What happened to the flushers?

[SloopJohnB]

So....went for a walk up to the top of Big Ground in the Sunday to get a photo across the site. I noticed that the flushers had gone? Are they gone for good? There didn't seem to be many toilets around Big Ground / Row Mead?

[pie_and_a_pint]

A real loss to that part of the site - loooooong walk from the top of the Big Ground to the (virtually inaccessible due to mud) row of composters at the bottom or the long drops near the Kidzfield. 

I expect the flushers used too much water. I don't know why they didn't replace them with an equal number of composters though.

[SloopJohnB]

I take it the queues were massive?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Don't ask me why but I thought to look this up just now after reading the title of this thread. It's OK, I know that the connection is kind of tenuous, but there's no stopping me now. After all we all seem to accept shit information. Don't we?

 

And while looking it up I found this further information (which I hadn't previously known about);

 

I'd just like to add that black poo's could also mean that a feed of Guniess has been had.

 

Here ends tonight's public broadcast information bulletin.

[SloopJohnB]

Mmmmmmm......Guinness.....thats all!!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

2 hours ago, SloopJohnB said:

Mmmmmmm......Guinness.....thats all!!

I don't drink it at all nowadays, but used to try it now and again over the years. The bottled and canned stuff is up there with Tuborg - the dribbly bits of piss that drop off the devil's laddy after having taken a piss. However, the pints of the Guiness drunk (possibly literally) in Ireland seem to taste that much better. It's probably just a psychosomatic thought process though.

 

I tell you what isn't psychosomatic though - Cider Pops from the ice cream man. They are as real as real could be.

[glasto-worker]

12 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I don't drink it at all nowadays, but used to try it now and again over the years. The bottled and canned stuff is up there with Tuborg - the dribbly bits of piss that drop off the devil's laddy after having taken a piss. However, the pints of the Guiness drunk (possibly literally) in Ireland seem to taste that much better. It's probably just a psychosomatic thought process though.

 

I tell you what isn't psychosomatic though - Cider Pops from the ice cream man. They are as real as real could be.

Cant stand the stuff as its a pain in the arse to pour - this was the last time the WBC served Guinness in England { London Feis - Bob Dylan Saturday 18th and    Van Morrison Sunday 19th June 2011 - Finsbury Park } anyway at some festival { may have been Hyde Park 2006 }  a Customer asked for two pints of Guinness  so I moved them over and one of them said ' where is our shamrock ? ' - I did point out that bar was using a Multi Dispense Unit (MDU) and they pour 12 Pints at a time so it would be  impossible to add a shamrock - That Guinness  trailer was neat but have not seen it again.The WBC does have a few events in Ireland where I believe they are still using that trailer.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

2 hours ago, glasto-worker said:

Cant stand the stuff as its a pain in the arse to pour - this was the last time the WBC served Guinness in England { London Feis - Bob Dylan Saturday 18th and    Van Morrison Sunday 19th June 2011 - Finsbury Park } anyway at some festival { may have been Hyde Park 2006 }  a Customer asked for two pints of Guinness  so I moved them over and one of them said ' where is our shamrock ? ' - I did point out that bar was using a Multi Dispense Unit (MDU) and they pour 12 Pints at a time so it would be  impossible to add a shamrock - That Guinness  trailer was neat but have not seen it again.The WBC does have a few events in Ireland where I believe they are still using that trailer.

I'm not certain but have a recollection of seeing this trailer (or similar) at a horse racing course (Newmarket) many years ago. My recollection is a bit hazy because that's the day that I not only won a fair bit on a 25 - 1 horse coming in, but was also the day that I decided to give up not drinking (I was trying and succeeding at being teetotal). I didn't actually break my abstininence at the race track, although I could feel a strong calling coming from the Guiness trailer, I actually broke on the coach on the way home (because I just couldn't tolerate the lunacy that was going on around me).

[balti-pie]

Horse wasn't called Bottle of Smoke perchance, was he? 

[glasto-worker]

12 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

I'm not certain but have a recollection of seeing this trailer (or similar) at a horse racing course (Newmarket) many years ago. My recollection is a bit hazy because that's the day that I not only won a fair bit on a 25 - 1 horse coming in, but was also the day that I decided to give up not drinking (I was trying and succeeding at being teetotal). I didn't actually break my abstininence at the race track, although I could feel a strong calling coming from the Guiness trailer, I actually broke on the coach on the way home (because I just couldn't tolerate the lunacy that was going on around me).

