IT'S LIFE, MR EAVIS (MBE) - BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

Glastonbury 2007.

Some initial thoughts through the haze...

Last night at about 2am we stumbled upon a café in a marquee in “La Belle Epoque”. I thought we’d entered a Lost Vagueness wedding reception...

A wee lass in a wedding dress greeted us at the door and told us to find a seat and someone would be over to take our order (A seat? My order? Both rare Glastonbury treats..)

Smartly dressed teenagers straight out of “Dawsons Creek” cluttered the place, rolling massive joints, all dressed up and wearing very smart hats, with guitars and drums on laps.

Stoned adults milled about muttering things like:

“You know you’re REALLY wasted when you can’t find your own pocket!”

“Mud. I’m looking for mud. Have you seen any?”

and

"Teacakes!! Making a comeback!"

A haphazard collection of cakes were piled on a table under triangular fly protectors, and tea, scones and teacakes were being snapped up by the masses.

Occasionally the low hum of people chatting was broken with shouts of. “Can anyone play the piano?”

Cue many fingers pointing to the piano in the corner of the marquee, until someone has a go at a chopsticks duet.

A waitress (a Pirate this time) lucky-dip basket underarm asks “Perhaps you’d like a hat or a tie to wear?” I accept, and select the campest, pinkest wedding hat I can muster the courage to wear, and plonk it on my rain-soak'd head.

Most people take up the offer of a hat or tie, and the place looks great. The people who decline shuffle out apologetically, as someone on the other side of the room focuses in on me, points in my general direction and declares “Yeaaaaah, man. That looks cooooool.”

Glastonbury 2007 Highlights

• Chai and chocolate brownies in the chill out tent
• Hot chocolate and flapjacks at the “Belle Epoque” café
• The discovery of the Aussie steak bar right next to the wine bar. (Mmmmm. Steak and onion baguettes and Shiraz while standing out in the mud and driving rain.)

(I know, I know, L, "It's not a food festival, Annie".)

• The exclusive gathering in the Guardian Lounge for the Magic Numbers mini-gig. Awesome.
• The music, maaaaan. Who could forget the music:

• Friday: Benjamin and the Sirens, Soweto Kinch, Amy Winehouse, The Magic Numbers, Bloc Party, The Fratellis, Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys

• Saturday: Catherine Feeny, The Storys, Liam O Maonlai, Lily Allen, Paolo Nuttini, Mark Ronson, Mika, The Waterboys, The Killers

• Sunday: Koop, Seth Lakeman, Shirley Bassey, LCG Choir, KT Tunstall, Kaiser Chiefs, Corrine Bailey Rae

Glastonbury 2007 Lowlights

• Mud
• Rain
• Camping on a hill for 5 nights
• Mud
  
• Cider overload and falling onto a stranger's tent (not my finest hour)
• Rain
  
• Wading through the carnage that was the Pyramid stage to get to our tent in the early hours of the morning
• Mud
  
• Packing the tent and gear in the driving, cold , wet rain.
• Rain
• Rain
  
• Wading through the apocalyptic war zone that was the bus rank, lugging bags through the mire
• Rain
  

Not such a different experience to last time then.

It's good to be back in the land of the living now though.

Ek hoor donder, ek hoor donder, hoor jy ooooook? (Hoor jy ook?)