Glastonbury 2014 Ramblings

My wife Lyn and I worked at Glastonbury for a charity called Festival Medical Services (FMS). I worked as a driver and Lyn a first aider.

FMS are responsible for providing medical services ranging from first-aid and paramedic to surgery and psychiatry.

The staff enjoyed a campsite away from the Festival goers with private showers and canteen. Shifts were allocated ahead of the Festival and time to enjoy the Bands was limited.

The medic staff included volunteer GPs, consultants, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, dentists, and psychiatrists mainly from the NHS.

Glastonbury: sunshine, mud, and snores

We arrived midweek to glorious sunshine at Glastonbury. Campers were happily renewing friendships over a G&T, but there was a certain anxiety about the impending weather. Chances are when you ask somebody how the Festival was, it’s the weather that gets mentioned first.

A lesser anxiety is coping with half the amount of sleep; the usual noise suspects are party people chatting in the early hours, pounding music up to the dawn, and babies waking just after dawn.

However one tends to cope with short deep sleep, which can be either tiredness or alcohol induced.

Snoring can be an issue with some. We caught this conversation as two men passed our tent:

“…so how’s your wife’s snoring problem?”

The other responded: “It’s still really bad. I just don’t know what to do now. I recorded her snoring and played it back to her. What did she do? She then secretly recorded me snoring and passed the player back to me!”

Festival folk are so interesting to watch and listen to. There was one girl talking to her friend:

“Look I want you to know that when I am drunk I will tell you I don’t care about you. But really I do, so I thought I should let you know now.”

The heavens opened up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tolerance to mud increased – it had to. Somehow mud even collected in the sleeping bag maybe because the nights were cold and we didn’t change.

“Are you ok?”

As a photographer it’s fun to go out into the rain and take images of people struggling with the mud, which slowly changed from boggy to a chocolate fountain texture.

Some people thought I was mad using a camera in the rain. A sweet Samaritan lady approached me to ask if I needed their services! That’s true.

Change of demographics at Glastonbury

This year there appeared to be a change of demographics.

The founder of the Glastonbury Festival, Michael Eavis, is trying to attract a younger set using social media to meet this end. The hippie generation are on the decline.

Interesting now to wander the campsites and see so many young girls with their make-up mirrors making themselves flashy by fitting extra-long eye lashes. They are a different tribe.

And what happened to the fashion wellies this year? Little opportunity for my favourite image of boots and mud.

Sunday is my favourite time to wander around the festival site. There are street performers out to create a carnival atmosphere.

Festival goers responded with a myriad of dress statements. This time the weather asked for forgiveness and flattered us with long sunny spells.

At one point I wandered into a tent, called the Left Field, where a well attended discussion panel was in motion.

An audience with Ken Livingstone

I listened to Ken Livingstone pleading to young people in the audience to vote for a change of Government. From personal knowledge he talked of the qualities and the respect he has for Ed Milliband. Then he said he had never told a lie in his life.

But Ken you just did!

I left. Later I passed a message board that said: “It’s Etonians that are the problem not the Romanians.” Enough was enough so I headed for the Cider Bar.

Glastonbury: sweet and bubbly wine

Each Glastonbury Festival can be compared to a wine vintage. Good years and better years.

As a wine Glastonbury 2014 certainly couldn’t be described as a dry white but sweet and bubbly maybe? Yes, absolutely, thanks to Dolly Parton – the Queen of Country Music!