One change I'd make to the festival is....

[Mimo]

14 hours ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

The blues is good but that’s about it. I think being the most flat part of the festival with hardly any horizon on show makes it seem quite bleak, or like any other festival like Reading etc.

Was gonna say this. Also being along the thoroughfare from john peel to other really doesn’t help, it’s somewhere you walk through rather than somewhere you walk to. If they ditched silver hayes (again) and made another blues style stage it might be better. Or maybe build something ridiculous like that big stage at Boomtown that towers over everything.

OR maybe do away with that area altogether and start over? Arcadia and the naughty corner do dance music much better anyway and are open all day. They could change it to a chill out space with loads of sheltered and shaded food places and cafes, relaxing music of all genres on small stages with plenty of benches and cushions and whatnot. An oasis for when it’s too hot or too wet, somewhere you know will almost always have places to sit comfortably to chill and recuperate.

I like that idea so much I may even email it in lol

[SheffJeff]

12 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

It's the only main stage without a Martin Audio rig. Hopefully using the same kit that gives great sound elsewhere will do the trick.

Thanks for that... had often assumed it was down to the geography of the stage as it's often like a wind tunnel but sounds like it's more likely down to the rig.  That must have been a conscious decision as well.. very strange. 

Apologies to all if I've inadvertently reopened a 'sounds systems' debate.... sounds like this has been covered before (extensively it seems).

[maelzoid]

Gotta say, I love the idea of a more chilled out place, especially after hours. Silver Hayes never seemed that full to me either, unlike the SE corner which is always rammed.

I do wish there was just one place after midnight not playing dance music as well. I know an Indie disco can be a bit naff but they are popular. But I'd be happy with a 70s style funk and disco place, or a proper metal / alternative place (or is this the Hell stage?)

[eFestivals]

3 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

Gotta say, I love the idea of a more chilled out place, especially after hours. Silver Hayes never seemed that full to me either, unlike the SE corner which is always rammed.

I do wish there was just one place after midnight not playing dance music as well. I know an Indie disco can be a bit naff but they are popular. But I'd be happy with a 70s style funk and disco place, or a proper metal / alternative place (or is this the Hell stage?)

what it needs is a late night lounge disco, with about 180,000 comfy chairs and a lighted dancefloor with disco balls above. 😛 

[kalifire]

5 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

Gotta say, I love the idea of a more chilled out place, especially after hours. Silver Hayes never seemed that full to me either, unlike the SE corner which is always rammed.

I do wish there was just one place after midnight not playing dance music as well. I know an Indie disco can be a bit naff but they are popular. But I'd be happy with a 70s style funk and disco place, or a proper metal / alternative place (or is this the Hell stage?)

I thought the same thing until I made my way back to my tent through the Green Fields. There's usually something chilled going on there after midnight, in my experience. I take your point, though. I'm at an age now where I'd appreciate a wind down area rather than SE Corner until I drop.

[Crazyfool01]

Troughs on the outside of the urinals and on the side that doesn’t have them ... give the dirty twats no excuses for pissing against the blue sheeting ... 

[northernringo]

A humongous ball pit, the size of a field.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

30 minutes ago, Mimo said:

Was gonna say this. Also being along the thoroughfare from john peel to other really doesn’t help, it’s somewhere you walk through rather than somewhere you walk to. If they ditched silver hayes (again) and made another blues style stage it might be better. Or maybe build something ridiculous like that big stage at Boomtown that towers over everything.

OR maybe do away with that area altogether and start over? Arcadia and the naughty corner do dance music much better anyway and are open all day. They could change it to a chill out space with loads of sheltered and shaded food places and cafes, relaxing music of all genres on small stages with plenty of benches and cushions and whatnot. An oasis for when it’s too hot or too wet, somewhere you know will almost always have places to sit comfortably to chill and recuperate.

I like that idea so much I may even email it in lol

Yeah I was thinking it would be good if they could make it a bit like Boomtown too, with some tall interesting structures. That would give the area a bit of personality and solve the horizon issue. The blues works because it’s down a bit of a dip and has some trees behind it and it’s something more than just a tent. The rest of silver Hayes is just a flat expanse, with as you say, a thoroughfare cutting through it and just random tents placed each side of the path. I guess budget is the issue, but it it would be good if they could replace the tents with some installations and make it a really cool daytime place.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[dentalplan]

12 hours ago, Gilgamesh69 said:

Special presale for efests regulars 👀

If anything we should get just the leftovers.

[aj6658]

one of my favourite areas in any festival was the Lost Woods at Secret Garden Party. It was stunning. It was essentially a wooded area with different stages and was really well designed with interesting different chill out areas and great lightening 

[kalifire]

Lock ups should be allowed to charge phones again.

The mid-festival policy to stop that, so everyone had to go to the EE area, felt very un-Glasto like.

[Boilingtent]

I always thought SE corner was the ultimate late night area before going to boomtown and realising what could in fact be done. It doesnt even have to be music orietated but a simlar crazy theme interactive area would be the icing on the cake. Would fit nicely in silver hayes, Big ask though.

