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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Do you think festival should have helped me?

258 replies

MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 15:49

Not really a big deal, but home and musing. Went to a festival this weekend, on my own. Had an ok time.

For context my stuff was really heavy, 8 man tent huge heavy, only one I could borrow and obviously had to bring it back.

The night before I’ve left my asthma inhaler ran out, and I’ve started bleeding and cramping from a minor procedure I had done last week. I had an asthma attack about a week ago too.

Anyway the car was absolutely miles away, through mud and hills. Sincerely worried I could not physically make it. So I thought I was sensible going to camp welfare and asking if there was any way to hire a buggy to take the stuff to the car. They said no but sent me to first aid to see if I could get an inhaler to manage the asthma doing the drag.

First aid wouldn’t give me a spare inhaler unless I was having an actual attack, not just feeling wheezy. No help available obviously for the cramping as I need a gp to assess that.

So basically no help.

Now I did make it to the car. Very very breathless and in pain, car got stuck in the mud and had to be towed. Stupid gear and I fell down a few hills too!

Hence not a big deal because while breathless I have made it home (2hr drive) and have my inhalers. And yes it’s my own fault for not picking up my spare!!

So just a hypothetical really, were they unreasonable not to help me when I asked? It could have ended differently.

OP posts:
CaptainPovey · 28/07/2019 17:10

Fool. 8 man tent for one person?

You can buy small popups for nearly buttons and how on earth did you manage to put up an 8 man tent on your own and then take it down?

Pants on fire

Pippa12 · 28/07/2019 17:11

Reading your post... you were being unreasonable before you even set off. You need to take responsibility for your own health.

BuildBuildings · 28/07/2019 17:13

It would have been nice for them to help you. But I also think you should have taken more responsibility for yourself and been better prepared.

Act10nPlan · 28/07/2019 17:17

Did you take the inflatable paddling pool to cool your beers ?
This would have guaranteed 7 friends to help carry your 8 person tent

SignedUpJust4This · 28/07/2019 17:18

Yabvvvu

Sweetpotatoaddict · 28/07/2019 17:19

Yabu, but so are the posters suggesting you should have bought a cheap tent. Think of the environmental impact a cheap tent that is unlikely to survive a festival will cause.

Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:21

Probably get accused of drip feeding here but!

Decided at last minute to go as work gave me the tickets, we had an event there I needed to check in on. Hence lack of prep (never been to a festival before) and borrowing the stupid big tent. I had asked my mate for a small one but he said as it was stormy it would leak and to take the massive one! He’s been to festivals I just took his advice.

Procedure was a coil insertion. I couldn’t predict issues with that, it was fine when I went. But now I’m thinking it’s an infection.

Asthma, yep my own idiot fault, thought I’d got my spare, I hadn’t, but to be fair I did take responsibility for that in the original post.

They were hiring buggies to get from the cars to the festival on arrival day, I didn’t expect anyone to do anything for free or to do the physical lifting. I just asked if they were able to hire me one for trip back, they weren’t.

I guess I just thought they might give me an inhaler or hire the buggy.

I am just musing not accusing them if you read the OP so don’t really deserve a kicking. Completely accept IABU.

OP posts:
Archie1411 · 28/07/2019 17:22

Completely unreasonable. Who goes to a festival when not fully recovered from a procedure? You're asthmatic and you didn't take spare inhalers to (what is basically) a field? Idiot!

Loopytiles · 28/07/2019 17:24

Even with your drip feed info you made a series of decisions before attending and upon arriving that led to the situation. Your responsibility, not the organisers’.

JoxerGoesToStuttgart · 28/07/2019 17:29

Work gave you the tickets? So there were others going too that you knew? Couldn’t you have called some of them to help you?

DownByTheRiverside · 28/07/2019 17:29

Having read your little thread on Friday asking for advice on going to your first festival, posters obviously didn’t set the bar low enough. They assumed you knew the basics of travelling anywhere, not just to a festival.
Never have more stuff than you can transport yourself.
Take money, mobile and medications with you
Take your toothbrush and a comb.
Have appropriate clothing, including a rain coat.

