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Teen DD off to the Reading festival next week, tips please!

134 replies

BigSandyBalls2015 · 15/08/2018 08:29

There was a fab thread on here last year with loads of tips but I can't find it.

17 year old DD is off there next week with ten mates. What does she need to take, what aren't you allowed to take.

OP posts:
GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 13:36

Sorry can't stop typing! Night-time temperatures are dropping to lows of 8-10 degrees from Thursday to Monday. This is pretty cold for camping when you're not used to it. Once the alcohol wears off they will feel it Wine
I predict a lot of very chilly teenagers overnight once the arena has closed.

For this reason take extra layers - hoodies, woolly hat, fluffy bedsocks Grin
I like to pack a couple of cheap lightweight fleecy blankets from Primark/IKEA etc to increase the warmth of my sleeping bag. Trust me they really help and weigh practically nothing to pack, just a little bit bulky. Big blue IKEA bag is useful for lighter stuff that doesn't fit in backpack.

There's usually a silent disco or two running overnight once the arena has closed if they want to dance to keep warm!

titchy · 21/08/2018 13:54

Bum bag is essential. As is an 18 year old so she can stock up on alcohol from Tesco next door. No need to smuggle anything in. It's only where the main stages are that you can't take in your own food or drink.

Mobile charger also essential.

Guardsman18 · 21/08/2018 13:55

This is great! My 'baby' is going for the first time too. I'll feel better when he arrives home on Monday!

eaturveggies · 21/08/2018 13:58

Will my DD be able to take a camping stove in? We've got one with a separate gas canisters and a butane one? Or just disposable bbqs?

RavenLG · 21/08/2018 13:59

Regarding cooking, you can buy solid fuel stoves as you’re not allowed gas canisters. They are relatively cheap but ime a pain in the arse! I’d just pack snacks and extra money to buy food. It’s so much easier.

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 14:03

Okay you can take sealed 500ml bottles of water/soft drinks into the arena this year. Bag checks apply.

As well as prebookable onsite lockers you can store individual items for £2 at lost property/left luggage with 24hr access, see under Crime Prevention:
here

meadowmeow · 21/08/2018 14:05

I'm stunned at the poster who considered has hair straighteners 'a life saver'

Bum bags are fashionable again so at least she should be happy to wear/use one.

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 14:06

@RavenLG

Greenheat Base Camp Cooker, solid fuel stoves, Disposable BBQs, firelighters/firelighter stoves - Meth/trangia spirit stoves are permitted in the campsites

Full list of banned items campsites and/or arena here, under tab 'What you can and can't bring':

www.readingfestival.com/information-category/the-essentials

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 14:07

Oops sorry Raven, that was for @eaturveggies!

eaturveggies · 21/08/2018 14:09

Thank you! So nervous about her going, it's her first festival!

Sparrowlegs248 · 21/08/2018 14:13

Pay for a locker if they have them. V did them, so she can charge her phone in it and spare cash can be kept safe.

EnormousDormouse · 21/08/2018 14:17

A woolly hat or even balaclava for sleeping in. If the sky's clear the temp can plummet. At the festival I was working at last week I had one night where I had on all my clothes, 2 sleeping bags, a hat and then I had a big woolly blanket totally covering me like a shroud and I was still shivering (heatwave my arse)
And a massive power bank for her phone (Anker are very good - I get 3 or more full charges from mine)

fontofnoknowledge · 21/08/2018 14:17

My youngest DD and all her mates are picking up GCSE's and going straight to Reading to celebrate or commiserate. 11 x 16 yr old. Good luck Reading.

My only tip is a lot of battery packs for phone and a Nokia standby with payg credit for genuine emergencies.

SuburbanRhonda · 21/08/2018 14:19

I usually buy a single duvet & a pillow when I go to festivals, you can usually leave them there and they can be donated to the homeless (same with tents)

“The homeless”?

And it breaks my heart how many people at Reading discard perfectly good tents and sleeping bags that they can’t be bothered to take home. They aren’t disposable items - if you brought them, you should take them home and not expect other people to deal with them.

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 14:33

@eaturveggies how old is she? Tbh all the advice above about sticking with your mates, looking after each other, preagreed meeting points if separated, old Nokia and a power pack, knowing who to approach for help if the worst happens are the absolute best advice.

Don't be afraid to approach Oxfam stewards in their hi-vis, they are there to help. If you get an unhelpful one (rare) try someone else, they are all over the arena - every stage and stage perimeter, outside toilet blocks, all disabled viewing platforms, arena emergency exits, NME signing tent. The most knowledgeable will be the supervisors denoted by orange and yellow hi-vis (with supervisor in black letters across the back!) who also hold radios.

