Glastonbury 2011 - Fun, fun, fun...

After a hectic 8 days of Venice, London, Edinburgh... I did not get a chance to write about the last trip, I unpacked, only to pack again for Glastonbury! I can't keep up with myself.

The invite by Lola and Ernest to the VIP section of the festival was an offer I could not possibly refuse. When friends asked in total astonishment:
"Haldita, are you actually camping?!"
My answer was: "Darling, I don't camp! Please. I haven't camped before and I certainly ain't gonna start now!"
In Edinburgh, I bought the essential Wellington boots as instructed by Ernest, as without them, the muddy Glastonbury would not have been possible. We are talking about British summer here.

Thursday afternoon, I picked up Torsten and drove through the long hours of traffic to Glastonbury, arriving by 11 p.m.
I told Torsten: "I just can't wait to get dirty, dir'y."
My friend found my comment rather amusing.

I continued: "Surely we can liven up this waiting in traffic situation to get into the premises. Right?"

Torsten was in total agreement.

"So, let's start the party! There's a bottle of Bollinger on ice in the bucket behind my seat and a ready-rolled spliff in the bag next to it. Let's put the music up and wait in style."
After an hour of moving ever so slowly in the queue, the small paths to get to Windinglake were slippery and my car slid through the mud as though we were on an ice skating ring. On site, we parked next to the two caravans to join Ernest, Kelly and Jill amongst others, for a long weekend of further bonding and making new friends. Fabulous.

On our first night, the excitement meant that sleep was out of order. It was a chilly night, so we chatted in the caravans, wrapped up in as many layers as we could possibly carry. Simply could not wait for the morning, to get our wristbands after breakfast and head towards where the festival was being held. Shuttles drove us to Gate C. We started with a rainy day, walking through the muddiest of fields I have ever come across. Even at boarding school, had I not experienced such conditions. From time to time, my Wellington boots would get stuck in the ground and I fall flat on my backside, boom, straight onto the muddy ground. Ouch! Definitely dir'y.

The atmosphere of the festival was jolly, everyone smiled and once again, music was the key point of the joy.

There were heaps of tents laid down at the back of the grounds. It can just be seen behind the trees at the far end.







We met up with Sabrina and her crew for more fun and laughter. I did not manage to take photos in the rain, as keeping pace with our group was a chore in itself. Hearing Carl Cox's (DJ) set was amazing, we danced nonstop to his music and later to the set by Fatboy Slim.
As we passed by the crowded Pyramid stage, U2 were playing but we took a glance and left.

Saturday brought some sunshine and warmer conditions. Thank God. We went from stage to tents for various acts and walked extensively all day, watching the different shows. Aloe Blacc were performing at West Holts, they were fun to watch but soon after they finished, we rushed to the Wow! stage to hear Neneh Cherry sing.

As Sabrina and her group were keen to stay behind to hear their friend perform, Torsten and I, joined by others, made our way to hear the Chemical Brothers at Other; another stage. Boy, did we dance to their music and before midnight, we made our way to catch the shuttle back to the calmer surround of the bar at the Windinglake.

Sunday was the sunniest day ever! and warm. Breakfast was on the lawn, outside the bar area, where we queued for an organic English breakfast and coffee, followed by champagne. Back in the chaos of the more solid grounds and the crowd, I had stayed behind to keep Jill company but as she needed more resting time, it was quite challenging to make my way alone to the Pyramid stage, where Paul Simon was playing. I was, however, determined and managed to find my friends amongst the gathering of a multitude of colourful people. We stayed after the show, as Plan B were next.

One of my favourite spectacles was performed by the vibrant Hercules and Love Affair. Such great energy.

After hearing a few of Kool and the Gang's old numbers, we hurried back to the Pyramid stage to join the rest of our group. However, this was unsuccessful. In fact, the task of finding anyone amongst the masses of people gathering was near to impossible. We stayed to watch Beyonce on the wide screens for a couple of songs and then made our way out towards the long road to Shangri-La. Here are some photos of the funky space in the daytime.

All in all, it was another super weekend, spent in the most loving company. As Ernest commented:
"Wouldn't be great if the whole world was like Glastonbury!"
And wouldn't it just? (Except for the mud).