My last Guilfest

[ade]

yeh right echo mate,im suprised that elf an safety as not shut this festy down on health grounds

[Johnny Echo Echo]

...typical - I`m in the minority again!

Oi! Adey mate, how comes you knows so much about festival organisation? And how can TS afford to lose loads of cash each year, he`s not got a secret dairy farm in Somerset has he?

[Johnny Echo Echo]

...oh and talking about "riders" - you should`ve seen how many crates of lagar Paul Weller had delivered backstage the other year! (literally over 50 cases), he couldn`t have drunk them all Shirley? - Anyway I`d have bought him a pint if he was really thirsty to save TS having to fork out!

[Johnny Echo Echo]

I`ve got no problem with the cost at Guilfest at all, its very reasonable for two and a half days of music - in fact I was surprised that the price didn`t go up from last year.

My original post (way back last year), was based on my own personal reaction to the experience that I had and I was basically disappointed after such good previous Guilfests.

My points about the security firm have not been mentioned in the answers that I`ve read here, but I stand by all my complaints and sad whinging.

However, I`m a fickle git and seeing how much hassle the posting has caused and the raised blood pressure/insults that have resulted, I`m returning this year for my 6th Guilfest in a row, for hopefully a redeming experience.

[Medina]

I'm sure security will give you a warm welcome back Johnny

To back-up Ade's point, the 'hidden' costs of festivals are far, far higher than most punters ever realise.

It's not just the obvious costs - artists, staging, publicity, security and staffing etc.

Consider, for example, the cost of providing all the power and water supplies at Guilfest. That alone will be tens of thousands of pounds. Fencing alone is probably over £10,000. Staging will be tens of thousands before you put a single PA or lighting rig in. Toilets many thousands of pounds whether they're good or bad. Emptying and cleansing of toilets thousands of pounds more. And so it goes on.

Can't comment on Paul Wellers' rider (I've never booked him) but I have booked artists demanding several £120 bottles of champagne plus more vodka and beer than they could survive drinking.

It's an expensive business and a little more appreciation for those of us daft enough to organise events for others to enjoy would be appreciated at times.

That said, it all has its funny side.

You could write a book on artist riders. Hardest for me to supply was three g-strings for Atomic Kitten. If I, as a middle-aged single guy, well-known where I live, had walked into Dorothy Perkins asking for 3 g-strings in different sizes, imagine the looks I'd have got from the sales assistant. Especially if I claimed they were for Atomic Kitten

[Johnny Echo Echo]

I'm sure security will give you a warm welcome back Johnny

...I`m not convinced, but if the same little Hitler, (who was half my age) has a go again at the size of my camera, I can`t be sure that I won`t suggest a receptacle where he can stick it!

To back-up Ade's point, the 'hidden' costs of festivals are far, far higher than most punters ever realise.

It's not just the obvious costs - artists, staging, publicity, security and staffing etc.

Consider, for example, the cost of providing all the power and water supplies at Guilfest. That alone will be tens of thousands of pounds. Fencing alone is probably over £10,000. Staging will be tens of thousands before you put a single PA or lighting rig in. Toilets many thousands of pounds whether they're good or bad. Emptying and cleansing of toilets thousands of pounds more. And so it goes on.

..my question stands - how can he afford to throw 10s of 1000s of pounds away each year? I`ve never heard of a festival continuosly losing money and returning every year...

Can't comment on Paul Wellers' rider (I've never booked him) but I have booked artists demanding several £120 bottles of champagne plus more vodka and beer than they could survive drinking.

It's an expensive business and a little more appreciation for those of us daft enough to organise events for others to enjoy would be appreciated at times.

We`ll say thankyou, when you say thanks for our money, time off from work to attend and the miles we have to travel to be with you all (700 in my case). Its nice to be important, but its important to be nice!

That said, it all has its funny side.

