tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79367605692540775692012-02-16T09:40:13.328ZYes, we know it's in Pilton...Laura Lnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-37111646983633299252011-09-02T22:47:00.001+01:002011-09-02T22:47:21.684+01:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-51316352776337836352011-09-02T18:29:00.001+01:002011-09-02T18:29:52.494+01:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-75856781989007427632011-06-27T16:30:00.003+01:002011-06-27T17:29:41.049+01:00

Wednesday: 1. Putting up three tents Basecamp Billie Blog, and Ollie. I'm not a camper. I may have mentioned this. I hate tents, I hate insects, I hate the cold, and the wet and I hate having to put on fourteen layers of clothes before I can get up to have a pee in the morning. The fact that I managed to put up three tents was nothing short of a miracle, and something I will be adding to the

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87288239839794816232011-06-26T22:48:00.001+01:002011-06-26T22:48:23.122+01:00

Lead singer, whose name I can't remember: "whoo! What a festival. You got all the music. Kaiser Chiefs, man." Crowd: *approval* Qotsa: "and Beyonce over there..." Crowd: boooooo

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-14517196255138544262011-06-26T20:17:00.001+01:002011-06-26T20:17:23.536+01:00

The crowd for Pendulum. Two years suddenly seems a very long time.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-52747553718468324632011-06-26T19:59:00.008+01:002011-06-26T19:59:00.695+01:00

Quickly tapping this out while belting to the Pyramid for Pendulum, and then dashing off to the Other for QOTSA, before I head back to reality for another...725 days. Ugh. The festival remains the only place I have ever managed to forget the real world entirely, and it's something I will always remain grateful that I am allowed to attend it in this capacity. I don't know what I'm going to do

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-76090785946285306852011-06-26T19:40:00.000+01:002011-06-26T19:40:00.514+01:00

Here's a pictorial tour of Block 9 and Shangri-La. I'll try to put words to them, but..honestly...sometimes that's pretty hard to do. The MSF hospital, showing the tools they have to work with in disaster zones, as they try to stop the 'e-coli outbreak' in Shangri-La. Traffic control in Block 9 I've seen worse parking than this in my local Tesco. This train was delayed because there

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-79186045282825197722011-06-26T19:32:00.000+01:002011-06-26T19:32:00.089+01:00

This little guy is doing laps of my netbook for some reason. I shall call him Buggy. My fwend Buggy.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-38384127624901276442011-06-26T18:32:00.000+01:002011-06-26T18:32:49.965+01:00

It's one extreme to the other here. Yesterday I'm shivering and wrapped up in fourteen layers and sludging around in mud, today I'm in a pretty sundress and sweating in all sorts of places. Like my ears, for example. My /ears/. Met up with a friend today (thankfully, this time, he decided not to blog on my behalf (I got him back by stealing his phone and texting his male cousin to tell him he

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-18194468908182236662011-06-26T16:33:00.001+01:002011-06-26T16:33:00.695+01:00

Glastonbury Shuffle ..course, saying that, I won't miss the Glastonbury Shuffle, the weird walk you develop after four days of trying to avoid the mud, the other people, and tent pegs and ropes. It's a sort of stampy, slidy, arm-waving affair that makes the whole place look like a Ministry of Silly Walks convention, with Deeley-Boppers and Wellies.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-34219835931991560492011-06-26T15:12:00.000+01:002011-06-26T15:12:00.402+01:00

I don't suck at my job too badly, but I wouldn't really describe myself as a people-person. I'm actually reasonably sure I shouldn't like festivals. A trillionsquillion people squished into a huge site, a line-up I'm not too convinced about, camping and walking for miles are.. honestly my least favourite things to do. So why DO I love this so much?