How basic did you need the information to be? That’s the list I made for DS on his first cub camp. By the second one, he made his own list.

fuzzyduck1 · 28/07/2019 17:30

Totally agree the festival organisers should have helped you maybe let you bring your car onto the camp site to let you load and unload. Did you not ask then when you arrived? The alternate was you could have ‘asked’ for one of the ‘special’ camping pitches they have reserved back stage for people in your situation. I’ve used them a couple of times the trick is to tie an inflatable flamingo on the roof as you enter the car park. This is the special code to get you in the special pitches. Not only can you park next to your tent there are a group of helper there to help you pitch your tent.
And as a plus side you get to meet all the acts and patch them from the side of the stage.

BlueSkiesLies · 28/07/2019 17:33

Nah, this situation was entirely of your own poor decision making and you would have been fine if you hadn’t been lugging an & man tent.

If you’d been ill they would help you, not go back with you, pack your tent up and assist you with the tent.

Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:34

Oh and the “pouty entitled embarrassment of a woman” brigade can sod off. Not once did I say in my post I kicked up, or was going to complain or in fact asked anything other than to HIRE WITH MONEY a buggy, as they were on the way in, or possibly organise a spare inhaler as my spare was forgotten. I didn’t go without one completely, i said it ran out and I realised I’d left the spare. To which point I said that was stupid of me.

OP posts:
TestingTestingWonTooFree · 28/07/2019 17:34

Glastonbury festival is exceptionally well organised/equipped. They have a whole host of medical professionals including doctors, physios, psychiatrists and an on-site pharmacy. If you pre-book into the disabled camping, there’s a shuttle bus that goes from the disabled campsite to the disabled car park. I wouldn’t expect these facilities a) anywhere else or b) without prearrangement.

Sorry you had a shit time OP. YABU though.

BlueSkiesLies · 28/07/2019 17:35

And you could have easily bought a decent yet cheapest tent.

My £60 3 man pop up from decathalon is about 7 years old now and still going strong - light for one person to carry and has never let me down even if terrible weather.

Newbie1981 · 28/07/2019 17:35

Why the hell would you go on your own when you have had a procedure. Pretty irresponsible in my opinion

fedup21 · 28/07/2019 17:36

How basic did you need the information to be? That’s the list I made for DS on his first cub camp. By the second one, he made his own list.

Grin
Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:36

Please point out where in my post I asked anyone to help physically with the tent? Or do my packing up for me?

OP posts:
maddiemookins16mum · 28/07/2019 17:37

I had customers like you on overseas holidays, would bring 3 suitcases each and complain the rep never helped carry THEIR cases.

Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:40

Down how is that relevant? I took everything I needed? I didn’t need a list?

The only mistake was the size of the 8 man which I borrowed from someone who does festivals. And which by the way, before the inhaler and the coil infection (which I couldn’t have predicted), I managed fine on my own on the way in.

But feel free to keep up the pointless sarcasm to amuse yourself...

... after I’ve already said IABU.

It was a question, it’s been answered. But this place loves to weigh in anyway Hmm

OP posts:
Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:41

Maddie again, where have I asked someone to help carry my tent for free?

OP posts:
Original poster
MyAppleTree · 28/07/2019 17:43

Testing Thank you!

Totally accept IABU. But a balanced way of telling me. That’s all I wanted to know. Genuine thank you that, it’s possible for someone to be told they are being unreasonable in a balanced way, without the fun of the kill.

OP posts:
Cosentyx · 28/07/2019 17:43

FFS. Where is your common sense? You went to a festival a week after an operation. You let your asthma inhaler run out. You borrowed a huge arse tent for yourself. Then you expect others to bail you out? YABU. The entire situation was of your own making.

LuckyLou7 · 28/07/2019 17:45

@fuzzyduck1

The 'special' camping pitches behind the stage - surely you have to prove you have an actual disability and not just tie an inflatable flamingo to the roof of your car to benefit from those? Otherwise genuinely disabled festival goers will miss out on assistance required, because all the helpers will be busy with those people who were too disorganised to take equipment they could actually carry and set up themselves.