I am sure there is lots of them - they are used when Guinness { now owned by Diageo } is a main sponsor - would love to have a word with the designer as its clear it was designed without taking into consideration the practical limitations on working in a small space - same goes for the Pimms Bus { funny enough also owned by Diageo } and if anything is even worse to work in - I got allocated to a Pimms Bus somewhere but lucky enough I was able to request a move - I am not a big bulky person and even I found it very cramped and I make certain that I will never be allocated a Pimms Bus again - At certain festivals in the Guest Area they may have a special sponsor bar that gives the impressions its being run by the sponsor when in fact its run by the WBC on behalf of the sponsor - these bars can only be entered by invitation only and have extra Security in place - most are free bars and may limit what is available { and they don't allow drink to be taken out of the bar to prevent their VIP's from taking drinks out to friends } - could never work out what was the point as most people don't really pay attention ' as long as the drink is free ' and I am sure after a few hours they forget who the Sponsor is.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

11 hours ago, balti-pie said:

Horse wasn't called Bottle of Smoke perchance, was he? 

I can't remember the name of the horse, but Bottle of Smoke doesn't ring a bell. What still annoys me to this day is that it was a friends 40th birthday bash (he put on a drinks / breakfast, coach, bucks fizz all the way to Newmarket from Birmingham) and in the morning I had a chance of putting money on this horse at 50-1. As it was my mates 40th and I was then a bit flush I was going to put on £40 (ie his number of years old in cash) at 50-1. However, the early morning drinking got the better of me and I forgot to put the bet on. When I got to the track it had dropped to 25-1.

The afore mentioned mate is a betting man so maybe able to remember the name of the horse in question - I'll ask him and get back to you.

[balti-pie]

It's a Pogues song - he came in at twenty-fucking-five to one! 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

On 16/10/2016 at 3:32 PM, balti-pie said:

It's a Pogues song - he came in at twenty-fucking-five to one! 

Oh, I see. I think my music credentials are well known around these parts, so I was never going to get that one. I've asked my mate about the name of the horse and he's working on it. Now I realise that you didn't really want to know anyway. Still, I'll let it ride (no pun intended) because I'm curious now. I think it began with an H, but that might be a phantom memory. Why am I still writing about this when it's clear that nobody is interested?

[semmtexx]

On 10/15/2016 at 1:00 PM, glasto-worker said:

Cant stand the stuff as its a pain in the arse to pour - this was the last time the WBC served Guinness in England { London Feis - Bob Dylan Saturday 18th and    Van Morrison Sunday 19th June 2011 - Finsbury Park } anyway at some festival { may have been Hyde Park 2006 }  a Customer asked for two pints of Guinness  so I moved them over and one of them said ' where is our shamrock ? ' - I did point out that bar was using a Multi Dispense Unit (MDU) and they pour 12 Pints at a time so it would be  impossible to add a shamrock - That Guinness  trailer was neat but have not seen it again.The WBC does have a few events in Ireland where I believe they are still using that trailer.

 

Once had what I thought was a nice shamrock on the top of my pint of Guinness - until I looked a bit more closely that was. Turned out it was, in fact, a neatly drawn cock and balls! Lol!

[glasto-worker]

55 minutes ago, semmtexx said:

Once had what I thought was a nice shamrock on the top of my pint of Guinness - until I looked a bit more closely that was. Turned out it was, in fact, a neatly drawn cock and balls! Lol!

well I suppose its all down to who was handing it to you.

years ago when I first started they had ' Pouring tables ' - just like normal pub taps but at a  table so the idea would be some people would be sitting one side pouring the drink and the full pints would be placed on a table so the bar servers could pick them up - it was possible to pour two pints at a time - but still it was very slow - all that changed when they had a word with a Company and the very first MDU was built 

in this photo you can see one but in fact there is 20 in operation so that bar can pour 240 pints at a time.

when you go to a festival bar ' just hang back a second and take a good look '

its supposed to be a ' near on demand system ' but many operators make the mistake
of pouring when there is no demand and that is how there can be loads of pints that could be sitting there a long time - My team is very experienced and if you look close the tray is not in its locked position - the bar was quiet so there was no need to bang out loads of pints - when they think trade is picking up they would pull a handle and the tray would move up into its locked position and the pints are poured.

you will see in the bottom image that there is no pints on the table on the left but the next table there is loads .{ that is being run by a different team }

servers are supposed to go to their own table so pick a window where you can only see a few pints - if you see a table with 400 pints just move further along the bar.

its used to drive me nuts as I would pull up MDU Operators all the time.