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-7572938800102719692011-06-26T14:03:00.005+01:002011-06-26T18:42:01.692+01:00

Rain + 900 acres + 177,500 people = mud. And in many interesting forms. First, you get the liquid mud. It's runny and slippery, but on the whole,'s not too difficult to maneuver (although this is what I fell over in.) Then it dries a little, and gets lumpy. This is pretty dangerous mud, as it's unpredictable. You can't be sure if it's going to slide away under your welly, stay in place and

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-59388581826146746272011-06-26T12:39:00.001+01:002011-06-26T12:39:00.412+01:00

Sunday rolls around with the promised heatwave and already people are taking down their tents and either heading out, or preparing to. Once again, I'm not quite ready to go home, but I think that's sort of the point - "It was a delightful visit . . . perfect in being much too short." Flogging Molly, doing a passable impression of this blog template, actually. So as much as I could probably

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-42028586640299743222011-06-26T12:11:00.002+01:002011-06-26T12:11:38.988+01:00

Just been told the death was a 'senior, Tory politician'. There are no suspicious circumstances.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-31700052814245030522011-06-26T09:59:00.001+01:002011-06-26T10:06:56.442+01:00

Trundled down to the press bit this morning, only to be confronted by this: There's been a fatality in the Winnebago section. I don't know who it is, or what happened, but it was really jarring to come around the corner and be confronted by a crime scene.  Only the rich, beautiful and famous can afford to stay in the Winnebagoes. I haven't heard anything more about who it is, or how they died,

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87284979940296048912011-06-26T08:38:00.001+01:002011-06-26T08:38:59.695+01:00

Glastonbury is all about learning new things. At around 4am this morning, for example, I learned that my sister cannot open a tent door. Mind you, at least she got her whole body into the tent, Ian Mat. That bloke a couple of tents up is still trying to inflate his air bed. He was doing it at 3.30 this morning, too. I'm rather worried he had done this, and nothing else for the whole festival.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-52718384153349701222011-06-26T03:08:00.001+01:002011-06-26T03:08:48.079+01:00

I've had a great day, spent with great people, perfect in every way. Yes, even falling over in the mud. It was an experience. Have you ever fallen over in mud so high that you fear for the safety of your wellies, and so wet that its mostly a river? Exactly. After Flogging Molly, it was back to the caberet tent backstage bit with Ollie and Lewis and Tom for more drinks, and those conversations

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-17745778133790783932011-06-26T02:42:00.001+01:002011-06-26T02:42:00.478+01:00

At night. Just had a rather spiffing night, and staggering back to the tent feeling amazing. Huzzah!

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-46357387655845929302011-06-26T01:47:00.000+01:002011-06-26T01:47:00.094+01:00

You might think that the mud is Schadenfreude for all those people who didn't get tickets and are muttering about how it's all so commercial and sold out and it's raining and anyway they weren't bothering to go. All those lovely pictures in the mail of people trudging through sludge. Naaaah, Schadenfreude is a single, designer welly, stuck in the mud. Am I a bad person if it makes me smile

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-81982340809916651152011-06-26T01:22:00.001+01:002011-06-26T01:22:05.921+01:00

Now that I've wrestled my phone off Lewis. Although he /can/ dance.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-83428280598012380242011-06-26T01:13:00.001+01:002011-06-26T01:13:18.971+01:00

It's a tad sweaty in here, but I can die knowing I saw FM. And I'm sooooo glad I did. Drunken lullabies nearly bought the stage down. I have my dancing wellies on. And boogieing with the gorgeous Lewis Powell. WOW he can dance!!!

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-46349964549169386122011-06-25T22:40:00.001+01:002011-06-25T22:40:26.435+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-44648968087728539722011-06-25T22:05:00.000+01:002011-06-25T22:05:04.924+01:00

I've evicted Style.com from their bit of press desk and I'm trying frantically to sober up a little in the press tent before Flogging Molly? Why? Because I want to remember I've seen them. Quote of the day came from a Pap, who was belting along after some woman or another, swiftly followed by many of his flock, scrambling over the mud, which has now turned into something deadly and mutinous,

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-33137737146553756902011-06-25T19:24:00.002+01:002011-06-25T21:24:02.539+01:00

The sun is out, and I've had one white Russian, one blue lagoon and a rabid dog. The mud incident is mostly forgotten (except for the grime beneath my fingernails)  and I'm gearing up for flogging Molly in a little. I really can't wait. Apparently Phil Jupitus described it as 'ten thousand people in a lift'. Even taking a tumble into the mud turned out to be awesome. Lots of people were

