know one-and-an-eighth of any Arctic Monkey songs, and it turned out that one of them was actually a few lines of Yellow by Coldplay.
Arctic Monkeys - well, sort of.
Still, it was good to join the masses, marching under a hundred silly flags to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-81460279853437695432013-06-28T21:05:00.002+01:002013-06-28T21:05:38.841+01:00Been a funny old dayObviously, it's hard to say exactly what consists of a funny day at Glastonbury Festival. For example, today, I saw a man riding a bike that was actually a piano, singing a song and blowing a horn. I've seen policemen on stilts, which is..well..a bit brave, given the fact it's still a bit muddy in places. As my friend Lewis pointed out, you don't want to slip in mud while on stilts. You could do Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-4537468265440630312013-06-28T20:24:00.000+01:002013-06-28T20:24:00.160+01:00The more things changeThere's a bit of a retro feel to this year's festival - and not just the vintage clothing and everyone trying to look like Kate Moss two seasons ago, or Dita Von Teese, or the fact that Kenny Rogers is playing.
The Green Fields, are of course, the heart and soul of the festival, 60 acres of Mooncups, meditation, peace gardens, organic living and recyclable pretty-much-everything. The stone Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-68271118070553914832013-06-28T17:45:00.000+01:002013-06-28T17:45:00.690+01:00Just a few snapsJust been out and about for a bit of a wander, and figured I'd share a few snaps to give you an idea of what's going on around here today.
Rain was forecast for this morning, and we had a bit of a shower around 8am but other than that the weather has been gloriously dry and reasonably warm at times. The sun is drying the site out just nicely and with any luck I might be able to ditch the welliesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-74183433432157552132013-06-28T14:58:00.001+01:002013-06-28T14:58:01.710+01:00Really?So apparently I am going to have to post from a smartphone. Wonderful. Turns out all those anxiety dreams weren't anxiety dreams, but the onset of psychic powers.
Dammit, I always hoped I'd get something cool, like super strength.
Well. There has been cider, which was warm, but rather lovely. There was getting stuck behind a tractor full of you-know-what, and that was significantly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-11077291071713089002013-06-28T11:36:00.001+01:002013-06-28T11:36:20.311+01:00Morning, campers!I'm pleased to report I have not only successfully survived the night, but that I'm also feeling fresh as a daisy. Considering the circumstances - tent, rain, cold, sleeping on a lilo that squeaks every time I move, world's biggest festival - I slept pretty well.
(Every time my sister moved, and her lilo let out a 'pfffft!' noise, anguished, she shouted out 'THAT'S NOT MY BOTTOM!')
The tent Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-13160456083394306432013-06-27T20:31:00.003+01:002013-06-27T20:47:52.080+01:00Well...The wifi is sort-of up. It's currently slower than me trying to get out of bed this morning, but it's technically up. The press tent is basically just full of frustrated photographers charging their iPhones.
Not the best start to the 2013 blog, but I persevere.
So, where are we?
Well, the tent is up. Obviously. When we got here it was hot and everyone was dressed in shorts and little tops and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-60925104815206710022013-06-27T14:06:00.001+01:002013-06-27T14:06:37.190+01:00Surprise!Well,  the tent is up and the site is full of life - which is more than can be said for the Internet access in the press tent. 
Apparently some 'dudes are panicking around the back', so hopefully we'll have it soon. All hail the power of the smartphone.
In the meantime, I might as well go for a bit of a wander.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-49607887846288190722013-06-27T10:00:00.000+01:002013-06-27T11:01:11.770+01:00T-109 and countingWell. Here I am again. Back for another year, after a depressingly Glastonbury Festival-free 2012.
This entry is cheating just a little, as I'm sat at home on my couch, my preparations for this moment, which..well, have been in place since I dragged myself off Worthy Farm last time around, mostly complete.
My preparations start stupidly early - I've had pretty much everything apart from my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-29337944996997734472013-06-14T16:16:00.004+01:002013-06-15T00:39:06.579+01:00Mad things I have bought for Glastonbury 2013Planning for Glastonbury is a notoriously tricky affair. You have to take the British summertime into consideration, which means I've set aside everything from suncream, fake tan, sunglasses and flip-flops to thermals, a fleece-lined hoodie and all the cheap Thinsulate stuff I could hoover up off eBay.
I think my preparations are just about as good as they're going to be at this point.
The tentUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-27814088064567502572013-05-23T15:26:00.000+01:002013-05-23T15:35:09.705+01:00Camping? The big news this week is that, apparently, Mick Jagger will be camping at Glastonbury Festival.
In an interview with Q magazine, he said:
"I've got nothing else to do on Glasto weekend, and I want to spend
some time with my family and have a good time as well. We went camping
all the time when I was a kid. Camping in France was our family holiday.
And we brought baked beans with us, as Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-59258107591207483032013-05-20T17:01:00.001+01:002013-05-23T15:30:08.962+01:002013 The 2013 blog starts here!Traditionally (yes, traditionally. The fact that this blog is only five years old doesn't make it any less of a tradition, thank-you-very-much) I relaunch the blog when the festival officially announce the full-line up.
That hasn't really worked out this year, the powers-that-be released a few names here and then, than rather randomly released most of the line-up without warning (although Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2