Weirdest thing you've seen at Glastonbury Festival?

[showmethestones]

2005?? Watching The Others in Queens Head, plenty of crowd surfing going on, a girl of the large blend gets up, she was being pushed forward by the crowd and pushed back by the yellow jacket crowd control, this went on for some time, the poor girls dress ended up over her head, was very funny to see.

2007, mud knee deep, walking up past the cabaret tent early one morning and a young couple where screwing on one of the concreate slabs, but stood about 10ft away was a young chap cleary wasted cock in hand trying to pull himself off at what he was watching, I ask the wife to go and give him a hand, she didnt find it funny and sulked all the way to the stone circle

[moheetoes]

Watching the Totum pole laid on the floor being blessed and 'tickled' by feathers in tipi area, the 'hole' being blessed with some guy shouting into the ground, 'Are you there Grandad, Grandad can you hear me' then watching in amazement that after the ceremony being asked if there were any engineers in the area to help figure out how the Totum pole was going to get 'erected', bizarre and probably only at Glastonbury.

[Ruby 1979]

Oh, and just to add my two pence worth to the thread, I perform in the Theatre & Circus Fields at Glastonbury every year as part of a kazoo marching band called The Masters of the Kazooniverse. As if that isn't weird enough, one year we all dashed straight from our walkabout performance to a gig we really wanted to see (can't remember who it was) so we were still in our full uniforms (see pic below).

So we are all stood in a line watching whoever it was, and me and my friend see a guy look over his shoulder and he's got that special kind of face that tells us he's tripping his nuts off. He does a double take, his features contorting from incredulity to paranoia as he sees us all standing there with our feathered hats. I can't help but laugh, knowing what it must feel like to see a whole marching band stood right behind you when you're tripping, but I try not to make it too obvious as I don't want to freak the guy out. But he couldn't stop himself from checking, and checking again, to try and figure out whether he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. His face was just priceless and before long we are all giggling. After about ten minutes he couldn't handle it any more and did a runner, checking over his shoulder to make sure he's not being followed by a marching band.

It still makes me chuckle to think that to this day, he probably doesn't know if we were actually real or not!

Edited January 23, 2015 by Ruby 1979

[glasto-worker]

I have very fond memories of that tent

sorry I missed your reply in relation to ' The Reggae Tent '

I found out a few years ago where they came from - it was a mob of Rastafarians who may have ran a cafe/record shop in Bristol which explains that huge Sound stack they had inside their marquee which if you recall was massive.

I know for sure they did not sell many teas and coffees but anything for the right price could be bought there.

its not marked on the map but you will recall it was in the old market near the entrance.

I have heard various stories as to why they were dropped but cant say if the stories are correct or not.

I reckon that many people never ever went in due to the dodgy characters standing outside.

never bothered me but I can see why some people were dead reluctant to walk inside.

[Wickedfaery]

I always used to be baffled by that fellow who used to carry the massive wooden cross around with him everywhere.

he's probably dead now, sad really

I remember him too

Edited January 25, 2015 by Wickedfaery

[Ted Dansons Wig]

sorry I missed your reply in relation to ' The Reggae Tent '

I found out a few years ago where they came from - it was a mob of Rastafarians who may have ran a cafe/record shop in Bristol which explains that huge Sound stack they had inside their marquee which if you recall was massive.

I know for sure they did not sell many teas and coffees but anything for the right price could be bought there.

its not marked on the map but you will recall it was in the old market near the entrance.

I have heard various stories as to why they were dropped but cant say if the stories are correct or not.

I reckon that many people never ever went in due to the dodgy characters standing outside.

never bothered me but I can see why some people were dead reluctant to walk inside.

Wow... just wow. Thanks for posting this map GW.

You dont have a similar for 81 do you? The one above would be very similar - although I reckon there'd be at least 1 extra marquee down by the childrens play area that became the cinema tent late on.

[glasto-worker]

Wow... just wow. Thanks for posting this map GW.

You dont have a similar for 81 do you? The one above would be very similar - although I reckon there'd be at least 1 extra marquee down by the childrens play area that became the cinema tent late on.

This is before I started working there so did not have access to any crew maps.

as you can see the 1981 map was rubbish but more detail in 1983 and the site had expanded - not much but it was bigger.

Now I know part of the 1983 map is not correct - it claims ' car parking ' first field to the left as you enter but there was camping beside the parked cars as that is the field I parked and camped in.

[Slugworth]

The Pyramid stage has always been in the same place right?

[Woffy]

If i'm reading Glastoworkers map right (in relation to the farmhouse), then yes.

[Woffy]

And in relation to the random tree in the Pyramid field...

[stuartbert two hats]

The Pyramid stage has always been in the same place right?

