By Howerd Oakford www.inventio.co.uk
God made the world in six days, and on the
seventh He/She rested. Work and celebration, fasting and feasting, rain and sun
are all part of Creation. It is with these thoughts in mind that I want to tell
you about the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts - just my
view of it, of course - the best party ever, a celebration of life, music and
people.
First a thank-you to : Michael Eavis and all
the organisers, the support crew of security, welfare, police, fire and
ambulance, the litter collectors, the musicians both on-stage and off, and the
people. What I type here is my way of saying thanks.
Thanks also to Brian for introducing me to
Glasto and for the use of his tent, and to his brother Neil and friend Mark for
being there! And not forgetting my now ex-wife Sonia and children Sam and
Hannah for letting me go away for the weekend, never knowing what state I will
be in on my return...
Hopefully you can get a glimpse of what my
Glastonbury is all about and maybe I can correct some of the distortions which
are inevitably produced by a media obsessed with the
sound-bite and cliché.
Updated 14th July
2007 as part of a process of continuous improvement…
Warning : some of what I write
about in the pages below is weird. I apologise if it makes you feel
uncomfortable. It certainly made me feel uncomfortable when it happened…
Glastonbury 1999 My
first time
Glastonbury 2000 My
second time – the
seriously weird one
Glastonbury 2002
Third time lucky…
Glastonbury 2003
Couldn’t go
Glastonbury 2004 Couldn’t
get tickets
Glastonbury 2007
Fourth, with mud for the first time, and with Hannah for the first time too.
Some comments :
Brian ( 9 times veteran ) : "If the
weather is good, Glastonbury is the best place on the planet."
Mike Scott of the Waterboys, from his
Glastonbury Song : "So lucky just to be alive."
Me : "Wow!"(1999), “What the f***?”(2000),
“Thank you”(2002) and “Thank you, thank you, thank you” (2007).
This is all work in progress - please
be patient...
You can email me with corrections, additions
or comments at glasto@inventio.co.uk
2007 Jul 14