Talkawhile's festival moments

[Nick]

 OK how about some great (and dreadfull) festival moments from you lot. I've got a few to share but what are yours...tell me about  Cropredy for example.

Goaty, perhaps you can start...  

[Goaty]

Oooh, errr, s'a bit early & I'm hungover (very unusual, was particularly thirsty last night ), hmmm, here's a truly dreadful one!

Glasto', late 80s early 90s, we were some of the first on site (thankfully).  Don't know whether they still have these, open air toilets, basically a huge hole in the ground, around 6' deep, 8' by 20' (ish), with a metal structure placed on top with holes in to **** through.  My other half goes for her first **** of the festival, with handbag containing all our money, car keys etc.  Other half emerges without handbag, you can guess where it went.  Thank deity of choice it was early on and only around 6" deep down there  Hard work climbing out though.

And a good one

Some insane people actually let me stand on stage to watch Fairport at Cropredy last year, that was a bit good.  Simon, if you've never been to Cropredy, you really ought to (IV next year perhaps ?), out of 25 years of festival going it's still my favourite, but you do have to be wary of Welsh pond life bearing mil-spec beverages

[Ady]

Worst Moments- obviously for me was getting Food Poisoning on the first night of wychwood-then having to go home in the middle of the night.........a  quid burger or something just cost me 100 quid!

glasto in '92......got severe sunburn and my mate and his girlfriend were mugged and he got beaten up.


best moments:   i've said about this before- more of a personal thing for me this:  towersey last year, was next to a young chap with Down syndrome, in the dance tent watching peatbogs, lost his helper in the mad crush getting out of tent, poor lad started to panic, so me being me i grabbed his hand- promised him i'd get him out and hold on to me hand TIGHT and don't let go and promised him nothing bad was going to happen- got outside- found his helper- and got the best hug ever.......makes me feel a but lumpy in the throat like, but in a good way.

would somehow love to bump into him/them again.  someday      

[gower flower (Shirl)]

Aaaw that's a lovely story Ady.  

[fat Billy(Bill)]

when I was 17 years old I went to the reading festival, I needed a dump really bad, went to portaloo, opened door and was met buy a flood of biblical preportions......including lumps!!
the following year I was on my way to reading when I had a drunk punk hold a knife to my throat on the train while he told me how hard he was......I laid him out with his voddy bottle while he was distracted, never went to reading again!!

The best ones, returning to the cambridge festival after a 19 year break from any festivals.....Like coming home
and discovering cropredy four years ago, wonderful!

[gower flower (Shirl)]

Blimey Bill I could have done without reading about the first bit.......

My festival moments are few and far between, but all of them positive. Cropredy the first time, hearing Chris Leslie sound checking "I'm Already There" at 9.00 a.m. from the camping field nearest the stage. My first festie and it was a wonderful way to start it.  "Yup" I thought. "I'm Already Here"  

[Amethyst (Jenny)]

1990 was my first Cropredy.. indeed my first ever festival..  (I know.. why did we leave it so long?! )

But my 'festival moment' was sitting in the sun that very first day soaking in the atmosphere and the warmth of the sun and the superb music.. and thinking..

'Hmm I like this.. this is where I want to be every year for as long as it happens, and I hope that will be a very long time.'

Haven't missed one yet, and don't ever intend to!!

[Sir Robert Peel]

Festival Moment

I forget what band were headlining at Knebworth that year, but yours truly had upset a superior and found himself in charge of a roundabout somewhere between Harpenden and Hitchin.  Tumbleweed was rolling across the road but I could only hear the faint sound of music.  A car hadn't passed for hours. And then, oh joy of joy, a car pulled up and the passenger ran towards me in a right panic.  It was Mick Jagger.  I offered to navigate and jumped in the front seat.  

Trouble was - I was a mercenary, a hired hand, a 'visitor' to the area and didn't know one road from another. It took us ages to get to the stage.

I never went back to the roundabout. Hope nothing happened to it in my absence.

[Pastieboy (Trev)]

My favourite festival moment  (and will probably never be surpassed ) has got to be  when Chris While started singing Come all ye Roving Minstrels last Cropredy . I think I flooded the field . A sublime moment .  

[jude]

My festival moment was in 1997, the 30th Anniversary year.

Being back on stage at Cropredy during the 'Early Years set' with Simon, Ashley, and Richard and DM for the first time in 16 years and being able to see the whole field full of very happy people. Wonderful  

[Soundfarmer Pete]

Must have been around 20 years ago at Cambridge - taking the midday sun with a pint when nearby a couple of Dulux dogs start getting frisky (filmed I might mention by the Anglia TV crew).
After having his wicked way, Mr Dulux dog retires to the beer tent and props up the bar for a welcome glass of ale  

[Rory.]

A friend of mine went to the portaloo at the Phoenix festival around fifteen years ago now. Whilst she was in there someone pushed it over and it landed door-down. She was stuck in there for what seemd to her to be ages before someone tipped it over and let her out.

Yes, I'm afraid we did laugh when she told us why she'd been so long.

[Goaty]

Blimey Rory, even I wouldn't laugh at that.  If I ever saw someone do that I think I'd have a very hard time stopping myself from doing them some major damage!

[Rory.]

It's the way I tell 'em.  

She was laughing as she told us why she'd been so long, so I guess that's why we didn't get upset. She's my sister-in-law's best mate, and she recounted the tale herself only last week to others, so in this particular case there was no harm done.

[Goaty]

Thank goodness for that!  I'm very relieved to hear it.

[Mark]

My fave festival moment was a mid-late 90s Cropredy.

I'd had a few pints - a herbal relaxent or two and was feeling very mellow. It was warm but a bit cloudy, then as it began to get dark Fairport struck up Red and Gold. The clouds parted and the field was bathed in Golden sunshine for the duration of the song.


Thats how I remember it anyway.

 

[Waterloo Wonderer]

Downer moment. Look at the line-up below.

The camera exploded after numerous snaps, particularly of Mr Harper Snr, had been taken. In my defence had drunk a lot of Old Growler beer and eaten a goat kebab and it was long before digital cameras.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[gower flower (Shirl)]

 In my defence had drunk a lot of Old Growler beer and eaten a goat kebab and it was long before digital cameras.

Blimey, that must have been one hell of a skewer.

[Waterloo Wonderer]

I was a rabid carnivore in those days!

The beer made me hungry!

[Ady]

i saw someone here had mentioned Pheonix festival, went to all of those     was a great under rated little festy.....



although i did do something a bit naughty......was a bit drunk and herbed in the day at pheonix ( hey its a festy!), needed to escape the sun so i went into the dance tent, shades on and it was very dark, just as i walked in i thought i'd accidently knocked a bin over with my knee, i just carried on and saw some mates who gave me a filthy look- one said"look what you just did you clumsy git ( was a much worse word then that! )  and i looked around....and there was this four year old girl with ice cream all over her face.........turns out she was the bin i tripped over.......oops!!!!!!