Local Residents

[Marblehead]

So this yeat I'm not attending the festival for various reasons but unlike other years when I did, I am now living over the river in Caversham.

My questions is to any other forum-ers here who might also live locally; what's it like for non-attendees in the town centre (Caversham & Reading)? Should I hang around & enjoy the infestation of new folk or is it just best to leave the area for the weekend due to noise, litter & my usually quiet places being horribly over-crowded?

As I said I've attended many times before so don't have anything against festival folk, my main worry is that I'll not be able to go about my usual daily life becuase of the excess of bodies about the place - or am I mis-reading it & most stay onsite & away from the town centres?

Cheers

[johnmcga]

Stick around. I've lived in Reading (either slap bang in the town centre, or out a bit on the Basingstoke Road) for the last ten years and although I go to the festival these days, I never used to.

Aside from a much more interesting crowd in town during the day, and in the Oakford and the Turtle at night, you'll notice no major disruption, unless you try and drive anywhere on Thursday or Monday or try and catch the train out of Reading on Monday.

(The congestion doesn't bother me as I don't have a car - in fact I welcome it because it slows traffic down generally.)

It's the best time to live in this town and I always enjoy going out on the Thursday night, with plenty of festival goers about. Embrace it. Even better, go and pick a day ticket up. You know it makes sense. (Although not for Friday, the line up really is poor.)

So yeah, the disruption is minimal. Some locals always moan. But I figure they're the same ones that moan about everything.

Edited August 19, 2011 by johnmcga

[mrtourette]

If I wasn't going I don't think I'd want to stay in town, not because of any disruption but because seeing it going on would make me feel even worse about not going.