Even at Glastonbury bar demand goes up and down all the time - we were giving the stage times so we could predict when trade would pick up so there was no need to keep on banging out pints when there is no real demand.

[dondo]

In answer to the OP, I thought I heard that due to the mud they hadn't been able to get the flushing loos on site?

Shame as were always handy for me being camped in Tom's field

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

1 hour ago, glasto-worker said:

well I suppose its all down to who was handing it to you.

years ago when I first started they had ' Pouring tables ' - just like normal pub taps but at a  table so the idea would be some people would be sitting one side pouring the drink and the full pints would be placed on a table so the bar servers could pick them up - it was possible to pour two pints at a time - but still it was very slow - all that changed when they had a word with a Company and the very first MDU was built 

in this photo you can see one but in fact there is 20 in operation so that bar can pour 240 pints at a time.

when you go to a festival bar ' just hang back a second and take a good look '

its supposed to be a ' near on demand system ' but many operators make the mistake
of pouring when there is no demand and that is how there can be loads of pints that could be sitting there a long time - My team is very experienced and if you look close the tray is not in its locked position - the bar was quiet so there was no need to bang out loads of pints - when they think trade is picking up they would pull a handle and the tray would move up into its locked position and the pints are poured.

you will see in the bottom image that there is no pints on the table on the left but the next table there is loads .{ that is being run by a different team }

servers are supposed to go to their own table so pick a window where you can only see a few pints - if you see a table with 400 pints just move further along the bar.

its used to drive me nuts as I would pull up MDU Operators all the time.

Even at Glastonbury bar demand goes up and down all the time - we were giving the stage times so we could predict when trade would pick up so there was no need to keep on banging out pints when there is no real demand.

Interesting stuff as usual glasto-worker. A question to you if I may - why do you do it? It must be a ball busting pressurised job with little praise.

[semmtexx]

6 hours ago, glasto-worker said:

well I suppose its all down to who was handing it to you.

years ago when I first started they had ' Pouring tables ' - just like normal pub taps but at a  table so the idea would be some people would be sitting one side pouring the drink and the full pints would be placed on a table so the bar servers could pick them up - it was possible to pour two pints at a time - but still it was very slow - all that changed when they had a word with a Company and the very first MDU was built 

in this photo you can see one but in fact there is 20 in operation so that bar can pour 240 pints at a time.

when you go to a festival bar ' just hang back a second and take a good look '

its supposed to be a ' near on demand system ' but many operators make the mistake
of pouring when there is no demand and that is how there can be loads of pints that could be sitting there a long time - My team is very experienced and if you look close the tray is not in its locked position - the bar was quiet so there was no need to bang out loads of pints - when they think trade is picking up they would pull a handle and the tray would move up into its locked position and the pints are poured.

you will see in the bottom image that there is no pints on the table on the left but the next table there is loads .{ that is being run by a different team }

servers are supposed to go to their own table so pick a window where you can only see a few pints - if you see a table with 400 pints just move further along the bar.

its used to drive me nuts as I would pull up MDU Operators all the time.

Even at Glastonbury bar demand goes up and down all the time - we were giving the stage times so we could predict when trade would pick up so there was no need to keep on banging out pints when there is no real demand.

Interesting stuff! Thanks. Another question. 

In the second photo, what's that chap doing to the other chap? Not attempting to pull a pint I hope! Or something about @Yoghurt on a Stick ball busting?

Seriously though - thanks for the explanation - will look out next time. 

Cheers. 

Edited October 18, 2016 by semmtexx
Thought of something else...

[semmtexx]

Talking about ball busting work yog I do make an effort (as I expect lots do) of trying to be polite and chatty to bar staff - recognising it can get pretty hectic. 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

2 minutes ago, semmtexx said:

Talking about ball busting work yog I do make an effort (as I expect lots do) of trying to be polite and chatty to bar staff - recognising it can get pretty hectic. 

Oh so do I. I also tip at bars when I go to festivals. That said, I do bring a lot of my own drink to festivals so that I don't have to go to bars that often. I have a large capacity for drink and it would cost me a fortune to have to rely on bars.

[semmtexx]

43 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Oh so do I. I also tip at bars when I go to festivals. That said, I do bring a lot of my own drink to festivals so that I don't have to go to bars that often. I have a large capacity for drink and it would cost me a fortune to have to rely on bars.