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-42594137215487004892011-06-25T17:27:00.002+01:002011-06-25T21:23:23.052+01:00

So, guess who fell over in the mud? Guess how many wet wipes it took to clean me off? Correct answer gets a smack in the chops. I blame Gary Stringer. He gave me an interview and I came over all unnecessary.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-73744664205700462142011-06-25T15:54:00.003+01:002011-06-25T22:22:12.335+01:00

Stringerbessant's PA broke down, do they just hopped off the stage, sat on a couple of camping chairs and played and sang louder. So cool. Can't imagine Bono doing that, somehow. 

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-47649984505228194992011-06-25T15:47:00.002+01:002011-06-25T21:20:14.584+01:00

Mmmm. I want to marry Gary. Lovely little intimate gig in a tent that's very pretty, but a bit of a sweatpit at the moment. Well worth scaling the mud for, although getting down the hill could be a bit of an Eddie the eagle moment. The sun is out! My sister snapped a photo of Bono. All is right with the world.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-27491837128272571732011-06-25T14:35:00.000+01:002011-06-25T14:35:48.614+01:00

This morning I tested out the no rinse shampoo and conditioner. Took a bit of confidence as I was reasonably convinced that I was going to end up with a hair that looked like noodles, but, well, you haven't seen some of the hair around here. Took pretty much the whole bottle to work up a lather, but it seemed to work. Then I poured on the conditioner, and my hair looks clean (if a bit mad) and

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-57589267537991381252011-06-25T14:17:00.000+01:002011-06-25T14:17:00.334+01:00

Zomg. Disaster. The lilo is no more. I have no idea what I did to it, but it managed to deflate itself and when I tried to blow it back up again, it stayed the same shape. Did a bit of exploring and I've somehow managed to split the damn thing.  No more living on a lilo for me, I guess. Rubbish. Attempts to repair the lilo with a spare blister plaster were, sadly, fruitless, and my lime-green

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-41185418270535646072011-06-25T12:08:00.000+01:002011-06-25T12:08:20.388+01:00

I'm still not sure how I felt about U2. I mean, they didn't put a foot wrong - although if press reports about the protest group being wrestled to the ground by security guards are correct, that's not terribly Glastonbury at all. I've started to resent famous people holding the mike out into the air and asking the crowd to sing. I'm sure we're supposed to appreciate the gesture, and I can

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-52718733815575342072011-06-25T08:52:00.001+01:002011-06-25T08:52:09.346+01:00

Alright. I admit it. I don't get camping. Who was the guy (lets face it, a woman would never have come up with it) who went: ("I know! We've spent generations evolving and learning to make houses and things. What people really need is a few bits of fabric and some poles between them and nature! I'm a genius!) Trying to get dressed and undressed while lying down is just stupid. And I'm developing

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-45461281186395725772011-06-25T08:18:00.001+01:002011-06-25T08:18:26.110+01:00

Excuse me, weather? Sorry to bother you, but this doesn't seem to be the twenty degree heat we were told we would be getting? Do you mind checking the forecast and altering yourself appropriately? Cheers.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-86553103565937077632011-06-24T23:45:00.001+01:002011-06-24T23:45:11.029+01:00

Try not to fall off the stage, Bono.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-23333275214670382752011-06-24T21:53:00.000+01:002011-06-24T21:53:00.037+01:00

Time to leave the relative safety of the press tent and head out to see what this amazing-thing-U2-are-doing-with-the-Pyramid that everyone keeps talking about, is. Will try and blog from the phone, if I can. If not, see you tomorrow.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-17254064738414842652011-06-24T21:45:00.000+01:002011-06-24T21:45:00.532+01:00

Ewwww, it's all getting a bit wet out there. Even the sky is mad at Bono about this tax thing.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-65699791725878541642011-06-24T21:28:00.000+01:002011-06-24T21:28:13.002+01:00

Press tent when it's raining: Press tent last year, when it wasn't:

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-62422698562060140452011-06-24T21:10:00.000+01:002011-06-24T21:10:56.690+01:00

