Wednesday
We set off just after lunch on Wednesday and got a very nice pitch in the steward’s field, arriving at about 1 pm. We got set up, had a little look at the farm shop, had a lovely ice cream, and then chilled by the van as it was 30° and too hot to move!! (Check out the tractor below!)
In the evening, we strolled down to Wickham and had drinks and nibbles at Sean and Jane-Ellen’s with Dave and Penny before heading to Kuti’s for a very nice curry. (Kuti’s was originally in Portswood Southampton and I used to go there as a student!)
Thursday
We were happy to see that the temperature was dropping by about 4 degrees today!! We went to our steward’s briefing first thing in the morning. My first year but the second time for Dave, so he’s the experienced one. We don’t have a shift until Friday evening, so plenty of time to chill until then. The requirement to be a steward is to do three shifts during the festival – each of which lasts 4.5 hours. In return, you get free entry. This was worth £560 to us as a weekend ticket would be £240 each and van camping would be £80. Not only that, but you meet a lot of friendly volunteers in the steward’s area if on shift, so it is very sociable.
We spent most of the day relaxing by the van. Helen and Mark arrived in their van at about midday and set up next to us so we had a few drinks and nibbles. Liz (Helen’s sister) pitched her tent nearby. Dave noticed that we had a flat tire and, although the AA could have come and fixed it that day, we decided to opt for Monday morning as it would be a lot less disruptive in the camping field.
Dave and I headed down to the festival site and saw the following acts:
- Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage. (A singing and guitar duo playing 80 year old vintage guitars) They were excellent.
- Pronghorn. (Punk, country and rockabilly mix). They were very lively!
We were happy to see that the temperature was dropping by about 4 degrees today!! We went to our steward’s briefing first thing in the morning. My first year but the second time for Dave, so he’s the experienced one. We don’t have a shift until Friday evening, so plenty of time to chill until then. The requirement to be a steward is to do three shifts during the festival – each of which lasts 4.5 hours. In return, you get free entry. This was worth £560 to us as a weekend ticket would be £240 each and van camping would be £80. Not only that, but you meet a lot of friendly volunteers in the steward’s area if on shift, so it is very sociable.
We spent most of the day relaxing by the van. Helen and Mark arrived in their van at about midday and set up next to us so we had a few drinks and nibbles. Liz (Helen’s sister) pitched her tent nearby. Dave noticed that we had a flat tire and, although the AA could have come and fixed it that day, we decided to opt for Monday morning as it would be a lot less disruptive in the camping field.
Dave and I headed down to the festival site and saw the following acts:
- Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage. (A singing and guitar duo playing 80 year old vintage guitars) They were excellent.
- Pronghorn. (Punk, country and rockabilly mix). They were very lively!
We then joined the others to watch The Red Hot Chilli Pipers (Not Peppers), who were really great. They were a Scottish band who combined famous tracks with bagpipe music. They turned out to be onee of the highlights of the whole weekend.
We sampled some nice festival food – pizza and Thai curry- before walking back through the fairy-lit woods to the steward’s field. We helped Mark imbibe some whisky as we sat around their table and then retired to sleep in our luxurious van!
I created a little video of their performance so you can get the idea of them.
Friday
We got some rolls and good bacon in the farmer’s shop and Dave cooked some delicious bacon butties. The camp was always quite interesting as you never knew what sights you were going to see.
We headed down to the festival site in the afternoon and watched an audience with Mike Read – mainly to get some shade in the marquee. We could get access to the VIP area as we were stewards where there was always a bit of shade. The bar in there was pretty good and it was easy to dump our extra stuff.
We then saw a band called The Young’uns. They were great – our weekend highlight – and had an excellent connection with the audience. Their lyrics were brilliant and at times very emotional. (E.g. Richard Moore, Be the man) One of them did stand-up when not doing the music. Their forthcoming album, The Suitcase, is made up of tracks based on ideas from their fans left in a suitcase during their last tour.
This was followed by Steve Knightley and the Winter Yards Band and then Hejira, named after a Joni Mitchell album who sang her music . Hejira were 20 minutes late and they were a bit dissappointing.
Our first shift was set for gate D from 20.45 to 01.15. We were sorry to miss the Dhol Foundation as we’d seen them previously and loved them. We did get to see them leaving though as we were manning the artist’s exit on our shift!!
We stopped off at the bar in the steward’s field on our way back and rounded off the night with a rum and coke. (I wanted just the rum but their licence didnt allow unmixed spirits …😱, apparently it attracts the wrong sort of people? Bedtime at two – not what we’re used to! 🤣
Saturday
Mark headed off to the farm shop and Dave repeated the bacon butties in the morning.
We had a great view of some Bhangra dancers in their beautiful costumes from our gate. Shift 2 was in the camping area from 12.15 to 16.45. Dave and I were at different posts so we had others to chat to which passed the time. I was by Canada Camp where the glamping was.
One benefit of being a steward is that you have access to the VIP area near the main stage. This was great for less crowding, occasional shade and better toilets. Complaints about the toilets punctuated the whole weekend! We were approached by a Press photographer whilst relaxing there – although he seemed to only have eyes for Dave!! 🤣
There were various Morris Dancing troupes performing throughout the weekend and we saw some of them on the main dance stage. We caught the end of the brilliant group Black Umfolosi – A traditional singing and dance outfit from Zimbabwe, followed by the Amy Winehouse Experience. We then grabbed some dinner before The Saw Doctors, who were great.
We were really flagging in the heat so went back to the van early (9pm 😱. The combination of a 2am bedtime, the heat today and the prospect of an early shift tomorrow did for us so we opted for an early night!!!! 😀 In bed by 10pm.
Sunday
Our final shift was back on gate D from 8 a.m. until 12.30. Sue met some very friendly Morris dancers from Wales. We then met Curtis Stiger’s piano tuner and saw him in action later on stage at the start of his gig.
We broke up the shift by taking turns to pop over the road and get a bacon roll from the roadside van.
We had a celebratory gin back at the van to mark the end of our final shift.
Helen and Mark’s friends Ian and Jane joined us and we had a snacky lunch and chat in tge shade of the van in the afternoon.
That evening we saw Penguin Café orchestra followed by Curtis Stigers who performed with some amazing musicians.
The Proclaimers rounded off the night and, although they tend not to chat and connect with the audience between tracks, the audience was so enthusiastic that it was nevertheless a great gig. Their classics raised the roof – Let’s get married, Sunshine on Leith, Letter from America amongst others and they rounded off the gig with loads of people singing along to I’m gonna be (500 miles).
We yomped back to the van after what had been a good festival. Fingers crossed for next year.
Monday
We’d set our alarms today in preparation for the AA van – scheduled to arrive between 8 and 10. So, our 35th wedding anniversary started in the middle of a field waiting for the AA. 😀 Luckily, Mike the AA man arrived at 8.40 and it was all fixed by 9.
We went to the farm shop to get some nice food for our anniversary dinner – rib eye steaks, gratin dauphinois and local broccoli. Very delicious it was too!
I checked the Portsmouth News and we had indeed made it into the paper. This caused much hilarity and a fair deal of banter in the group chat with Ian putting his photo editing skills to the test so that Mark wouldn’t feel left out. 🤣