You could write a book on artist riders. Hardest for me to supply was three g-strings for Atomic Kitten. If I, as a middle-aged single guy, well-known where I live, had walked into Dorothy Perkins asking for 3 g-strings in different sizes, imagine the looks I'd have got from the sales assistant. Especially if I claimed they were for Atomic Kitten

Edited June 5, 2008 by Johnny Echo Echo

[Medina]

I see you're still applying to headline the comedy stage Johnny

But as Les McKeown's Bay City Rollers have just been added to this year's Guilfest line-up, maybe it's someone else who's having a laugh.

Les McK appeared at a theatre near me a couple of years ago. He went down among his fans (apologies for the double entendre), tripped, fell, dropped his microphone... but somehow his singing continued over the loudspeakers.

Miming? At a live gig? Surely not!

Edited June 6, 2008 by Medina

[Johnny Echo Echo]

I know Shirley Knott - she`s a fabulous lady!

[chownsy]

I remember reading many post's about last years festy.......and remember in particular the complaints about the campsite. I'm sure I mentioned that I thought the campsite was ace lat year! Sadly I can't report the same this year

Guilfest is definately attracting more and more idiots, mostly 20 year old 'men', all bent on drinking themselves to death, jumping on tents and stealing stuff. Fortunately I caught two of them in the act, so I got lucky. I met several people who didn't......lots of theft.

Pity really, but with the way the festy is going, I thik I've done my last. I noticed the campsite was much quieter than last year(number of campers), so those that said they had had enough, did stay away. Wise choice I think!

How did all you other campes get on?

[eFestivals]

Guilfest is definately attracting more and more idiots, mostly 20 year old 'men', all bent on drinking themselves to death, jumping on tents and stealing stuff.

I can't say that there seemed any more of this this year than there's been previously. In fact, I'd say there was less this year, without the groups of lads that were attracted by Madness last year.

I noticed the campsite was much quieter than last year(number of campers), so those that said they had had enough, did stay away.

the whole festival was significantly quieter this year than last, but that's hardly surprising. Last year GuilFest had two (for GuilFest) very big draws as headliners (Squeeze & Madness), while this year the headliners were not of the same general wide appeal. IMO, the rest of the line-up wasn't as good as last year either (but that's perhaps just me, and anyway I don't think it's really possible to manage to keep things on the same level each and every year for a fest like GuilFest).

[glastobella]

I went to Guilfest in 2006, but decided it wasn't the festival for me. Howver, my family have continued going, and for the past two years have found the campsites really noisy with lots of young people up all night, spreading their litter, no consideration for other peoples tents etc.

They haven't been impressed with the toilets in previous years, and said there was a lack of water. And to top it all off on Sunday there was a man who assualted someone. I think they're going to give Guilfest a miss and try out a new festival.

Edited July 10, 2008 by glastobella

[eFestivals]

They haven't been impressed with the toilets in previous years, and said there was a lack of water.

that certainly can't have been the case this year as it had the best toilets (all with running water) yet seen at a festival anywhere near this size ... unless their expectations was to have toilets just like their toilets at home.

And to top it all off on Sunday there was a man who assualted someone.

while that's of course unfortunate, I would think that there's barely any festival going that doesn't have an assault of some kind. Unfortunately, these sorts of idiots exist everywhere the world, and the idiots who might act that way don't wear t-shirts saying "I'm an idiot - don't let me in".

Edited July 11, 2008 by eFestivals

[pepe2]

I've just been scanning through this thread...

And can I just ask..in a totally unconfrontational way..

...Why is it, that when ever anyone comments on the festival in way,other than with glowing praise...mr/ms eFests jumps straight in and all but dismissess their views/experiences?

(..and please mr/ms eFests,don't comeback by quoting the "..piles of s**t" were really "puddles of p**s " argument again..you've done that one to death! )

Surely a msg board mod should be more "neutral"?...

Anyway,we really enjoyed this year ,our 4th (..though I am a Levs, 3DM and Dreadzone fan )...