Made it to the Pyramid and into a lovely, friendly crowd for Biffy. There was much drinking of strawberry cider, a little rain and speakers so powerful that they made my Regatta waterproof shake. Biffy took to the stage having forgotten to put their shirts on to a song I vaguely recognised and played some other songs I didn't recognise, and more that I didn't. Regardless, it was good to be back

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-43966185697836146762011-06-24T19:36:00.001+01:002011-06-24T19:36:25.450+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-12656959205821717532011-06-24T19:35:00.001+01:002011-06-24T19:35:54.036+01:00

Did you miss me? A bit of drizzle and a huge crowd come out for Biffy. How come he talks with a Scots accent and sings with an American one?

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-25844095160862519252011-06-24T18:45:00.003+01:002011-06-24T18:45:00.700+01:00

So, again, it's all pictures of mud and sloshing around and people face-planting in three inches of muck. There's the photos of the stars, the stages, the stone circles and the inevitable photo of wellies and long-drops. Obligatory photograph of long-drops. But it's so, so much more than that. Trying to instill the spirit of Glastonbury into words is almost impossible - the feeling of having

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-47249764200627652792011-06-24T16:54:00.000+01:002011-06-24T16:54:00.127+01:00

NME? Q? It's the WI columns in our paper you need to be watching. 

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-49655181815397106492011-06-24T16:53:00.000+01:002011-06-24T16:53:08.242+01:00

1) Meet up with friend #1 2) Meet up with friend #2 3) Find colleagues who are due to arrive on site at any moment and direct them to tent 3) Shangri-la/Block 9/Arcadia 4) See a band, or whatever. 5) Eat some sort of Yorkshire pudding based meal 6) Hug more strangers 7) Trek up to the stone circle and come over all philosophical 8) Find self, also clean socks 9) Get mildly freaked out, but also

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-74032073570333687552011-06-24T15:53:00.000+01:002011-06-24T15:53:11.168+01:00

Joined forces with Ollie to trek to the bandstand to watch The Inbredz, who started off with a small crowd of locals and ended up with huge crowd of people from all over, bemused at the lyrics. I  don't think that there are many rap groups who could work around The Wurzels 'Combine 'arrvester', but they did it in style. The Inbredz on the Bandstand There's been a particularly menacing dark

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-50222202638615955812011-06-24T13:57:00.001+01:002011-06-24T13:57:44.847+01:00

Made a rather eventful trek to the cabaret tent, in which I bought a bottle of diet coke (a personal highlight), got hugged by a troll, watched a midget strong man bend a pole around his neck and got shouted at by a pair of Aussie life guards who had set up camp either side of one of the roads and were telling people off for swimming, walking, breathing and heavy petting. No, I'm not telling you

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-40929781722606552282011-06-24T13:14:00.001+01:002011-06-24T13:14:00.745+01:00

When I was a little younger, there was a song I really loved, called To be with You, by Mr Big. Because I was in my teens and music was therefore the only thing that understood me, I used to get incredibly upset when my sister, who hadn't listened to the words as intently as me thought the chorus went 'living on a lilo', when he was actually singing about 'living on a line of greens and blues' -

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87711062363207354322011-06-24T12:30:00.001+01:002011-06-24T12:30:24.066+01:00

Harry Enfield, James Blunt and: Sister: "that guy looks like Will Young. Oh! It is Will Young!"

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-85335794416415479682011-06-24T11:58:00.000+01:002011-06-24T11:58:35.957+01:00

Thanks so much for the comments, but please no effin' and jeffin'. My mum and my boss read this. Some children may, too. :)

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-21143364061570050012011-06-24T11:06:00.000+01:002011-06-24T11:06:33.271+01:00

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

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-80869717874527759072011-06-24T08:38:00.001+01:002011-06-24T08:38:04.965+01:00

Hello Glastonbury. The sun is out, I've probably had about three hours sleep between shouting people, loud music and being so cold that I can't feel my feet. And now the sun is out, the tent is like an oven and I'm too scared to look in the mirror because my hair feels like its doing a /thing/. Seems as good a time as any to get up.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-16494127763754845152011-06-23T23:14:00.001+01:002011-06-23T23:14:41.355+01:00

Zane Lowe in the backstage bar. Think that's gotta be worth five points, right?

