Leigh's space

GLASTONBURY 2008

This year my overview of Glastonbury is going to be slightly different, not because the first 2 days are an absolute blur of cider, dancing, fire and music, but because I never really caught the essence of the festival by just explaining what we did on over the 4 days.

VIBE

Glastonbury for me means 4 days of total stress free partying; it’s about learning and appreciating how other people view the world, whether they are hippies, rockers, crafts people or undercover layers.
It’s about moving away from conformity and testing your boundaries. The man in the tutu with the love heart shaped giant glasses might be a dentist or the man wearing a gingerbread man suit may be an accountant. Man, Woman, Child, Glastonbury is definitely the place to play dress ups!
This year I saw Cows, Sheep, Superman, Batman, Fairies, Gingerbread men, Bananas, Elvis, Bin Laden, Ex Presidents the list could go on.

Glastonbury is also very much about harmony. Everybody is there to have a good time and people seem to respect each other more. There must be around 50,000 walking to and from the main stages at any one time during the headline acts, that’s about 35,000 drunk and high people! You would think that’s a recipe for disaster, but not once did I see anyone pushing, fighting or shoving, instead people walk along, weaving in and out in an orderly fashion, sometimes even striking up a conversation to the person next to them.
That’s the nice thing about Glastonbury, situations which would usually end in drama, seem to just seem to be forgotten about in a millisecond and harmony resumes.
With all the negative press shown in the media, coming to a place like this renews your faith in the human race.

MUSIC

Where else on earth can you see international living music legends, buskers, street performers, choirs, bands, DJs, Beat boxers, Kareoke and a whole host of other music types in one place.
Most of us see the line up and decide what we will go and see months before we are on site but not all plans come to light! I saw around 75% of what I wanted to see but I also discovered new music, memorable characters and artistic flair.
Seasick Steve, an old country singer from America who called it Glas-ton-ber-ry was brilliant and it’s very emotional seeing these people who are just so happy and excited to be invited to play in such a special place. Manu Chao, a Spanish reggae band put in a wonderful emotional performance, a band I would have never heard, had I not gone to meet some friends at that particular moment.
The smaller performances are sometimes the best and the most memorable, places you stop in to have a rest and listen to whatever is playing or the music you hear in the background while you’re in your tent.

ANTHEMS

This year’s ‘anthems’ for me are….

Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond The last song of his set and a huge sing-along
7 Nation Army – White Stripes Heard this blasting from speakers all over the site
Turn It Up – The Feeling Brilliant new song
Superstylin – Groove Armada Fantastic light show and our last set of the festival

'GLASTONBURY MOMENTS'

I have heard so many references to these from websites, TV, radio and magazines, and it’s not until you go to the festival and have one that you truly understand.
An example of one of mine is on the Saturday afternoon, laying on the grass, my head on Dave’s stomach and looking up to the sky and watching a small plane fly overhead, it was then I first realized for the first time there was not a cloud in the sky, Duffy was playing her beautiful song Warrick Avenue and I just thought ‘This is what life is all about’
Another is one I couldn’t not talk about is Crowded House. When they played the pyramid stage on the Saturday morning, there were so many New Zealand and Australian flags and voices, it made me very proud that my home countries were represented, and did they put on one hell of a show. Simply brilliant.

WEATHER

One of the biggest talking points leading up to the festival is always the weather. 2005 had sun then massive flooding and 2007 we saw rain and bad mud. Typically it always rains at Glastonbury and Wimbledon. The BBC weather forecast seemed to change each day and we had no idea what to expect.
So in went the poncho and wellies as well as the shorts and singlets!
It pissed down as we were walking in and continued into the night. But not enough to deter a late night walkabout and drinking session.
Friday it had all but dried up and was starting to look ok. Clouds still hung over threateningly but the sun did shine through in parts and was very hot.
By Saturday the sky was blue, the sun was shining and all memories of mud and rain had disappeared turning the skeptics around and starting the best Glastonbury in 10 years.
People started taking to the grass, sitting, lying, relaxing and having a great time which made the festival definitely feel busier. The fashion changed and for the first time people didn’t have wellies on but flip flops and shorts. Bloody Brilliant! I still have a red nose!!

