Here’s a few snapshots from the Glastonbury, UK, 2003 festival.

Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with my photographic skills, I didn’t go out of my way to get good photographs, I just pointed and clicked. After all, I was inebriated one way or the other most of the time. So, I know some of them are crap and I know this camera is capable of much better things, but still the pictures stand as a reminder of one weekend in time when I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

This was to be my eight or ninth visit, I first went in 1981.

My friend Roy and I met at the Cutty Sark pub Wednesday lunchtime where he introduced Barry, an (almost) 20 year old soldier, who apparently was coming with us. Turns out Barry was the son of one of Roy’s friends who was working away and gave Roy £50.00 to buy him a birthday present. There was a spare ticket, so his birthday present was a trip to Glastonbury Festival. He had his 20th birthday at the festival, which was cool.

We set off with John, Dianne, their children Jack & Stella following, were diverted round Stonehenge because of a road accident via Salisbury, which added about 100 minutes to the journey.

Arrived on site around 6pm, blagged the vehicle into the Theatre backstage camping area and set up the tents. Access to this area and also the backstage Accoustic Tent area, was gained through knowing people and receiving complimentary passes. Big advantage of Theatre area is the Marquee restaurant, which served good, cheap food round the clock in comfortable surroundings.

Advantage of gaining access to acoustic tent backstage area is that the bar stays open all night, as far as I know the only bar on the whole site to do so.

I spent a lot of time in the dance tent, often comatose in a very nice state of Trance cos I don’t dance an awful lot, just kind of sway a bit. Very enjoyable. I didn’t see half as many bands as I intended to but it didn’t matter, the vibe was enough. I didn’t want to come home.

As ever, the event is made or broken by the weather and apart from a few hours rain Friday early afternoon, where I watched Echo & The Bunnymen on the Pyramid Stage, the sun was gloriously hot.

Summer, sunshine, the vale of Avalon, hippies, freaks, stoners, weirdos, all types of English eccentrics came together peacefully for a long weekend of celebration. It was good.

And on to the Photos. They’re all here in the order I took them, starting Wednesday evening and finishing Monday morning. This is the first one I took, Wednesday evening, outside Accoustic Tent bar, Barry & Roy:




The Green Field:



Crafts:



Crafts:



Crafts area:




Flags:



Dance tent:, Thursday, not yet happening:





The Rainbow Bar:




Theatre Restaurant Marquee:




Dance Tent Mixer. Area shown is for the lights, below that is the sound mixer:

Dance Tent:



Dance Tent:




The ‘Other Stage’:



The Glades, a wooded area with a sound system playing mostly Trance:



This is Roy trying to unnerve two Theatre girls who were trying to be mannequins. It seems to have worked. I don’t know what he said, but she started laughing a lot:



Teepees:




Teepees:



Ferris Wheel:



Idlewild:




This girl sat on the ground during most of Idlewild’s set, applying makeup. Half an hour just to apply lipstick. Most amazing. And quite diverting:

Police Horses:



Somewhere in the background, REM are performing here on the main Pyramid stage Friday evening. This for me was the musical highlight of the festival When they encored with, amongst others, ‘Everybody Hurts’ brought a tear to my eye:



Breakfast.



Inflatables:



Taxi:



Clowns with exploding car:




Love Sculpture:



Yet another stage, Lost Vagueness area:




Sculpture:




World’s smallest Range Rover:

Charming: (Warning! Cuss Word!):




Saturday. Pyramid Stage:





Theatre girl; Alien & Whip:




Stella, my Friends John & Dianne’s kid:



The Waterboys, Accoustic Tent (told ya some pix were crap):




The Damned:



Inflatable at night:




Suki at Breakfast:




Time for a smoke:



Stalls:

Pyramid Stage Mixing Desk:



Waterboys, main stage (how the hell I managed to see them twice escapes me):



Accoustic Bar:




Roy takes a lift:




These are what slurped up everything deposited in the toilets. ****-guzzlers:



Flags:



Other World Stage. The band – Yes. This was a surprise, stumbled across this accidentally:




Accoustic Tent outside area, by the bar:




Stella & Friend:




Jack:

Drugs:



Accoustic Bar:



Glenn Tilbrook, he who once sang with Squeeze, and the guy largely responsible for our backstage passes, just finished performing:



A local folksy type band, performing in accoustic bar, about 3am:




Monday morning, camping area:




Queuing up to leave the site, about 1pm, Monday:

Looks like you had a great time

Hope you make it back in one piece

After Quad's suggestion to move boating thread, thought I'd move this one as well.


That was possibly my last visit. Couldn't get a ticket last year or this year and it's not being held in 2006

Gotta find me's a new festival, I think.

Hey Flops, I'm going to LEEDS festival this year which should be a really great weekend, I couldn't get tickets for Glasto either . I'll make sure i take my camera and get plenty of shots for everyone.
My best mate is getting married shortly after Leeds (I'm the best-man) so were making the festival weekend his stag do/weekend. I think things might end up getting a bit messy!

Cache-Man: That should be one memorable stag night, er, stag weekend

Leeds is the one that runs sortta paralell to Reading isn't it?

Last time I went to Reading was about 1983 I think, it was good.

Here's hoping and wishing you good weather for Leeds, and whatever you do, don't misplace the ring on the big day