balti-pie

I’m very much of the ‘I’ll be going as long as they’ll have me, and as long as I’m physically able” school of thought - going to download two weeks before Glastonbury did mean I was always physically on the back foot, I was already a bit knackered and now I’m even more bloody knackered and taking ages to recover! Stewarding on top of the normal festival movement does mean for a lot of steps, a lot of time on the old feet, and not a lot of recovery time. There’s always something to see and do. Amazing memories though, and fitness can of course be worked on 👍

I think we absolutely need proof of this, perhaps in the Temple on a sunday afternoon, in a pile of tomatoes 😄

Hell of a question. It'd feel a bit lost on the pyramid, too many people who are at the pyramid field to watch whatever is on instead of being there for Tom Waits (i know that sounds a bit snotty, i don't know how else to phrase it!) and he's not exactly approachable, easily digested sunny afternoon entertainment for the masses, to say the least . . . acoustic too small, but a tent would be the right vibe - woodsies doesn't especially fit - west holts used to be the kind of place to put things that don't fit into easy slots, but that's evolved a bit over the last decade or so as well. Headlining The Park would be amazing! i think it would have a potentially massive crowd, lots of people wanting to give it a burl, and that crowd up against a big shiny headliner on a main stage would sort the wheat from the chaff. But probably a pyramid. in summary: dunno LOL

Cattle decapitation; as their politics/leftism would be a perfect fit for the Truth stage, a la Dead Kennedys and Gojira when they played

the sausage fingers of Charles makes me feel quite ill, its a very arresting image - a good flag if it engenders such a visceral reaction i guess 😄

that'll save a lot of bog-awfully boring and repetitive conversations, excellent!

ta 👍 i'll keep an eye on oxfam and see if a place comes up! I hear its friendly and lovely and small, and the volunteer set-up is nigh on unrivalled - i hear the same about Beautiful days but i absolutely bloody hate the Levellers so that does put me off a bit 😄 its a looooong drive down there too, Northants is much easier to get to.

I like the look of Shambala, but is it all a bit too dancy? The website barely has any actual practical info on it as well! where is it? secret location in Northamptonshire is a bit bloody woolly 😄

The Dirt, the Motley Crue book, is an absolutely excellent read - it doesnt matter than you might not particularly like the band, if anything its even better as a result of them being really pretty ordinary - its the classic rock n roll tale of debauchery and nonsense but through four different sets of eyes with all the classic arguments and recriminations. All four of them seem like really terrible people, but especially Tommy and Vince 😄

Was it? Bloody hell! That’s a loooong time ago

2014 I think: when did U2 pull out a couple of weeks beforehand and get replaced by Gorillaz? It was defo that year cos we found our way into the Temple of the holy Bono where they had Guinness on tap and all manner of weird shenanigans going on down the alleys

The only way to manage this is just to say a time and a plan, and you work towards it. If nobody else wants to go, or needs chivvying along, then thats their lookout - youve organised a workable plan and if you have to go on your own, so be it. Sets when youre on your own are great, no worrying about getting lost/if theyre enjoying it/if theyre missing out, just you and the act you really want to see!

Yeah, that isn't great, i'm very much with you there. The shower token collectors looked to be particularly incompetent - id have thought a one in/one out policy would be self policing and he could then sit there and do nothing (as he seemed to do anyways) and instead he'd not let people in for ages, and then go check the stalls and let five of us in at a time. he was complaining of a terrible hangover but ill be honest, i dont care about your hangover mate, id just like a shower, stop titting around!

Little from column A, little from column B for me - i have a job that's about half and half, and i am a very enthusiastic sitter downerer. I bloody love a sit down. But even with decent hiking boots, with the amount of walking done as standard at glastonbury, and the kind of uneven stony ground found at gates and stewarding areas, its a recipe to have bloody knackered feet at the end of each shift. Some volunteers - and i'm aligning myself very much with Stuie here - are perhaps a little more naive and inexperienced in these matters and expect to have a really easy eight hours spent having a nice chat with people, and are put out by having sore feet. 'But my feet hurt! how can i stand up and do the duties i'm completely aware of and have been trained and informed to undertake?' well . . .