FOOD

Glastonbury food can be either absolutely great or tasteless slop!
The sheer amount of food stalls is staggering; sometimes you can be wandering around for hours trying to decide what to eat.
A few examples are, Indian, Chinese, Pilipino, Italian, Pizza, Chicken, Burgers, Vegetarian, Fish & Chips, Cookies, Fudge, Salads, Welsh oh the list goes on!
There are thousands of stalls open 24 hours offering food, cold drinks, coffee and sweets.
A few of this years meals included, Chicken Nuggets and chips, Pasta carbonara with potato & salad, a horrible cheese burger, bacon & egg baps, BBQ noodles and a ham and cheese toastie.
Getting to these stalls can sometimes be a huge problem, I say if you want to eat, do it late at night when there are no queues as most of the time the decision on what you are going to eat depends on the queue! They can stretch for miles!

SHOPPING

There are more shops at Glastonbury than Newbury and Thatcham put together!
You can buy anything and everything there. Our first purchase was a new airbed (as it was last year), then some batteries.
The sheer volume of items on sale is mind-blowing and you can find things on sale you wouldn’t dream of buying anywhere else!
Some examples of crazy stuff we saw are multi-colored tutus, mermaid wigs, Giant flags, crazy hats, Kayne West Sunglasses and Bubble makers.
As well as all the festival necessities like ponchos, chairs, beds, tents, hats, sunglasses, clothes and jewellery, there is certainly an array of goods.

OTHER AREAS......

TRASH CITY

We spent a lot of time here as we had a friend working on an installation within this area.
The whole place is a ‘Mad Max’ looking city with sculptures, vehicles, DJ booths and installations made up of trash.

CRAFT FIELDS

I always feel right at home here in amongst the thousands of craft vans and tents. Everything from Stained glass to wood sculpting is here and you can attend workshops and make your own special Glastonbury souvenir.

GREENFIELDS

We all need to take a trip to the Greenfields, and not just to use the showers! Eco friendly ideas and solutions are on show here and give people the tools they need to reduce their waste and environmental footprint. I loved the tiny eco house I saw here, but don’t try to buy a bottle of water!!

GREEN FUTURE FIELD

Dave lured me to a planetarium inside a big tent in the futures field where a nervous man went on for about half an hour about the ancient Mayan people….it was really boring and quite a weird place to be in. The Green futures field is all about modern ways to be environmentally friendly.

THE PARK

We didn’t spend a lot of time here this year, came up in the morning on the Sunday to go up to tower. Then sat near the Park Stage, reminiscing about our time at Glastonbury and having a few beers in the afternoon.


AND FIANALLY......

Glastonbury 2008 was a success, after slow ticket sales, weather worries and a lineup not quite up to scratch the festival blew all that out of the water with the most amazing show in over 10 years. Now we all are back to the office, bills, worries, money problems, and everyday life. If I had my way Glastonbury would be a month long and I would be first in and last out.

Glastonbury really is ‘The Best place in the world’

Well it's been pissing down for days now! It better clear up for Glastonbury in 24 days!!
Our flat has finally been sold so we are going to be moving soon and have been looking all over Newbury at rentals, but are quite fussy as the flat we are in now is really nice and we have a bathroom each so definately want 2 bathrooms!
Think we may go for one at £775 in town.
I got my hair cut again on Saturday and went up to Twist in Kingsclere and after a lovely massage, a glass of wine and a cut I walked out with a fringe!! I love the fringe but really need to grow the rest, to resemble the hairstyle I had before I left Australia.

Well we got Glastonbury tickets!! After getting up early and having 3 pcs on the go as well as phoning I couldn't even get through!! Lukily a mate got ours, but surprisingly there are still tickets avaliable, last year they sold 177,000 in around 2 hours!! This year 100,000 were sold yesterday. I blame Jay-Z headlining and the threat of another rain filled year for the low ticket sales. Looking at the weird weather patterns here lately (hottest day so far on Thursday and Snow on Sunday) it's anyones guess at what the Glasto weather will hold....whatever in thrown at us I know i'll have a wicked time!!

Fianally found out where abouts in Portugal we are going.  It's on the Algarve and is a town called Praia De Luz.

We are going on the 9th of May to the 13th so just for a long weekend.

Robert and Net have got a 8 bedroom villa with a pool overlooking the sea for us all to stay in. 