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-15576805738047883722011-06-23T23:10:00.001+01:002011-06-23T23:10:17.389+01:00

Bumped into someone who may have been Chris thingy from Coldplay, or a "very tall Simon Pegg". Or it might have been Stephen Marchant. Thinking about it, though, it was probably just some random festival punter.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-40584197934515646012011-06-23T21:52:00.002+01:002011-06-24T11:10:10.671+01:00

Remember the fallen. We shall never forget them. I hope mine don't meet the same fate.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-21488200387195868972011-06-23T20:09:00.001+01:002011-06-23T20:09:00.863+01:00

I've just spotted the number of hits this blog got today. I'm sure not all of them can be my mum, or someone I've threatened with bodily harm for not reading this thing. I can't believe over 3,000 of you have read this thing. Thank you so much. Now. Where's that chip van?

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-89153573653612986612011-06-23T20:00:00.001+01:002011-06-23T20:00:17.936+01:00

It's all getting a bit in-tents around here. Get it? I'm here till Sunday.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-19605606880824336702011-06-23T18:59:00.000+01:002011-06-23T18:59:24.733+01:00

Well, the good news - for me, at least - is that I have a very slow wireless connection. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to trying to tap these entries out on a smartphone, honestly. OK, the coverage isn't that great from the site, and the blogs I tried to post from notable places (the bar, the bar, another bar, and a long-drop) don't appear to have gone through, so here's a

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-84548541370924913892011-06-23T14:48:00.001+01:002011-06-23T14:48:16.828+01:00

You know I said I was going for a wander? Instead, I spent ages trying to get the netbook to connect, so NOW I'm going for a wander. posted from Bloggeroid

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-73802547708394265342011-06-23T13:53:00.001+01:002011-06-23T13:53:26.800+01:00

Have finally moved onto the site , and, as usual, there's no connection to the outside world, so I'm resorting to have to type this out on my phone. Conditions on site are muddy and slippery, I've already had to have a wet wipe bath, but everyone seems to be in a reasonably good mood, except for a few security guards. Campsites are pretty busy at the moment - latest figures suggest there are

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-90528289356685730002011-06-22T20:33:00.001+01:002011-06-22T20:33:55.204+01:00

Have just returned from a triumphant trip to Worthy to bag a bit of real estate for the gang. It's pretty muddy out there, but depending on what weather forecast you read, things are getting better. Or worse. Still, three tents set up by one chick and one guy, without argument or drama and in the space of about an hour. Not bad going really. This year the camp is dedicated to Billie Bear and

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-6391971074221769882011-06-20T15:58:00.001+01:002011-06-20T16:16:31.089+01:00

I arrived home from work on Friday evening to discover one of those little red cards from the postman to let me know he's had problems delivering a 'package' to my house. Since the sorting office had closed, on Saturday morning, dutifully armed with some ID, I nipped down to the post office to pick up the package. Oooh. Packages! Firstly, the post office and I have a different idea of what

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-29886424823163183372011-06-17T11:59:00.002+01:002011-06-17T12:03:45.236+01:00

Are you, like Ollie, one of those people who took up Mr Eaviseses offer of cycling to the festival from one of the nearby towns? Those with good enough thigh-muscles and a bike that isn't rusted to the floor of their garage are being invited to cycle to the festival, with promises of several rewards, including a free lock-up, and a super-special campsite all to themselves. Cyclists also get a

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-36182222837722844982011-06-15T12:43:00.001+01:002011-06-15T12:45:25.978+01:00

The CSG will be selling goody bags at the Festival just round the corner from the Pyramid Stage for £2.50 - they're pretty good. Trust me, you'll love 'em. None of that tatty carrier bag stuff, oh no. You get a lovely little nylon back pack, a copy of the paper, the 16-page festival supplement, and a competition to win festival tickets to Wilderness, Sunrise Off Grid and Farm Festival, a tent

