So next weekend I am off to the big one, the festival of festivals - Glastonbury, or to give it the full title, Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts.
Aside from the fact that it's actually closer to the town of Shepton Mallet rather than Glastonbury; anyone who's anyone in Somerset calls it Pilton.
Much easier to say and geographically correct as Pilton is the sleepy little village that transforms into a giant city at the end of June each year.
As well as living about 20 minutes drive away from the festival site (which means I can have the comfort of my own bed, flushing toilets and running water) I also get into Glastonbury for free.
Well, it's free in terms of cold hard cash but I do have to complete 24 hours stewarding for my ticket.
This involves walking up and down a little leafy lane in Pilton village checking on posh houses.
I work at Glastonbury Festival though a local Somerset Carnival club. About 35 of us work 24 hours a day in 8 hour shifts from the Wednesday before the show to the Monday just after in order to fundraise money to help build our carnival float each year, and of course, for the free ticket.
If you've never heard of the Somerset Carnival season, Google or Wikipedia it and you'll see what it's all about - it's South West England's best kept secret!
More info to follow in the Autumn when the season begins...
Anyway, back to the festival talk.
My Glastonbury checklist is probably very different to all the paid-up festival goers - for a start, it doesn't involve a tent! These are the sort of essential things I'll be taking with me next weekend.
1. A cool bag for storing food whilst working my shifts - this one is from £14.99 from Argos
2. A torch for finding my way back to my car in the Staff Car Park - this little LED is reduced to £3 from Millets
3. A drawstring backpack for carrying round extra layers of clothing and a coat whilst in the festival site - make sure it's a cotton bag like this one for £1.72 from Amazon and then it can be chucked in the washing machine afterwards!
4. A lightweight raincoat, hopefully the rain will hold off but it still gets chilly late at night. I'll be wearing my duck parka but this one for £14 from Asda is also pretty cool.
5. Bottles of water, boring but fairly essential as the cost of everything on site is pretty extortionate! Water bottles can be carried around in your backpack (see item 3) and can be refilled at home before you leave and also for free on site.
6. A Thermos flask for numerous cups of tea during a long 8 hour night shift (from 12am to 8am) - this one is only £7.99 from The Range
7. A zip up bag that goes across your body, so you can access your phone and purse easily but you still have both hands free (in case you fall over). I particularly like this flamingo one for £7 from Asda.
8. My Kobo Arc - sometimes I'm in the festival on my own and having something to read is excellent for those long gaps in between each band when there's nothing to see.
9. Bin Bags can be used in so many different ways - you can sit on them when it's muddy, wrap them round yourself as extra protection against the rain, put your newly bought band tshirt and memorabilia in them so they don't get muddy and cover the inside of your car with them so you can chuck your dirty wellies in without wrecking the upholstery!
10. Towels, when you arrive back at your car after a fun but wet evening, or a soggy 8 hour shift, a towel is useful so you don't have to drive home in a damp patch! :-)
11. Sun Lotion, goes without saying, even if it's cloudy you should still chuck some on.
12. And last but not least, the thing that fingers crossed we won't need next weekend - Wellies - I quite like this red polka dot pair for £35 from Wonderful Wellies
I'll admit, it doesn't look like the most exciting of lists but it is practical and makes the whole weekend just that little bit more enjoyable.
2. A torch for finding my way back to my car in the Staff Car Park - this little LED is reduced to £3 from Millets
3. A drawstring backpack for carrying round extra layers of clothing and a coat whilst in the festival site - make sure it's a cotton bag like this one for £1.72 from Amazon and then it can be chucked in the washing machine afterwards!
4. A lightweight raincoat, hopefully the rain will hold off but it still gets chilly late at night. I'll be wearing my duck parka but this one for £14 from Asda is also pretty cool.
5. Bottles of water, boring but fairly essential as the cost of everything on site is pretty extortionate! Water bottles can be carried around in your backpack (see item 3) and can be refilled at home before you leave and also for free on site.
6. A Thermos flask for numerous cups of tea during a long 8 hour night shift (from 12am to 8am) - this one is only £7.99 from The Range
7. A zip up bag that goes across your body, so you can access your phone and purse easily but you still have both hands free (in case you fall over). I particularly like this flamingo one for £7 from Asda.
8. My Kobo Arc - sometimes I'm in the festival on my own and having something to read is excellent for those long gaps in between each band when there's nothing to see.
9. Bin Bags can be used in so many different ways - you can sit on them when it's muddy, wrap them round yourself as extra protection against the rain, put your newly bought band tshirt and memorabilia in them so they don't get muddy and cover the inside of your car with them so you can chuck your dirty wellies in without wrecking the upholstery!
10. Towels, when you arrive back at your car after a fun but wet evening, or a soggy 8 hour shift, a towel is useful so you don't have to drive home in a damp patch! :-)
11. Sun Lotion, goes without saying, even if it's cloudy you should still chuck some on.
12. And last but not least, the thing that fingers crossed we won't need next weekend - Wellies - I quite like this red polka dot pair for £35 from Wonderful Wellies
I'll admit, it doesn't look like the most exciting of lists but it is practical and makes the whole weekend just that little bit more enjoyable.
I'll be working at Glastonbury in the daytime on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I'm planning on going to watch the bands Friday night, Saturday night and all day Sunday.
I'm going to try and schedule some posts for when I'm away but the Comments Challenge will have to wait until the first few days of July.
I will make sure to take lots and lots of pictures - which I'm sure I'll bore you all silly with when I get back!
If you're off to Glastonbury as well, have fun!
If you're off to Glastonbury as well, have fun!
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