*I do think that there were more youngsters, that were just trawling around in groups this year*

..a lot of whom were more p**d than me(£3.50 a pint!..was it REALLY that much last year? )...at times it seemed more like saturday in a Shopping Mall.. ..Anyhow,just an observation..

Also,I'm still not quite sure why the campervan pitches are so expensive(£80 & booking fee)..anyone any ideas?

*I've just realised that this comment makes me sound like a Daily Mail reader!..which I can assure you I'm not!!

[eFestivals]

And can I just ask..in a totally unconfrontational way..

...Why is it, that when ever anyone comments on the festival in way,other than with glowing praise...mr/ms eFests jumps straight in and all but dismissess their views/experiences?

(..and please mr/ms eFests,don't comeback by quoting the "..piles of s**t" were really "puddles of p**s " argument again..you've done that one to death! )

people are allowed their opinions, but when their opinions are patently bullshit (as has been the case with some posts in this thread) then why shouldn't those things be pointed out?

It's one thing to say that there were problems with the toilets as there were in 2007, but another entirely to state without knowing (and which I happen to know) that those problems were because the festival organiser doesn't give a shit about his customers and was aiming purely to make as much money as possible from them thru providing poor facilities.

It doesn't take much thought to realise that if profit was the motivation that there wouldn't have been proper flushing loos with sinks and water in the first place (even if the water for the sinks didn't last long); standard portaloos would be FAR cheaper if profit was everything.

And a little research would have shown that GuilFest were fully upfront about the problems - admitting they f**ked up big time (there's plenty of news articles where this is categorically stated by the organisers) - and did all they could in the circumstances to try to rectify the problems, but which wasn't possible for a variety of reasons once the event was in full flow.

As for other things (such as comments to more recent posts), then it's not so much a dismissal of their experiences as putting them into a wider festival &/or society context (which I often do for posts about any festival). Yes, (for example) an assault might have happened (I've no idea if it did or not), but the same assault might well have happened to the same person if they'd been shopping in their local town centre - the problem is unfortunately idiots and not the festival itself; all festivals attract idiots to some degree, and GuilFest doesn't have a particular problem with this (and far less than some other festivals). Surely it's fair to GuilFest for this to be pointed out, so that an unchallenged comment isn't the only thing a person considering attending GuilFest (or any other fest where similar comments are made) is all that person sees?

[pepe2]

Erm..okay,fair enough..it just seems that for a "moderator" some of of your respones have appeared far from moderate..(..you've even managed to include the words "Bullshit" & "Shit" in your reply! and my post included smileys and winks!!)

Don't get me wrong,I'm not agreeing with all of the criticisms that have been levelled at the festival in earlier posts..as I pointed out in my post,we had a great time .. but to have a pop at folk for leaving early,for what ever reason they saw fit (..and then at one point to seemingly blame their young kid),seems a little bizarre for a "moderator" that's all(..Member No:1 or otherwise)..

Anyway,that'll do for me on this topic..

[eFestivals]

Erm..okay,fair enough..it just seems that for a "moderator" some of of your respones have appeared far from moderate..(..you've even managed to include the words "Bullshit" & "Shit" in your reply! and my post included smileys and winks!!)

Don't get me wrong,I'm not agreeing with all of the criticisms that have been levelled at the festival in earlier posts..as I pointed out in my post,we had a great time .. but to have a pop at folk for leaving early,for what ever reason they saw fit (..and then at one point to seemingly blame their young kid),seems a little bizarre for a "moderator" that's all(..Member No:1 or otherwise)..

Anyway,that'll do for me on this topic..

I didn't have a pop at them for leaving early, I had a pop at them for saying they left early "because the festival was shit" (or whatever it was they exactly said). There was more than enough going on to keep anyone well entertained if they wanted to be well entertained, so if they could find nothing to keep them at the festival I suggested it said more about them than the festival.