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-4052457140031481372011-06-13T18:14:00.006+01:002011-06-14T17:24:14.169+01:00

So, it turns out that flags are like buses. The whole time I've been going to the festival, I've never felt the need to have a flag to mark my tent. This year, I did. No, I don't know why either. Perhaps it's because it's the last one until 2013, and I need to get all the flag-waving out of my system. Maybe because it's that I'm less than sure of my ability to remember what my tent looks like,

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-4130765677566514542011-06-13T15:15:00.000+01:002011-06-13T15:15:11.713+01:00

A huge thank you to 'A visitor, Bridgwater, Somerset', who became my 2,000th hit. Whoever you are, you're awesome.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-75673616228369887282011-06-13T14:58:00.002+01:002011-06-13T18:32:56.901+01:00

It's the Daily Mail's fault. They declared a drought, and the heavens opened and it's been cold and bucketing down ever since. With 9 days to go until the gates open, I've been perusing the long-range forecasts this week - as always, the results are mixed - but as a selection: Weather Outlook is forecasting a dry, but not particularly warm weekend: Wed 22 JUN - 15 °C Thu 23 JUN - 14 °C    

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-14944980342837808392011-06-06T16:38:00.000+01:002011-06-06T16:38:10.220+01:00

My festival preparations began in earnest this weekend, courtesy of Ebay. First. I have a bone to pick with the world in general. Why was I not informed that this stuff existed? I must have missed the memo. No-Rinse shampoo and bodywash. For years I've been wearing bad hats and giving myself wet-wipe baths, and it turns out that there's a whole range of stuff actually designed for washing

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-78343811074485579792011-06-02T22:16:00.001+01:002011-06-02T22:16:21.191+01:00

Tickets turned up today. I was so excited that I pretty much snatched them out of my bosses hands and scampered off like a small rodent to hoard them from the world at large. The traditional drinks are being arranged, I'm beginning to panic about tents and the weather and whatever black mark that is on my fingernail, but...look! Tickets! Ignore the weird smudge on my nail and look at the

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-18397082138134897962011-05-27T15:59:00.001+01:002011-05-27T16:00:37.452+01:00

Oooh, it's sort of almost a month to go.  I've just spent the last half hour trying desperately to find a song about four weeks, but all I could find was the Barenaked Ladies One Week, so humour me, and play the damn thing four times so I didn't waste my time entirely. So, we've survived The Rapture, and it's all systems go for Glastonbury. Line-ups are being revealed so quickly I can't keep

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-15236754654161151612011-05-19T11:57:00.002+01:002011-05-19T15:08:44.722+01:00

Is all this hot weather making anyone else nervous? Yes, let's not jinx it, shall we? The fence has gone up, and the site is slowly being assembled, like some sort of mad meccano project and the bins and loos are being their traditional fresh lick of paint just in time for everyone to spill noodles and burgers over, and graffiti to death. Squee! The fence is going up! Yay! It's been a

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-14988559568578367572011-04-18T20:40:00.002+01:002011-05-25T17:39:22.189+01:00

When I gleefully reported that there was actually an act I was excited about playing, I wasn't really intending it to be the only one I was excited about. I've looked through the line up, and...well..aside from Flogging Molly, I'm pretty much missing the 'squeeeeeee' factor. Pendulum... I could /sort/ of get excited about, but only if they promise to do Master of Puppets and nothing else for

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-63017638601784957422011-04-04T16:15:00.004+01:002011-04-04T16:45:17.042+01:00

Hold the front page - an act that I'm excited about has been announced! Los Angeles-based Celtic-punks Flogging Molly have announced they'll be hopping onto a plane to join the fun and games at the farm in June. FM probably won't actually be flogging anyone called Molly. Oooh, I loves me a bit of punk, and I loves me a bit of celtic and Flogging Molly are my third favourite faux-Irishmen

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-13715579358170602702011-03-08T16:07:00.001Z2011-03-08T16:09:16.935Z

