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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Glastonbury am I the only one that hates it?

203 replies

Pumpernickel10 · 24/06/2011 19:24

What joyment is there to camp for 3 days in a mud pit, queue to use the toilet, stinking for 3 days and paying hundreds to see shit bands?
Or am I too old and like my conforts too much?

OP posts:
donnie · 25/06/2011 22:00

FRIENDLY FIRES

they are so bloody good.....

NetworkGuy · 25/06/2011 22:25

YANBU - I'd need to be paid several thousand and have a luxury camper van and food and drink (and some female company) to be tempted to even visit...

Oh, I forgot, I'd also want sound proofing and a good 'home cinema' system so I could entertain myself with alternative things like a good film, the news, and 'other' music videos, if I was not interested in the line up!!

No knowledge of even who will be there this year, but judging by the amount of rain we've had, if there was even half of it down there, I'd feel pretty miserable if it was the so-called 'highlight' in June.

CroissantNeuf · 25/06/2011 22:26

A topical joke for you:

Whats the difference between Bono and God?.
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God wasn't on stage at Glastonbury pretending to be Bono....

inatrance · 25/06/2011 23:07

I love Glastonbury it's my spiritual home! Grin

I first went in 1998 (a wet one) and had nothing remotely waterproof so did the old 'carrier bags in the boots' trick. Despite the mud I was hooked, and have been many times since.

1999 was a hot one and oh my god it is a different place when the sun shines! Nothing beats it. It is loads safer since they put the fence up. I loved it so much I wanted to work there (mainly so I didn't have to carry my stuff for miles) so did some training and applied and since then have got in and work in the Kidz field in exchange for working a few hours a day.

I took dd for the first time aged 3. Our birthdays always fall on that weekend so we always have the best party! Grin she loves it and is gutted we're not there this year. I was planning on being there despite having just had a baby, but DH has got a conference so couldn't go. Though i have to say, looking at the weather I'm actually really glad! Ds will be 2 the next time we go, I can't wait.

inatrance · 25/06/2011 23:10

Also, the main stages are just a tiny part of the festival, there is so much to see and do that i rarely get to see any bands!

mousymouse · 25/06/2011 23:26

enjoying watching at on the beeps.
but glad I'm not there. too many people for my liking.

RobF · 26/06/2011 00:14

"i hate the fact that people think music festivals should only be for certain people"
When you start charging £200 to get in and build an inpenatrable perimeter fence, what else does it say to people?

pinklizzie · 26/06/2011 00:47

Jo Wiley and Zane Lowe do not get on do they??? Just checking out the body language??

SouthStar · 26/06/2011 00:51

I live abroad at the moment so the only english tv we get is what a few channel kindly let our broadcasting system have. We usually get most soaps then its just random trash. At the moment all that is being replayed over and over AND OVER is bloody glastonbury and tennis, both of which I didnt mind, now im totally sick of them both!

EggyAllenPoe · 26/06/2011 00:51

the charge hasn't actually changed though - it was a week's pay eleven years ago when i went (including bus fare), and its still a weeks pay now....

the fence just ensures everyone pays it, instead of just those that have a conscience.

i was suprised how many people were willing to say how much they loved the festival, but didn't buy tickets ..and then spend that much and more on drugs/drink etc.

southofthethames · 26/06/2011 01:04

Haha - can always rely on MN to provide a chat about something topical! I only have one thing to say about Glastonbury - so expensive! Makes the opera look like a discount deal! Cheaper to go to Lewes for Glyndebourne opera than Glastonbury for festival music!

DitaVonCheese · 26/06/2011 08:44

Didn't know Glyndebourne had 700 acts over 80 stages, five days and 900 acres ...

Rob, if there was no fence there would be no festival. I know which I'd prefer.

I wish people would understand it's not just about the bloody bands on the two main stages!

NetworkGuy · 26/06/2011 09:28

Yes, while Glyndebourne may put on a civilised show, I was stunned to find how many acts were listed for Glastonbury, though of course partly that's to cater for different tastes.

I've only seen around a dozen names I've even heard of though, so however good the other 825++ are, you'd still need to pay me to visit!!

