Too old to party?
Posted June 23rd, 2007 by Steve Davey
This weekend is Glastonbury weekend, and I must confess that it has left me feeling somewhat depressed. Not that I actually wish that I was at the annual mudfest, spending five days in a waterlogged tent, queuing for toilets that would even be boycotted in a refugee camp. It’s just that out of my wide selection of ne’er do well friends and miscellaneous hedonists, the only person whom I know is there is our nanny. You know that you are getting old when the only person you know who is going to Glastonbury is your nanny.
Things were so different a couple of years ago when about eighty of us in two groups headed to the Big Chill festival at Eastnor in Herefordshire. Three days of solid partying without sleep and two large encampments to retreat to when it all got too much. In truth, the Big Chill is more of a festival for those who are over the Glasto vibe – they even have hot showers for God’s sake!
The United Kingdom punches well above it’s weight for summer music festivals – especially in a country that is, as the CIA World Factbook helpfully points out, slightly smaller than Oregon! Apart from Glastonbury and the Big Chill, there are a host of others – some in the country and some in London’s Hyde Park. The website of the NME has a pretty good listing for those in the UK, or who are thinking of visiting this rainy season – sorry, Summer!
This year we have our eye on the WOMAD Festival, an eclectic festival of World Music, but with a six month old baby and a loft conversion scheduled for the end of the Summer this may well not happen – now maybe we could send the nanny on our behalf…
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June 25th, 2007 at 10:32 am
I hear you, Steve. Sainted Husband and I went to see the Stones last year, which was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen (Jagger’s athleticism puts me to shame and he’s almost two decades older than I am) but I heard my little mental voice whining about having to stand up for hours on end. Wuss!
Music festivals are great, but there ARE times in between fighting for the PortaJohns and choking on dust that I wonder why I don’t just go buy the CD or download the artist’s MP3s.
More power to your nanny (but hey, she’ll be in her 30s/40s/50s soon enough as well!)
June 29th, 2007 at 5:50 am
There was an article a while back in the Wall Street Journal about the rise of “VIP zones” at music festivals to appease us old farts who don’t want to rough it anymore. People are paying $300 and up extra to have access to an area with shade, clean toilets, and showers.