"moderate" means something around the middle; with those posts being so very extreme from the experiences of the vast majority of attendees then further extreme responses are required to give a moderate view overall.

[Johnny Echo Echo]

I didn't have a pop at them for leaving early, I had a pop at them for saying they left early "because the festival was shit" (or whatever it was they exactly said). There was more than enough going on to keep anyone well entertained if they wanted to be well entertained, so if they could find nothing to keep them at the festival I suggested it said more about them than the festival.

"moderate" means something around the middle; with those posts being so very extreme from the experiences of the vast majority of attendees then further extreme responses are required to give a moderate view overall.

[oldbird]

So, now all the nasty stuff has stopped, can I ask those of you who went last year - how were the toilets compared to 2007? I went to Latitude last year instead but wouldn't mind giving Guilfest a go again this year if funds allow. Have Glasto in the bag and plan Loopallu for the end of summer.

[eFestivals]

So, now all the nasty stuff has stopped, can I ask those of you who went last year - how were the toilets compared to 2007? I went to Latitude last year instead but wouldn't mind giving Guilfest a go again this year if funds allow. Have Glasto in the bag and plan Loopallu for the end of summer.

the toilets were spiffing - better than I've ever seen at any festival.

There were so many toilet crew around the site it looked as tho they outnumbered the punters at times.

As I'd said, 2007 was cock-up brought about by having the very best intentions. Tony being Tony, he made damned sure that it wasn't repeated.

[oldbird]

the toilets were spiffing - better than I've ever seen at any festival.

There were so many toilet crew around the site it looked as tho they outnumbered the punters at times.

As I'd said, 2007 was cock-up brought about by having the very best intentions. Tony being Tony, he made damned sure that it wasn't repeated.

[Johnny Echo Echo]

That's good to hear - I have had a great time at previous Guilfests.

[zydaco]

Blimey! Just came across this thread and couldn't believe all the negativity.

It's tempting to suggest that if you don't like Guilfest you can always come to my own little Stokes Bay Festival instead... but such an unashamed plug will rightly annoy Neil so let me just say...

I've been to almost every day of every Guilfest since the very first one and have always enjoyed it. I know Tony Scott and I know how damn hard he works all year round to put on a good festival without huge commercial sponsorship. I know it's cost him personally a considerable sum of money plus all the hassle of dealing with an increasingly difficult licensing authority and all the other problems that affect all of us who run festivals.

Tony must be tempted, when he reads threads like this, to just say "sod it" and stop organising events for others to moan about. He could enjoy a more relaxed and financially secure life if he stuck to mowing the lawn. Instead he keeps going and in my honest opinion he deserves great praise for doing so.

Without the likes of Tony Scott there would be no festivals for any of the posters on this site to enjoy or slag off.

So... if you don't like the line-up, the toilets, the camping or anything else, don't winge, just don't go! You've plenty of choice elsewhere. But don't slag off a guy who has devoted a large part of his life and his bank balance to putting on a festival for people like you and I.

Given the choice of Guilfest or the over-commercialised money-making machines like the V Festivals, Reading and the Isle of Wight I'll plump for Guilfest every time.

I may not like all the artists this year, I may avoid the toilets, I may drive home every night instead of camping, but I know I'll still have a damn good time at a festival that's a lot safer, friendlier and musically diverse than most others, a festival that won't charge me just to park my car, a festival that won't stop me taking a bottle of water or even something stronger into the arena, a festival that won't have gorillas body-searching me on the gate, a festival that will offer me around six stages of live music plus a comedy tent and loads of other attractions along with a wide choice of food and decent beer at reasonable festival prices.

There's a lot worse than Guilfest. Vent your spleen elsewhere!

[Johnny Echo Echo]

must take you to task meddy old chap.re goons!!your festy as is just as bad, one stopped me going in with a open can of coke,words pot and kettle come to mind