[Zoo Music Girl]

46 minutes ago, Mimo said:

Was gonna say this. Also being along the thoroughfare from john peel to other really doesn’t help, it’s somewhere you walk through rather than somewhere you walk to. If they ditched silver hayes (again) and made another blues style stage it might be better. Or maybe build something ridiculous like that big stage at Boomtown that towers over everything.

OR maybe do away with that area altogether and start over? Arcadia and the naughty corner do dance music much better anyway and are open all day. They could change it to a chill out space with loads of sheltered and shaded food places and cafes, relaxing music of all genres on small stages with plenty of benches and cushions and whatnot. An oasis for when it’s too hot or too wet, somewhere you know will almost always have places to sit comfortably to chill and recuperate.

I like that idea so much I may even email it in lol

I think that's a great idea. We always camp near Silver Hayes but spend little time there. Would be lovely to have the kind of area you describe nearer to home. We really struggled to find shade in 2019 and ended up spending a few hours around the deserted Block 9 area in the daytime just for the shade. Think there was like one bar open at that time. Would have been nice to have some music and something to look at.

[hfuhruhurr]

Almost impossible, but figure out what they could do for disabled folks - people in wheelchairs etc. Other fests are way better for accessibility.

Have a metal tent (not made of metal, that'd be daft, but playing a heavier sound).

More seating about - not near the stages, just places to sit and chat to randoms - like the west holts ones

Some advisory messaging to get the crowd moving - i.e. letting people through, no chair walls etc

A special hill per stage for short people - only a 6" to a  foot higher than elsewhere but somewhere people can go not just to see shoulders all set long.

A zipwire from the Cider bus to the front of the Pyramid (and back).

[Zoo Music Girl]

Mind you what you're describing is kind of The Park but it's always really busy there.

[Funkyfairy!]

15 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Do something about the bins. Especially at W Holts. Maybe dig some holes in the ground and collect them at night. Or maybe massive underground skips that are emptied once a festival.

Or have some backstage storage and collect bins more frequently without causing extra site traffic during the day.

Nnnooooo don;t ban the bins - we need the artwork 🙂 .... banning single use cups everywhere would help the bin issues 

[Zoo Music Girl]

2 minutes ago, hfuhruhurr said:

Almost impossible, but figure out what they could do for disabled folks - people in wheelchairs etc. Other fests are way better for accessibility.

A zipwire from the Cider bus to the front of the Pyramid (and back).

Both brilliant ideas.

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, Fishman said:

Last time around, I was sitting at a table outside the Goan Fish Curry place tucking in to it's fine food and struck up a conversation with the random bloke also at the table. Within a minute we were onto the subject of the WH soundsystem and he was off about repeaters and stuff and a letter he'd sent to the management. "Hang on a moment. You're Stu, aren't you". Oh yes, for it was he.

I remember that conversation.  I was just sat there listening to bass phasing.

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Well that's made my day 😄

And mine!

[stuartbert two hats]

53 minutes ago, SheffJeff said:

Thanks for that... had often assumed it was down to the geography of the stage as it's often like a wind tunnel but sounds like it's more likely down to the rig.  That must have been a conscious decision as well.. very strange. 

Apologies to all if I've inadvertently reopened a 'sounds systems' debate.... sounds like this has been covered before (extensively it seems).

I certainly don't mind 😄

I think the area does have geographical issues TBH.  It's been a particular issue there for years, with various different rigs.  Having said that, wind could be just as big a problem at the Pyramid in the past, but seems fine now.

[stuartbert two hats]

15 minutes ago, Funkyfairy! said:

Nnnooooo don;t ban the bins - we need the artwork 🙂 .... banning single use cups everywhere would help the bin issues 

I didn't mean ban them, but they need to do something about scenes like this:

And now that I'm an old fuddy duddy with nothing better to do, I'll try to hang onto my can if I see a bin like this, but surely you've seen W Holts when all the bins are full?  It's just a bit crap.

[Quark]

1 hour ago, northernringo said:

A humongous ball pit, the size of a field.

Can you imagine the state of it?  That thing would be like Pandora's Box; anything that came out of it would put covid to shame 😄

A lot of the stuff I'd have thought of has already been picked up on tbh.  If possible, where you have the taps in the camping areas it'd be good to have separate ones clearly marked out for hair washing and similar.  Just let the rest of us rattle through the sinks for teeth, hands and a quick splash. Would avoid a lot of heavy tutting.

[morph100]

put the caravans inside the fence, well mine anyway 🙂

[Chazwozza]

Bring back the Mexican wave of late night cheering on the Thursday 

[Crazyfool01]

36 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I didn't mean ban them, but they need to do something about scenes like this:

And now that I'm an old fuddy duddy with nothing better to do, I'll try to hang onto my can if I see a bin like this, but surely you've seen W Holts when all the bins are full?  It's just a bit crap.

problem is the more bins the worse the bottlenecks with people become when moving about ... any obstructions cause issues ... one im glad they finally got rid of were the ice cream vans in the pyramid field ... the one at the bottom right corner used to cause all kinds of issues when trying to exit .... the marshals they brought in last time to direct flow seemed to be a good addition ...