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GLASTONBURY 2005
"THE HAND OF GOD DESCENDS"
Glastonbury Festival 2007 - MUD - pics
"HALLOO" Who's who in the Green Fields - pics
"It was an unnatural thunder", the
local farmer said, as we were leaving the devastation that was Glastonbury
Festival 2005. On the first official day, as we all know by now,
a mighty thunder storm descended. In the more commercial area around the main
stage, known as Babylon by the green movement, the innundation was of
Biblical proportions. Stages and marquees were struck by lightning. The main
pyramid stage was knocked out, and the entire festival had to be closed - albeit
temporarily. In my own little tent in the Undel field I realised that this was
no ordinary storm as the canvas was battered with a ferocity I have never known
in a lifetime of camping. I heard the voices in the thunder, roaring and
groaning and the scores of lightning strikes - perilously close. After the storm
there were four and a half inches of rainwater in my washing up bowl.
It could have been a source of hilarity, as the agents of the multi-national
companies rushed around in horror, tearing their hair as capital investments
were endangered and potential profits were trashed. However, in some of the
official camping areas, flash floods devastated large areas, washing away tents
and posessions and sending festival goers, many injured, literally running for their lives.
It was not until the next day that police divers retreived the body of a young
man, drowned in the flood under four feet of water!
Apart from that, it was pretty good - you know - the usual...
"Oh I do like to be beside the sea-side"
Hmmmmmmmm...
This is Michala, a flood refugee taking shelter in the Undel field free Sauna tent where she was offered shelter. Her story of the night before was harrowing. She described how she heard shouts and screams from her neighbours as her tent imploded with the weight of flood water. Many tents were washed away.
"I'd travelled to Glastonbury overnight on the Wednesday and Thursday was a hot and tiring day so I'd gone to bed on Thursday night fairly early by my standards - around midnight. I was pretty tired so sleep was well-deserved. I awoke early on the Friday morning to the sounds of thunder and lightening and rain pattering down on my tent. My first thought had been 'I knew yesterdays sunshine was too good to be true' and I thought I'd better be prepared for ANOTHER rainy/muddy Glasto! Nothing could have prepared me for what came next...
I lay in the tent with the rain getting seemingly heavier and heavier and the thunder and lightening getting louder and brighter. The rain was lashing down now and the noise of the rain on my tent was like heavy stones being thrown down, then my groundsheet started to lift up like a waterbed. I thought keeping still was my best option, but the flood had other ideas! I heard screams and shouts and people panicking outside, my mates in the tent next to me were shouting - telling me to sit tight as the rain would stop.
The next thing I knew my tent collapsed in on me and the water was up to my waist before I knew it. I was only wearing what I slept in but the water was rising. I struggled for the zip and jumped out of my tent. The force of the water was so strong that my tent ripped and tore and my belongings started washing away as soon as the tent was opened. Some girl handed me a black bag to grab what I could and then I set about helping others to salvage stuff and try to save tents and belongings. Despite what happened, everyone was really community spirited, pitching in to help people, to find spaces to erect tents that had not been destroyed, offering cups of tea, shelter and even spliffs to calm nerves! One girl even gave me a pair of flip flops to wear as I'd lost both pairs of shoes along with most of my clothes, my camping stuff and sleeping bag...
Luckily I still had my wellies which were a godsend for the rest of the weekend. The guys at Sam's Sauna were fab, I managed to get showered and clean and chilled out there drinking tea and chatting to everyone for a while, taking stock of what had happened and deciding what to do next. I even bumped into a friend from my uni days there, who I hadn't seen in over a year! So...what did I do next? I borrowed clothes from people and bought some clean and dry clothes too, I bought myself a blanket and bedded down with other people for the festival - I still had a great time, had lots of fun and it was an experience - albeit one I hope I never have to go through again!"
Anyway, on a lighter note, click here for the RFM "Halloo" zine review of who's who in the Green
Fields. |