Ooooh, not long now. It's getting warmer and the sun doesn't bog off the first chance it gets, like a bunch of office workers on a Friday afternoon. Camped under these, one year. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. To tide you over, please find enclosed the festival site, during yesterday's sunset. We're at...well, lots of days to go, still. I've already started my preparation though, spending way too much

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-74598694910060525282011-02-04T16:56:00.000Z2011-02-04T16:56:26.187Z

Rumours were rife this week that the Stones would be headlining the festival, when www.pilton.com put up an image of the Rolling Stone's gurt big mouth logo. All of a sudden, the entire music press worked itself up into a bit of a tizzy. Was it a clue? Did the villagers know something? Had Michael let something slip when picking up a bit of shopping at the village stores? Would the wrinkly

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-42438903814644476332011-01-19T15:19:00.003Z2011-04-04T16:48:51.170+01:00

Just had a bit of a wander around the web to try and find out who the bookies favour for this year's festival. As always, the odds come from Paddy Power who seem to lead the charge in betting on headliners, for reasons I've never really figured out. ..people will really bet on anything, I guess. So...without any further pre-amble... Even looking at this photo annoys me. U2 - 7/4 Yes, last

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-30875481323543428582010-10-20T13:51:00.000+01:002010-10-20T13:51:39.481+01:00

"A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon I had this dream the other night, that I was at Glastonbury Festival and I hadn't blogged the whole time I was there. Damn, it made me homesick. And feel kinda guilty. Been forever since I opened the blog. This week's been particularly exciting in Festival Terms. Michael Eavis turned

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-12512874808624871752010-08-07T22:23:00.000+01:002010-08-07T22:22:05.043+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-24296499633207449022010-08-07T21:02:00.001+01:002010-08-08T12:48:26.591+01:00

So, I'm sat here in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, a little worse for wear after a few ciders and waiting for Madness. This is a whole world away from the festival, there's a guy sat near me wearing a pullover and smoking a real-life pipe. An actual pipe! People have picnic tables. Its weird. There's hardly a flag in sight. I'm sat on a camping chair, for goodness sake. But Madness are

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-77804942174358256532010-06-30T20:44:00.000+01:002010-06-30T20:46:13.359+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-16481905380234790052010-06-30T09:52:00.006+01:002010-07-01T14:39:36.406+01:00

So. How did the Crocs do? Let's try for a scientific analysis. This'll go well. First, I'm not a flipflop wearer. Traditionally, away from work, I favour baseball boots, regardless of the weather. Therefore, my footsies were not really prepared for flip-flips and I wasn't entirely surprised that they rubbed the top of my toe and between my toes. Here's how the flip-flops held up: These

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-23318224713014438792010-06-29T15:28:00.001+01:002010-06-29T15:39:23.844+01:00

So the dust has settled on the 40th Glastonbury festival and SOME of us are back at work. And wasn't it a corker? From the full moon, to the beautiful weather, to the shiny, happy, people in silly clothes, to the acts and the utter lunacy of Block 9, Shangri-la and Arcadia, this year it was something very special indeed. For a couple of the people I've spoken to, this year it was full of '

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-78771843902993826412010-06-28T14:57:00.001+01:002010-06-28T16:55:29.585+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-84778682017344043922010-06-27T22:37:00.000+01:002010-06-27T22:44:24.084+01:00

And, now, the end is near. The sun has set, the site is full of traders trying to get rid of their stock and people desperately chugging 24 packs of Carlsberg because they don't want to carry it home but don't feel right throwing it away. Its been an amazing couple of days. Just amazing. The universe was smiling on us, the weather was beautiful, the people were friendly. I'm ignoring the

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-2098789054496912382010-06-27T20:48:00.000+01:002010-06-27T21:16:20.909+01:00

Someone who looks a bit like Russell Brand, but isn't him!

