Technokitten's back from Glastonbury

And it was quite an experience. Arriving earlier was a good thing as it allowed time to settle in, but the lack of sleep really got to me by the end this year at which point I was exhausted. It was good to catch up with some pals from last year and to make some new ones too. And having less mud was a bonus on one level as it made for much easier movement around the place, but on the other hand, I think it made the crowd lazier and I missed the 'Dunkirk Spirit' or was it just that I didn't have an excuse to sip hot cider with a brand in it?!

Verdict on Shangri-La was that it's pretty good and bigger than Lost Vagueness. And The Diner is always guaranteed good fun late at night. Trash City was pretty spectacular. But neither area lived up to it's 'up all night' billing and when the plug was pulled on the power at The Diner at 5am on Monday morning it was a disappointment. Last year, the party went on until after 9am - maybe we got away with it because it was muddy last year or something? Anyway, once the plug was pulled that was it and was the end of the festival.

The music was brilliant and particular highlights for me were Crowded House, Duffy, Spiritualised, Neil Diamond and the awesome awesomeness of The Verve. Richard Ashcroft totally rocked my world that weekend and it was worth the ticket price to see The Verve alone.

On the downside, food and drink seemed more expensive this year (but maybe I just didn't notice the prices last year). Security was much more evident and noticeable and there seemed to be at least 2 security in every tent and they were enforcing the smoking ban pretty vehemently (no bother to me since I've never smoked but their presence was felt). I know they're there for our safety 'n all but not all of them were terribly friendly - although I did spot one girl in the Igloo tent swaying from side to side to the music whilst the rest of us were dancing which made me smile.

I was also unfortunately witness to several folks being stopped and searched for drugs before they got in and saw a couple of men being cuffed on Monday lunchtime. I also heard along the grapevine that there was a drugs bust at the Stone Circle on Friday night/Saturday morning. Maybe it was a rumour as I can't find anything online about it. I also saw a girl being carried off in an ambulance after falling unconscious in The Diner in the early hours of Monday morning. Tent crime was up significantly which was a great shame and maybe a reflection of the fact that it wasn't hard to get a ticket this year - in fact you could get a ticket right up until the event itself. And drugs arrests were up too apparently but that's no big surprise when police and security presence is so much greater.

Overall, there was good music, plenty to eat and drink, lots of folks having a good time and places to play after dark. Glastonbury, you did it again!

There are 5 types of Glastonbury mud (at least)

1. It's been raining a bit, so the grass is wet and getting a bit muddy but you can still see a bit of green and it's all very manageable.

2. It's been raining some more, more folks have walked on the grass and now you can't see green and looks like a rugby pitch after a match in the rain and it's a bit splashy.

3. It's been raining so much that the ground is just one large mud puddle - a bit like mud slush - and it's at least ankle deep.

4. In places, the mud soup gets a bit thicker and turns into mud slurry. Still, it's easy enough to get round as long as you have wellies as it's very sploshy and slippy. Very easy to slip on this stuff when you're trying to catch up with your mate with cider in one hand and food in the other. I survived though.

5. And then you get the evil, Glastonbury, wellie-eating mud which for many is a Glastonbury deal-breaker. Sucking at your wellie heels, forcing you into that workout you've been promising yourself at the gym for months (you get buns of steel after a muddy Glastonbury weekend), and it takes an age to get anywhere, and then some. There's no getting anywhere quickly in this stuff. And sometimes, you're just plain stuck. It brings a whole new meaning to the kid's game 'Stuck in the Mud'! I nearly went for a burton more than once, but managed to hold it together. I was only told on the last night though, very late on, that the trick is to walk on tip-toes through the mud. Which is all well and good as long as you've found some big bloke to hang on to at the same time! But even the big blokes fell in it sometimes and I heard tell of many sprained ankles and gashed knees.

Of course, there are also variations on these themes when you make the addition of straw, wood chips and gravel and various states of inebriation...

Bring on 2008!