So there's Robert, Net, the twins and the nanny, James, Dawn, Dave and I going.

 

Yeah...we have fianally booked our flights to Italy and are going on the 4th of july to the 14th.  Plan on going to Naples, Pompeii, Rome, Pisa, Florence and Venbice.  So I am busy booking tours, rental cars and hotels!!

We are both really looking forward to this trip and seeing some of the Itallian countryside and eating yummy Itallian food!!

Got a real great bargin on the flights £120.00 each there and back with BMI (my new favourite airline!) and are staying in cheap hotels everywhere except Rome, where we want to stay somewhere nice as we will be doing LOTS of walking so want a cosy bed and facilities to relax in!!

 

Dave and I have fianally joined the gym. We joined Northcroft leisure centre and for £28.00 a month we get weights, gym, indoor and outdoor pools, aqua aerobics, badminton and squash courts, sauna, step classes and all the body pump/aerobics classes included!! Bargain!!  I am getting a special program done so I can target certain areas and to make sure I am using all the right equipment and doing all the right exercizes.  So am looking forward to the results.  Bikini body for Portugal!!

Sorry I haven't been able to update my space lately as we have moved from James's to Dave's Mom's house to save money before we get another house.

It has been great here but I miss cooking and it's too far from town. But again we are right beside the canal so I have walked up and down a couple of times.

 

Robert had organised this dinner at Chewton Glen (Britain's best small hotel) for Net's surprise birthday.  It was black tie so Dave and all the other men were in Tuxedos and the woman in dresses and smart pants.

It started in a room where we had champange and canapes and welcomed a surprised Net to her party.

We then moved into the beautiful dining room and had a 4 course meal.  Cheese souffle to start follow by roast lamb and a dark chocolate cake for dessert.  Baileys and petite fours were to follow.

It was a great night and most of the wedding guests were there so knew some of the people.  Stayed at The Old Barn B&B down the road for the night.

 

Today the South East of England, Wales and Ireland virtually stopped as what was said as probably the biggest snowfall in years hit the UK.

I woke up at 4.30 and the steet was white! Got up really early and took a video and went with Dave up to the main road to see if it was ok.

 

Dave ended up going to work and Anita and I went for a stroll along to canal to the next village for some lunch. Awsome! Love the snow!

 

Dave and I were only going to get each other cards but we decided to go out for dinner as well.  The only place we could find where we could ger a booking was at the Rowbarge,  A newly revamped pub in Woolhampton (the next village along from Aldermaston)

Had a drink at the bar first.  The place looks just like any old English pub on the outside, but with the canal running alongside it it's much nicer.

Inside it had been completely modernised with beige walls and dark brown leather chairs and coutches and a bevy of modern art pieces. The old wooden beams and fireplace are still there though.

We had a 4 course meal and a bottle of Austrralian champange.  The steak was probably the best i've ever had and the dessert was to die for !!

Had a great romantic night.

 

 

 

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Saturday January 13th

 

Today Dave and I headed up to Milton Keynes about an hour and a half away to go skiing.

 

We are thinking about going to Switzerland to go skiing and as I haven't skiied since 1998 I thought we'd go along to see if I still had it in me!

 

We went to Xtreme, a huge complex that consists of indoor ski slope, ten pin bowling, rock climbing, indoor parachute jumping, cinema, ice skating and the list goes on.

The slope was about 170m long and had 3 slopes seperated by huge columns and were different levels of steepness, well just!

It had a Poma lift going up one side and in the middle and a rope tow for the beginners.

 

Got changed and hired some ski pants and grabbed our skis etc.  Now it's been 8 years and things have changed, skis have gotten shorter and now have curved edges to make carving(turning) easier.  My skis at home are 185cm,  the ones I got were 140cm!

 

Got on the slope at 11 for 2 blissful hours of skiing.  I was very nervous on my first run as I was scared the skills of a sport I love had escaped me and Dave made me go straight to the top without a practice!  I have to admit the slope was equivelent to the average learners slope up the mountain anyway!  But just like riding a bike I was off in a flash and had it straight away.  It was so great to get back on skis, but the place was not challenging and you could'nt go really fast and there were no jumps. I think part of the fun of skiing is exploring new terrain and finding new jumps.

