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| My Little Tent. |
The big day had finally arrived. After three long years it was time to return to the greatest festival in the world. It was a beautiful sunny Monday afternoon when Kate & Donna picked me up on the square in Westbury at 3.00. I am very grateful to them because usually I have to go on the train to Castle Cary, then the shuttle bus, and finally trudge across the vast site carrying a heavy rucksack. I got lucky this year when Kate offered me a lift. Also, Donna’s van even had a pass to go onsite to Tom’s field where we were camped. Almost the first person I met on arrival was my friend Odele who I met at Glasto in 2013, so I pitched my little tent right next to Odele’s.
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| Before The Crowds. |
It was great to be back in the field of dreams. I decorated my tent with some Tibetan prayer flags to spread good vibes, but also, so that I would recognise my tent at night-time. I had been a bit concerned that I was getting too old for festivals, but I soon forgot all that negative nonsense once I was there. One of the great things about being on the recycling crew is that friends are provided. In the olden days of the 1980s a great big gang of my family and friends and kids used to go to Glastonbury and all camp together. Over the years it gradually diminished until I am the only one left, but since I joined the crew in 2005 I have made lots of friends, so I’m not Billy No-Mates wandering around all the time on my own.
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| Avalon Sunset. |
At the cabin, I got registered and collected my gloves, meal ticket, and veteran’s T-shirt. In the workers catering marquee I had some Mexican food for dinner. I eat better at Glastonbury than I do at home because I’m not famous for my cooking skills. I have noticed that there didn’t seem to be quite so many people from other countries working at Glastonbury this year. That is because of stupid Brexit. People aren’t going to go through all that bureaucracy of work permits for just a few days’ work, are they?. It is a shame because I like meeting people from other countries. After dinner I went for a walk around the site. It was still two days until the gates officially opened, so it is nice to wander about the farm before 200,000 people arrive.
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| Pheasant. |
You can still see wildlife. On the huge field called Big Ground in front of the Pyramid Stage I came across a pheasant who was strolling about and enjoying the evening sun. “Mate, you are in for a shock in 36 hours”, I thought to myself. I ended up in the crew bar at the back of the Acoustic Stage where I met up with Peter & Helen from Bristol, and Bob & Paula from Nottingham. I think I crawled into my sleeping bag that night at about 1.00. The temperature at Glastonbury plummets at night, and I woke up two hours later freezing, put on two jumpers and fell back into blissful slumbers until 7.00.
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| Tiny Tea Tent. |
It was already hot when I emerged from my tent on Tuesday morning. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. After breakfast I decided to go for a long lazy walk around the 900-acre site. I filled my water bottle and put everything I might need for a day’s walking in my little backpack and headed off down Muddy Lane, although this year it should be called Shady Lane because the trees gave some shelter from the sun. I headed right across the site to the Healing Fields, King’s Meadow, Permaculture, and the Sacred Space. This is the area which the Dalai Lama first visited when he came to Glastonbury a few years ago.
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| Stone Circle. |
The Peace Garden looked particularly inviting, so I sat in there for about an hour. It was perfect for a spot of quiet and mindfulness. A squirrel ran up a tree right next to where I was sitting. There was a hosepipe with a revolving spray on it to keep the grass nice and lush, so every minute I got sprayed with nice cool water. I was joined by a French man from Normandy who had the same idea as me. We got talking and he said he was a musician in a group called Les Nouveaux Humanistes or something like that. He said they were playing in the Green Futures field on Thursday at 12.00. I said I’d try and remember to see them, but it was only after he had gone that I remembered I would be at work then. After that I wandered across to the Stone Circle and watched some people practicing yoga. There was no shade though, so I sat under a nearby tree for a while. I got chatting to a young couple and asked them to take my photo.
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| Peace Garden. |
Eventually, I wandered back down and bought a few postcards because I’d promised to send one to my local pub. The Tiny Tea Tent is one of my favourite places at Glasto. It has been in the same spot since about 1992. I sat there with a cup of tea, wrote my postcards and watched the world go by. Greenpeace were still feverishly building their amazing structures close by. Later that afternoon I started to get hungry and went to one of my favourite food outlets which is Leon’s in the West Holts field. He has been coming to Glastonbury since 1982 and the food is delicious.
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| Leon. |
I bought a great big plate of nut roast and salad which kept me going for the rest of the day. That evening back at base I met up with Odele, Peter, Robin and Steve for the Recycler’s Quiz. As in previous years we were The Glastafarians. Sadly, we didn’t win this year. We came second by only half a point. One more correct answer and we would have won. We have a proud record though of one victory and two seconds. Next year we will win again!. I think I was asleep in my tent by midnight because work would begin in the morning. Little did I realise the drama that lay ahead……(Continued below)