Yep - me too. Btw my comment was meant as an agreement with  you - not anything rude or anything like that. :-) 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

14 minutes ago, semmtexx said:

Yep - me too. Btw my comment was meant as an agreement with  you - not anything rude or anything like that. :-) 

No worries semmtexx, I didn't take it negatively.

After reading some of glasto-worker's posts I think I'll make even more of an effort to be chatty and upbeat at festival bars in the future. It must be a drag serving happy pissed up people when your stuck behind a bar.

[semmtexx]

21 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

No worries semmtexx, I didn't take it negatively.

After reading some of glasto-worker's posts I think I'll make even more of an effort to be chatty and upbeat at festival bars in the future. It must be a drag serving happy pissed up people when your stuck behind a bar.

Cool! Love the forum - e-hug over to you! 

Edit: hold on, meant virtual hug not E hug! Though that's rumoured to be popular too! 

Edited October 18, 2016 by semmtexx
Clarity!

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

11 minutes ago, semmtexx said:

Cool! Love the forum - e-hug over to you! 

Edit: hold on, meant virtual hug not E hug! Though that's rumoured to be popular too! 

Hugs of any nature are welcomed at this end.

[glasto-worker]

18 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Interesting stuff as usual glasto-worker. A question to you if I may - why do you do it? It must be a ball busting pressurised job with little praise.

 

13 hours ago, semmtexx said:

Interesting stuff! Thanks. Another question. 

In the second photo, what's that chap doing to the other chap? Not attempting to pull a pint I hope! Or something about @Yoghurt on a Stick ball busting?

Seriously though - thanks for the explanation - will look out next time. 

Cheers. 

well back in 1986 - the very first year the WBC was at Glastonbury I knew nothing about the WBC which is not surprising because they had only worked at a few events with the GLC in Battersea Park - in fact at that time they were not even called the WBC - it was run by BWTUC { Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council } but I had a connection because I lived in Wandsworth but had no method where I could contact them { this is before the WWW was invented } had no idea what a TUC was - all I spotted was ' Wandsworth ' - I asked someone who was working behind the bar and he said something like ' We only accept Volunteers from the TUC ' the photo below is the ones who worked in 1986 { apart from me who is on the far right } - I was called up because I have the longest service as a Volunteer. anyway it took me 3 years to get into the WBC. if they had been a commercial company I would not have been interested but I liked the idea about Teams raising money - sure lots were connected to the TUC and Labour party but there was lots of charities involved.

 

sure it can be hard work but there is many funny times and these are all friends - even if you don't know anyone you can walk into the staff bar and end up talking to people from all over the UK - all walks of life - in my Team I have a Senior Probation Officer - a Icelandic Chief of Police - lots of University Teachers and a few Social workers - all recruited direct by me but they were vouched for by one of my Team - the system works well - The Buck stops with me - if any Manager has a problem with one of my Team then they will come to me although its very rare - some have been with me 20+ years .The good part is Managers just leave me to run my own Team so I sort out all the shifts taking into consideration what their plans are -

the longer I do it the easier it gets - in fact Glastonbury is not difficult - its the day events where Promoters will pack people in and you cant even see the bar for the thousands wanting drink - now that is ' Frantic ' - I have seen bar counters collapse over the pressure of the crowd - customers will swear at the serving staff so I make bloody sure ' they don't get served ' - i was at Reading festival one year where there was a mix up over Security and the VIP/guest area ended up with no Security - I had been out watching the last band so on coming back I spotted they had gone ' but lots of none VIP/guest's had spotted it as well - I ran back to the Tent Manager to warn her there was hundreds pouring in - the VIP/guest area at Reading is not all that large - the WBC has its own Security so they were sent to the entrance to stop none VIP/guest's but there is no way they could clear the area - that was a very dodgy night

----------

re the photo where Tim appears to be grabbing Ben's balls - the bar was quiet so we were just messing about with the camera - all three in that photo are University Teachers - they are really hard workers and are Ultra dependable. if the bar was busy ' then that photo would not have been taken ' part of the Team { there was 8 of us } was standing at the Counter waiting for Customers - that bar can get though two giant tankers in a day so its rare we have time to stand about waiting.Everyone on my team likes to drink but they wont drink on duty ' unless we are told by the Chairman - have a drink '

 

yes for sure once our shift is over we get stuck in and we will all sit together. Everyone knows - they can do what they want but they have to show up for their shifts so ' they have to pace themselves '