Not quite. It's certainly rotated, possibly twice. I think it budged over a little bit too. Hopefully Glastoworker will confirm/elaborate - he knows all about the Pyramid's movements over the years.

[glasto-worker]

Not quite. It's certainly rotated, possibly twice. I think it budged over a little bit too. Hopefully Glastoworker will confirm/elaborate - he knows all about the Pyramid's movements over the years.

Your correct it has rotated.

I have not spent all my time measuring it out but if we take

the current Pyramid stage and the Pyramid stage that burnt down then the two are not is the some position and the front of the stage is not pointing the same way.

First we have the Pyramid field - that was always roughly square but look at it now - its more Pyramid shape - by remodeling it and rotating the stage - it allows more people in.

take this shot - if we wind the clock back to 1993 - if that shot was taken in the exact same spot ' you would see the Pyramid stage was square on { not tilted as in this shot }

its no accident why that shot was taken because that tree we are standing beside ' is not the same tree that was there in 1993. '

sometime a few years ago the original tree got tree blight disease and was cut down.

in fact its also a different species of tree - anyone who used to go in the 80's will remember people sitting up on the tree branches and they could see the full width of the stage - try that now and you would be lucky to find a branch strong enough.

Its progress - I can understand why they did it but for me its just weird.

[Brave Sir Robin]

Fascinating stuff Glasto Worker, far more interesting than some of the stuff in books sold about the festival. Maybe you should write one?!

[glasto-worker]

Fascinating stuff Glasto Worker, far more interesting than some of the stuff in books sold about the festival. Maybe you should write one?!

Perhaps if was twenty years younger I would - The best book I have seen about Glastonbury was a large photo book made in the late 80's - I met the female who produced it and took all the photos - it was a cracker but sadly my car was stolen a few weeks later and while I got the car back the bloody book was missing - the next year I was all over the place to see if I could find her stall but I never did find it.

it had images shot inside the Pyramid of the equipment and even the secret bar that used to be under the stage { bizarrely it was full of civil servants seats - they must have been bought at a government auction } so lots of shots of areas that most people don't get to see.

I reckon wickedfaerie should make up a book of her excellent images

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/185111-panorama-2/

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/186827-panorama-photo-8/

and Tort should make a book as well.

[LondonTom]

Apparently work have decided the WBC site is pornagraphic and blocked it

Will have to come back later for the images. (Though I've no doubt seen them posted before!)

[Spindles]

I'm pretty sure the stage rotation took place when they laid the foundations for the new stage circa 2000, following someone with a dowsing stick confirming it should point that way. There's a BBC documentary about the festival which had some really interesting insights into behind the scenes at the festival that year, well worth a watch.

[Changeme]

A man dressed as a farmyard pig(full face mask), rolling around in the mud on all fours. behaving like a pig.
Happened in 2009 and it generated a massive crowd.

it was just unforgetable

[stuartbert two hats]

I'm pretty sure the stage rotation took place when they laid the foundations for the new stage circa 2000, following someone with a dowsing stick confirming it should point that way. There's a BBC documentary about the festival which had some really interesting insights into behind the scenes at the festival that year, well worth a watch.

I'm also pretty sure that the dowsing was to determine the original orientation of the stage and when it was rotated later, it no longer lined up with the dowsing line. I have this in a book somewhere. Will post later.

[not worthy]

I once posted on this forum that the weirdest thing I'd seen at Glastonbury was my reflection on the Monday after not seeing it since the previous Tuesday!

What I meant was that I had aged massively and grown a beard.

Good news - I've now aged and grown a beard anyway - no shocks for me this time !!!!

[Charles Carmichael]

I always used to be baffled by that fellow who used to carry the massive wooden cross around with him everywhere.

he's probably dead now, sad really

He'll be back this year

[verrymerry]

In 2007 near the Miniscule of Sound (which is all I can remember about the location) we went into a circus tent, the performers were suspended on ropes & hoops, but all in gimp suits with rubber willies

[Curlygirl]

TBF by all accounts Coldplay smashed it (I was watching Big Boi and Janelle Monae so dont know first hand) but my friends that attended hardly like Coldplay and said it was surprisingly excellent.

I lost 5hours and 15 minutes of my life that night. Can't remember seeing Coldplay... Tho I apparently thoroughly enjoyed it. Came to at 0315 sitting in the mud at Williams green. Got home to discover sky had 'failed to record'! Gutted

[Curlygirl]

I've done that in a pub dancing to the tunes / noises that were coming out of the fruit machine. I was told about this the day after the evening out. Apparently I was really going for it, and the whole pub was watching (and no doubt laughing).

I have been known to dance to a fire alarm. When the mood takes you ...

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I have been known to dance to a fire alarm. When the mood takes you ...

A fire alarm? That's seriously hardcore. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

[Untz]

I have been known to dance to a fire alarm. When the mood takes you ...