Glastonbury festival 2007

Several years of ticket hotlines, engaged tones across the world we finaly get tickets for Glasto 2007! With an absence of far too long, sun hat and wellies in tow Oli and I join up with my family in England for a weekend of artisitc talent and........mud!
Of course, the grass is always green when you first arrive but this year I was shocked to see the camping full by Wednesday lunch time. I was glad we hadn't waited any longer to 'go in'!!!! Most people had arrived and set up camp by the time we had collected our tickets! I was rather nervous getting them as we had to go to a little portacabin for International sales. What if we had come this far only to find some kind of internet balls up with the tickets!!!


We headed straight up to the Kings Meadow and the stone circle, what with it being Solstice eve and joined in with the lighting of the solstice fire and peace ceremony as the sun began to set down in the valley below! What better way to celebrate this energetic time of year than at a festival with a spiritual feeling that doesn't forget music is not the only reason to go!!. (Of course this was via a stop at the cider bus! We started out as we meant to go on!!! With no mead on tap cider is the next best thing for solstice toasting!) I'm glad to have found some things at the festival have'nt changed!

The building atmosphere in the green field was really good, only to be disturbed by the environmental police chasing dirty buggers trying to pee against the hedges! This was an ongoing fight between the green police and the hedge peeing few, all weekend. Thankfully this new control seemed to work and hedges were still smelling of greenery at the end of the weekend!!! No would be hedge polluter could pee unseen!!!

I have never seen so many bands at Glasto, what with cider being my only pollutant! From the folkie Boat Band, cajun blues and Seth Lakeman, west country folk, to the silent disco.........


.........Kaiser Chiefs and Dame Shirley Bassey to Amy Winehouse, drunk girlie with a great voice! As well as old favorites like Dreadzone, who were brilliant, The Manics and new ones like Arctic Monkeys. New discoveries were Cold War Kids and Switches, the most energetic band of the weekend. Tangleberries were a fun german folk band. Folk Ska was all over the place!! Including around the tipi fields and in one of any of the new Chai tents that have sprung up all over the site!!! Infact we spent alot of time in Chai tents watching really cool bands and eating delicious cakes with tea while the rain relentlessly poured down outside!




This year alot of time was spent in the healing and green fields making secret little discoveries! Near the stone circle was a peace garden where you could pass dedications to the elements, the Oak King and the goddess and place your wishes on the branches of the wishing tree. The peace garden also brought all religions together, including Islam, Christainity, Buddism and the beliefs of the Native American peoples. It indeed was a very peaceful and thoughtful place to be. The music is great here but I really enjoy the fact that people can express all creative energies!!! I was tempted by the gong therapy but, well.....just being in those fields was theraputic!!!! Sharing this space was good enough for me!



















In and around the healing fields we also discovered a mediation circle, each little bower being dedicated to Fire, Earth, Water or Air. It was a relaxing place to watch some spontaneous music and wait to catch up with the others.
Not easy. Given the time lapse with sending and receiving tewt messages, however we did meet up over the weekend either to watch a band or for yet another welcome cup of tea! Indeed Glastonbury really is a great place for al kinds of families!!






With all this tea and cider drinking the dreaded loo stop was inevitable. Not wanting to risk the shepee (female urinals) I opted for the safer openair loo! They might not feel very secure but at least you get to breathe air that's not too rank! In fact the toilet situation has generally improved and I have no horror stories to tell!!! Instead I felt free from toilet worry to explore every strange and interesting corner of the festival site! Free to eat to my hearts content with out fear of not being able 'to go'!!!
Wednesday night the rain fell, and fell and fell. The mud rose liquified and became a sticky thigh workout. Escape one could not!! To begin with the mud became a fascinating element, equal in demanding attention as all the other weirdnesses of Glasto. The textures and colours warrented more than a mere passing glance. The joy of splashing in thick gooey paste, all most good enough to eat took everyone back to childhood playfulness.........
That is until the thigh ache and wellie rot began to sink in!!! Four days in festival mud tries your relationships, it tests your endurance, your ability to rise above its ever trying attempt to suck you down. This is when you find out what really makes you tick....what your limits are, how English and 'jolly good fun this mud' minded you are!!!! Of course, I had my moments, as did we all but by the end of the weekend I was sorry to leave behind every trace of mud, skraping off the traces of sod and grime as not to muddy the clean and comfy seats that were Natalie's car!!! I'm glad I made it this year. I had great fun and can say as Eavis would put it....''the best one ever''!!!!