DitaVonCheese · 26/06/2011 11:16

It's not like the Edinburgh fest though, you don't make a schedule of everything you want to see and then spend all your time dashing from one to the other - you'd be exhausted and miserable (it takes around an hour to cross the site by foot without stopping - it's huge). Half the joy is just wandering and seeing what you come across, whether you've heard of them or not. DH and I spend most of our time in the circus fields these days, I'm always slightly put out when there's someone on one of the main stages I actually want to see.

I'm not going to pay you though, I'd rather leave it for people who appreciate it Wink

NetworkGuy · 26/06/2011 11:45

Have never made time for Edinburgh, either, to be honest.

Anyway, I am getting old mature, so therefore may be too grumpy for such things :)

Give me a radio or computer show any day!

goodgirl76 · 26/06/2011 12:19

I love it. Been for the past 7 years (apart from gap year) but due to baby bump couldn't make it this year. I am gutted.

The last 3 years have been glorious, very little or no rain/mud. Glad to have missed its return this year. Still feel a bit envious though watching it on tv.

vintageteacups · 26/06/2011 13:10

I honestly think that many people go just to say they're going/they've been because it's seen as 'cult cool'.

I couldn't imagine anything more dire than camping in those conditions for 3 days.

Might as well get a better view and watch it on tv.

NetworkGuy · 26/06/2011 13:42

they've been because it's seen as 'cult cool'

I went to Wembley Stadium (old one) in the 90s ...

... to see Madonna playing live ... you'd have to pay me to watch football, too :)

lookout · 26/06/2011 14:24

I wouldn't say it's cult cool anymore. It's corporate entertainment, how can that be cult?

Also, as many have said before me, watching it on the TV is nothing like being there. It's as if you said I don't need to go to London cos I've got a Big Ben poster in my house...

There is a ridiculous amount more to Glastonbury than two stages broadcast for a few hours over the weekend. Those are the least interesting bits, imo Smile

lesley33 · 26/06/2011 15:24

I went in 1990 and loved it. Yes its a lot of money, but I think for what you get it is fair. When I went it was very hot weather and the whole festival had a laid back hippy feel to it. It felt very safe in spite of the drug dealers. I think 1990 was the first year that the police were on site.

I have never fancied it in the rain and mud and risking getting your tent and belongings stolen.

emmanumber3 · 26/06/2011 17:07

I hate the idea of the whole thing. I know I'll probably get flailed alive for saying it, but, I always think bands sound better on a CD in the comfort of my own home than across a wet muddy field.

Apart from that, the mud & portaloos would put me off anyway - and all for £200!! I wouldn't be interested for a £10! Blush

Selks · 26/06/2011 17:54

I've been to Glastonbury three times - 1985 (I think), 2006 (I think) and last year. What a different festival it has become since my first time there! Last year was fun because of the incredible weather and we were working on the kids field which was great, but really the site is so massive and it is so commercial I won't be going again. There are so many smaller festivals in the Uk that easily have some - or more - of the old 'Glastonbury spirit' that I'll be going to those if I want a festival experience. I'd urge people to consider the same - smaller festivals can be masses more fun as you get to know people and get involved in a different kind of way, also the practicalities are easier - no tramping miles and miles between stages.

Selks · 26/06/2011 17:57

I think the fact that the Telegraph now reports on Glastonbury festival sums up how mainstream it is now.
And the fact that the protesters who wanted to stage a small demonstration about U2's tax avoidance were stopped from doing so by festival security. So much for bringing the politics back into the festy, as Eavis was wittering on about.

sungirltan · 26/06/2011 18:32

i'm so glad i went to glastonbury when i was 18/19 and got it out of the way. i have no desire to go now - ok well maybe in a couple of years if dh fancies it but i would never take my kids. i think if i'd never been id yearn for the experience but actually once you get past the novelty its a concery in a field. iirc reading was much more civilised and relaxing -we sprawled drunk on the grass to listen to bands who wernt v far away.

Wamster · 26/06/2011 18:36

You're not the only one who hates it. Or, rather, what it has become-a mecca for middle-aged people trying to recapture their youth. Why don't they just piss off and give the youngsters a chance?