As it gets busier over the course of the evening the stewards at the edge of the arena (toilet blocks, emergency exits, outside every music stage/venue) and those at the arena info point are easier to find in the crowds and generally under less pressure if you need straightforward advice like directions/line up info etc. The ones working inside the stages and manning disabled platforms will be preoccupied with crowds and medicals especially during the popular acts and headliners.

Welfare is a very welcoming place to go if you've overdone it for any reason or need a little quiet time to regroup. The staff are wonderful.

Campsite stewards are present in every campsite and have an obvious hub Smile

I don't really bother cooking at festivals these days - usual fare is cereal bars/breakfast biscuits/porridge pots/fruit, crisps/sandwich/pot noodle/hummus/ disposable BBQ/ meal purchased from a trader at night Grin Grab fresh supplies from the supermarket on Thursday/Saturday morning. As staff we have access to boiling water but this info mentions The Salvation Army in Green campsite (not far from arena) provides boiling water for a small donation if she doesn't want to boil her own!

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 14:37

Sorry link here, under 'Where to go for help: The Salvation Army':
www.readingfestival.com/information-category/personal-safety

Grin
GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 15:02

@SuburbanRhonda Totally agree. Hate that it's the prevailing attitude. As a teen/student (i.e.the majority of Reading customers) I certainly couldn't afford to leave my kit behind nor would it have crossed my mind to! Nowadays the majority have it bought for them and have no qualms about trashing it/leaving it. The arrogance that someone else exists clean up after you is mindboggling.

From the festival:
"If you do bring your own tent we ask you to please take your it along with any other camping equipment home with you. If you leave it in the field it will most likely end up in landfill or incineration.

If you have any broken or unwanted tents chairs, gazebos, empty batteries, unopened tins of food after the festival, please take them to the Nifty Recycling Points.

If you want to donate your tent to charity, take it to your local charity shop. Please don’t leave it in the field."

There is a salvage operation on Monday and Tuesday but it is run by voluntary organisations such as the Scouts and there is a limit to how much they can collect in two days. It's not a very nice job as you can imagine some of the filth that lies amongst the salvageable goods.

Moan over!

SuburbanRhonda · 21/08/2018 15:27

Even more reason not to leave tents and sleeping bags - I did actually think they were collected and distributed to vulnerable people not the fact they aren’t makes it even worse!

Though I think I’m especially sensitive to this issue as DS took my best lightweight sleeping bag to Reading and left it there because his mate peed on it Blush.

SuburbanRhonda · 21/08/2018 15:28

At least he said it was his mate Grin

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 15:43

Suburban Rhonda, I can imagine that was a sore point Grin
We sometimes go hunting in the campsites on Monday for replacement abandoned camping kit. Don't usually bother at Reading as it's such a dump. Nothing worse than spotting a top-brand abandoned tent or chair to see it's soaked in piss (or worse Envy) or has been mindlessly slashed with a blade Shock

The more family orientated festivals yield better pickings - especially if the weather has been poor and people have had to abandon ship in a hurry. Still shocking that people are prepared to abandon ££££ pristine camping kit.

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 15:44

I hope he bought you a new one!

SuburbanRhonda · 21/08/2018 16:07

No, he didn’t buy me a new one but I actually do believe him when he says it was a mate. I would have just brought it home and put it in a hot wash but then I was brought up not to waste anything.

That’s definitely worth knowing about the abandoned camping kit! We could do with a bigger tent ... Grin

DPotter · 21/08/2018 16:24

Leaving tents etc
Another request here to take home tents, duvets etc - the vast majority and I mean 95% tents etc left end up in landfill.
Last year the teams taking down tents had 2 hours before the clearance teams came in. In that time they had to check tents were clean and salvageable, then take them down, fold etc
It's such a waste.
Take them home

GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat · 21/08/2018 17:07

I wasn't at Boomtown this year but the scene on Monday was appalling despite a very clear message on the video screens during the Sun night finale (part of the plotline/story).

It's an innovative festival and I understand next year they're going to make a real issue of sustainability. It might come down to refundable tent bonds/Q codes etc. Will be interesting to see if and how they manage it. Could provide a template for other festivals if successful.

NotTheWayISeeIt · 21/08/2018 17:19

Depending on her age and past behaviour etc you could tell her (with either bribe or punishment) that you will be drug testing her when she gets home.
Drug tests are dirt cheap from Amazon.

If she says she isn't going to be taking any drugs then she won't mind taking a test will she 😏

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