That which was Glastonbury - June 2004

Glastonbury - it's no exaggeration to say that in spite of the hype, the myths, the ever expanding media circus and the plain old fashioned hysteria that surrounds this event - Glastonbury remains special and is certainly the best run and most loved festival that we have.

Even when the weather plays hardball - we all go stay - whatever is thrown at us - there's some real magic to be found at this festival, the reality is that other festivals just can't hold a candle to that which is Glastonbury - warts and all.

It's the whole full on package that makes it special therefore it's almost impossible to pick out any one aspect that sets it apart from the rest. A major feature though just has to be the wall to wall entertainment - no matter where you are there's always something to do, something to see, something to discover and something to treasure. Such good and impressive use is made of the video screens by the pyramid - info and entertainment - non stop - why oh why don't other organisers emulate this eh? . One of my enduring memories will be slithering and sliding away from the pyramid stage after Supergrass(and that rainbow!) when out of those speakers boomed MY Way - oh yes, I was singing at the top of my lungs and then I looked up - so was EVERYBODY else! ah those magic moments......

We loved:

Tony Benn - the grand old duke of politics giving it some in the Leftfield Tent! Those flags that scream at you - you've made it to Glasto The leaping Roo's - they were just so silly and so Glastonbury The mad Australian woman with the hoops - what the....was that all about That people kept smiling in the mud Some welder mending the toilets while people were still using them - was it safe? probably not - was it funny? - yup! The opera - make it traditional PLEASE - we wanted more (and so did everyone else) Fleeing the rain and stumbling into the Leftfield tent to discover Squeeze giving it some Lots of very tall people on stilts Too much food - too much choice - amazing Those silly, daft hats that people wore with such abandon People looking for photo opportunities in the mud - they did it! The fact that everyone is welcome Plenty of bins and recycling Fairtrade The Green Fields The medics - there when you need 'em Wateraid - making more people aware Snow Patrol Franz Ferdinand - fab, fab, fab Lost Prophets - so much better than we expected Black Eyed Peas - so much energy, so much fun Sir Paul - who came out and sounded like yer Dad - so embarrassing we thought he'd blown it - then the magic happened - a Glasto classic Divine Comedy - always consistent - always good Far Cue - one of those surprises Supergrass - singalong time again Morrissey - superb Muse - out of this world Mendip Council - for licensing it and for year on year improvements Michael Eavis for being Michael Eavis

We didn't much like:

Oasis - seriously over rated - and let' s face it, no -one could love themselves more than Liam - could they?
Kings of Leon - far, far too big a venue for them - they just couldn't fill it
The overcrowding - at times it was dangerous
Twunts who think it's okay to keep forcing their way through to the front despite there being no room!
Twunts who barge into you all the time and just push you out of their way - have a care!
Too much mud - if the executive area could have straw put down - why couldn't we?
Dirty smelly toilets - if they can get it right for 'posh' events - why not for us?
Vehicles pushing through the crowd - this was dodgy a lot of the time - they did have people ahead of the vehicles some of the time but not all of the time and the show power people were pushy and dodgy.

But was it safe?

Probably not as safe as it could have been, at times the overcrowding around the stages was unbearable and there is no way that you could have got out of there unscathed if there had been a serious incident. So it's really worrying to hear reports that Melvin Benn from Mean Fiddler would like to increase the numbers - we think that Glastonbury is already verging on being too crowded and the organisers could usefully look into other ways of improving the flow of people which it has to be said is, at times,an accident waiting to happen. This is not all down to the organisers here though, the crowd need to behave with a little more care and concern for others, can organisers really be held responsible if the crowd insist on pushing their way through no matter how many people are already there? I mean, let's face it, of course it's great to be at the front but at Glastonbury it's not essential to your enjoyment is it - so why put other people at risk? We think that some people are a bit selfish on this one. There's also no need to rush and add to an already crowded environment is there? isn't there plenty going on all around you? relax and take it easy - there's never a rush.

Mud, mud glorious mud - well, to be honest the rain was forecast and was the mud was inevitable - so dear organisers, it couldn't have come as much of a surprise - why was so little done? Straw was put down by the VIP areas - it made a huge difference - so may we ask why straw wasn't put down at least in some of the main thoroughfares around the site? it would have made a significant difference and lessened some of those injuries people were getting and it would have added a huge amount to the festival itself - not a huge thing - but what a huge difference it would have made for everyone. Why are VIP's considered worthy and us mere mortals not?

But, in essence we don't have major criticisms of Glastonbury - we love it and we though the organisers did really well overall. Information at Glastonbury is the best and most comprehensive you'll find anywhere - we were impressed that the Fine Guide had a tiny mention about getting caught in a crowd crush and we'd like to ask the organisers to build on this - could it be expanded on? could there be a bit more about personal responsibility?