There is, it sounds like quite a fun role - not knowing where you’ll be despatched to, and then sweeping in like an angel to sort everything out 😁 though a couple of people I know had that role on the Tuesday night, and there was nobody that needed any help so they sat there on a night shift in the marquee, bored out of their minds, unable to leave or do anything til 6am. Sometimes doing nothing is a worse punishment than doing a boring something - I’d far rather have a job, even if it’s as pointless as button clicking (which is an oxfam role, and one i’m quite happy to do - literally clicking once for each person who comes through the wide load aisle! With great responsibility comes great . . . strong right thumbs)

I broadly agree with everything else you say, but have to counter on this one - you're a steward, its one of the majorly visible roles and first contact with the festival proper a lot of people have every day, i dont want to sound like a boring company man but its really not much to ask for people to be stood up and at least vaguely engaging with the role. There's barely a position where sitting is even vaguely appropriate. We had a couple of people on our second shift who nigh on demanded a seated role, and then sat around with faces like wet weekends moaning about basically everything, skipped off without being relieved at the end of their shift full of beans, and then didnt turn up for their last one. Dicks. It goes quicker if you get stuck in, stay on your feet, engage positively, and just get into the role instead of moaning. (and I'm not suggesting you were one of the moaning types btw! i'm more whingeing at the people who skipped out on my shift!)

Would love to see a few full reports from non-oxfam volunteers - where they camp, the pros and cons, shift allocations, when they can arrive, etc etc. Ive done three years with oxfam and enjoy it, and am very happy to continue, but wouldnt mind trying someone else if it were a bit easier on the feet 😄

Mariah Carey has never played a festival, and not live at all for about four years - it'd be a hell of an ask, but with an increasing amount of these headline/legend one-offs in the last decade - Rolling Stones, Elton John, Adele, and to a lesser extent Dolly and Lionel etc etc - its not impossible. There's a pretty convincing argument to be had that it'll cement her as an all-time legend and thats pretty damn appealing even if the £££ on offer isnt quite a Vegas residency level of money

Thats pattern E, only with the sunday night converted to a wednesday shift: i had the same shifts but my weds was a 2-10 instead! nice shifts, would happily sign up for them every year 😄

😄 his comments have always stayed in my head, i'd love to know what he expects of a live performance! more hair gel and pouting, and less drums and soul of course

Those fellas make some decent vids, actually - they're a bit annoying for the first ten minutes and then i seem to get used to them and its a good watch from thereon in. Agreed though, they just want meat n potatoes rock bands, and dont seem too interested in expanding their horizons even just a little bit. Theyve plenty of opportunity to do exactly that, and still its arctic bloody monkeys lyrics shouted at each other. And man would he ever learn to pronounce disaronno even slightly correctly 😄 Enough with the Vic Reeves Eranu!

😊 you’re cool, it ended up being proper informative anyways! Drove thru Street this year on me way to Glastonbury town for a night before the festival, wouldn’t mind staying round there again - quite enjoying the research tbf

(Whispers it quietly) there’s a bed there. In Tow & Hitch. A full proper made up bed. The amount of lustful looks I’ve sent towards it: not the people in it, they can all piss off and get out of the way, no matter how gorgeous they might be - I just want a king nap in a bed in a bar at Glastonbury 🥳

It’s always worth trying to schedule some decent rest time in after shifts too - my first instinct is always to gambol off, all full of intentions to see this and do that, and my feet just can’t do anything like what my mind wants to: I’ve taken to heading to Tow & Hitch for an hour after an early, having a beer in an armchair, and taking my shoes n socks off. It’s not rock n roll, it’s deeply boring behaviour, but it is really restorative. They’ll have a DJ putting out a nice bit of afternoon dub, and it’ll be relaxed and lovely - bit of time there and I’m sorted 👍

Yeah, chalk me down for volunteering ahead of tickets too - it’d be a bit of a stretch to save up the £400 odd for ticket and parking, and working helps ensure I don’t drink lots cos I have to be up and ok for my shifts, too. I don’t mind missing bits of the festival, getting there on a Monday means we get extra at the beginning anyways - with the staff bars, nice camping with showers and the contribution we help make to charity, it’s an all round great package for me. Ive been to nine Glastonburys and much prefer heavier music that is rare to find, so I don’t have anywhere near as much FOMO as a lot of other people might: I’m quite content to sit down in t+c and bask in the funny around me, which can be done at all times of the day and shifts don’t especially effect that. can totally see if doesn’t suit everyone though! If you get a bum shift pattern that stops you from seeing the band you love, that’d suck.