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-50435587969140878782010-06-27T20:01:00.000+01:002010-06-27T20:09:51.049+01:00

The crowds get ready for Faithless. Football? World Cup? SO over it.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-6494126006202233342010-06-27T19:07:00.000+01:002010-06-27T19:07:00.084+01:00

Lots of dejected Footy fans wandering around, but at least we don't have to put up with the swarms of angry bees on the TV anymore. Here's a swarm of happy bees, spotted earlier in the Circus Field. They're the happiest looking bees, ever. ...there can't be many places in the world that you'd see a group of ladies dressed up as bumblebees and playing the kazoo.  6694 steps today. Clearly, I

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87429521924702186742010-06-27T19:03:00.001+01:002010-06-28T11:01:35.579+01:00

Just hugged me. I cried.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-47050601562106468422010-06-27T18:58:00.002+01:002010-06-27T18:58:00.120+01:00

So, basically, what happened was. I was sat here in the press tent and this text message came through from a number I didn't recognise. "report to security guard at Pyramid stage" So, I did just that, and was ushered through the gates and I was beginning to panic that they'd heard about the fact I know three chords on the guitar and they needed me to stand in as the lead guitarist for a band I

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-2516599220511417292010-06-27T18:35:00.000+01:002010-06-27T19:19:40.669+01:00

... A day over twenty-one.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-41195359854052952652010-06-27T18:33:00.000+01:002010-06-27T19:02:27.189+01:00

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-89313480902232849362010-06-27T18:26:00.001+01:002010-06-27T18:26:00.225+01:00

I've just given myself an ice-cream headache by trying to neck a Minty Madness smoothie from Smooth Criminals stand. SO worth it. Organic heaven in a biodegradable cup.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-13616438668324922302010-06-27T17:42:00.001+01:002010-06-27T17:42:00.062+01:00

NEVER.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-61209953274133977292010-06-27T17:35:00.001+01:002010-06-27T17:35:00.181+01:00

Some things HAVE to remain private. Especially between bloggers and Guitar Gods.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-87074970655539315632010-06-27T17:30:00.003+01:002010-06-27T17:30:00.384+01:00

I'm saying nothing about what just happened.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-80194775040301935982010-06-27T16:56:00.001+01:002010-06-27T17:45:19.724+01:00

Too. Much. Iconicness. Head. Will. Explode. With. Happiness. The world's most iconic guitarist. On the world's most Iconic stage. Playing some of metal's most iconic songs. At the world's most iconic festival. On it's 40th birthday. With iconic sun...ok, stretching that a bit thin, but you get the idea. As far as epic goes, that pretty much had it covered. Sheer brilliance. That was the best

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-40781975045182085112010-06-27T15:07:00.001+01:002010-06-27T17:34:21.111+01:00

Finally together. A love like ours knows no distance. Just as well, really.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-67390923515198006952010-06-27T14:53:00.001+01:002010-06-27T14:53:05.174+01:00

Comes on to the theme to Psycho. It seems unlikely he will notice me. Audience is full of dopellgangers. Sorry England. I absolutely made the right choice.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-37146025270560008822010-06-27T14:47:00.002+01:002010-06-27T16:34:03.191+01:00

If the sound check is anything to go by, I think my socks are going to be blown off. And I'm not wearing socks.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-55205781616079064652010-06-27T14:37:00.002+01:002010-06-27T16:33:30.652+01:00

I'm chilling in the sun in front of the Pyramid with my sister and a few friends, waiting for the man I've idolised since I was about 15 to come on stage and listening to the sound of hundreds of people talking, the competing music from stages, markets and food stands. There's no noise on earth like this. And no feeling in the world like this :)

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-78659184164914622032010-06-27T14:00:00.000+01:002010-06-27T14:13:05.940+01:00

Hanging out in the market! He was such a nice guy, and let me take this picture of him.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-78166080842742599782010-06-27T13:51:00.000+01:002010-06-27T13:51:06.789+01:00

Just came back from a random walk around the site, and ended up being accosted by a swarm of kazoo-playing bumble bees, which wasn't altogether as unpleasant as it sounds, and was nearly run over by a marching band playing that..song from Jungle Book. You know the one. About walking like you, talking like you oooh-ooohoooh-oooh. That one. There would be pictures, but the network is on a go slow,

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936760569254077569.post-75673224346927302562010-06-27T13:12:00.000+01:002010-06-27T14:01:15.994+01:00

The parking this year is just terrible.

Laura Lnoreply@blogger.com0