 

All in all well worth the money we paid and great to get a bit of excercize..........Switzerland here we come!!!

 

link to Xcape site   www.xcape.co.uk

 

PS: In the video I appear from about half way up the slope from the right and I am wearing a blue jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well what can I say about Si's 21st?

I never ever thought I would see all those people in one room again!!  Simon, Sharpey, Gaz, John, Grainnie, Deb, Iain, Chilla, Andy, Pete and Tazzie.  Was so great to see you all.

 

Simon's 21st started off with all of us at his house along with friends and boyfriends that had come along, drinking beers and watching Si open his presents.  Then a feed of pasta which his Mom had made.......yummy!

 

Then on to the Stayleybridge Rugby club which was decked out in balloons, streamers and random embarresing photos of our Simon in dresses and things.  Si's Dad was DJing and playing a lot of cheese that I'm sure everyone knew.

He was very good and even included a SoccorAM Soccerette catwalk complete with the real music!  Chilla and Tazzie were happy to go up and strut their stuff and we screamed so loud for them I lost my voice!!  Chilla came out on top with the moonwalk and won.

After pleanty of beverages we all managed to get up on the floor and danced in a circle with our arms linked while Simon danced in the middle - a moment I will remember for life. Anyone remember what the song was ?

 

Official 21st over we all taxied to Stayleyvegas - a street near Simon's house lined with bars. Went to Pavillion and drank, danced and recieved a rose from Dave before he snuck outside to the Chinese shop for ribs!

Even Simon was on the dancefloor with not 1 but 2 woman........go Si the black suit did it for you mate!!

 

Back to the house around 4 for leftover pasta........and Gaz and John attempting to get everyone to play drinking games with straight Jim Beam!! We wern't scared John - just tired!!

 

The next morning I woke up in Si's room (alongside Dave!) with 3 bodies on the floor and went downstairs to see bodies on the coutches, under the dining table, on chairs around 14 in all!!

Had a great feed of bacon & egg baps and said our goodbyes.

 

A huge thanks to everyone who came and especially to Simon's family who took us in (not knowing who we really are!) and showed awesome English hospitality.  Whose birthday is it next???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Saturday

Dave and his friends had been telling me about the Bonfire Night in Lewes all year so we decided to go.  Phil caught a ride there and we were to meet Kerry, Ben, Sarah and Mike in Lewes.

About a 2 hour drive right around the outside of London and then south.

Waited in a big queue of cars to get into Lewes but was'nt as bad as previous years i was told!

Found a cul de sac on the main road into town and parked there.

 

Walked down the street and it was still early so went to a pub and had 3 pints and played on the ITBOX (Pepsi music quiz)

Walked around and tried to get a good position to watch the parade from.  Ended up standing outside the bank on the main street near a pub.  I managed to get up on a windowsill sna had my feet on a tiny step supported by Dave - uncomfortabel but I could see!  By now the footpath was 5 to 6 rows deep!

 

Tha parade started with all the different bonfire societies marching through with burning barrels and stakes, chanting and singing. There was also the usual brass band and bagpipes.  The different groups were all dressed up differently as Greeks, Romans, Eyjptions, American Indians and other random chartactors like Elvis.

Some of them dragged huge figures on trollies (I assume to burn) up the street, one was of Steve Irwin and on his back was a tribute to his life. There was also George Bush and other well known figures.

 

After the parade the 3 of us (we never ended up meeting our mates) and the other 1000s of festival goers went to one of the bonfires (each of the societies have a seperate fire and fireworks and try to out do each other)

It was on a huge field behind Tescos and there was the biggeset bonfire I had ever seen in the middle.  We stood about 200 metres away from it and still felt the heat on our faces (but it was about 5oC!)

 

The fireworks for this fire started about 11.00 (there was fireworks from other fires going all the time) and they were absolutely amazing!! We stood right under them and they felt so close and were so big, beautiful and loud, sometimes there were so many of them going the whole sky lit up as if it was daytime!!

 

All wrapped up around midnight although there were still fireworks and fires going in the distance and still loads of people around.

 

Surprisingly fast trip home and arrived back about 1.30am

 

http://www.lewesbonfirecouncil.org.uk/      The Lewes Bonfire Councils Homepage