Anyway, I'm going to blog about my weekend at V Festival with my girls. I'm also going to talk about how I tackled a full weekend music festival and camping with my stripes. 'Doing' a festival is such a fantastic experience and really is one that I must recommend to everyone even if you have a chronic illness or disability. I'm going to share with you what I've learned from the festival in case there is anyone else with a chronic illness or disability who is planning on going or wondering if it is for them. For me, it was an amazing experience but certainly not an easy weekend by any stretch of the imagination both physically and for them stress levels!
I'd planned my trip quite meticulously and had to list and re-list what I was going to take with me - so that I didn't end up stuck in the mud (lol, pun) nor did I end up taking crap that I didn't need. After I'd packed all my medical supplies there wasn't a huge amount of room for much else, so whilst all the glampers were kitted out in their cute little outfits I was hanging in leggings and tops the whole time.
Everyone who knows me will know that I am cold 99.9% of the time, and most people have never seen me at that 0.1% because it's so rare. I predicted living in a field for 4 days, I would be cold because I'd have nowhere to go to warm myself up the whole weekend so I packed warm. I was literally boiling for 3/4 of the time I was there. It was beautiful, I even got sunburnt, and I don't really ever remember being sunburnt in my life ever. It was an experience.
So, I'm going to say that the stress of V Festival began before the festival even started, from packing my bag to driving arrangements - it was all happening in my head. I really don't worry about these sorts of things usually because I kind of just think if the worst comes to the worst I can come home and problems can be sorted one way or another. I was really tired from the weekend before and wondering how I was going to cope (I cannot remember the last time I had a rest day right now).
If you're going to share a tent for 3 nights then make sure you share it with people who know you well. I'm always worried about doing new things with people who don't know me and my illness really well because I always feel a bit exposed if I have to 'be ill' in front of them. The girls know me quite well but it's one thing sharing a house where everyone has their own personal space and you can do your own thing and another sharing a tent - the tent was smaller than any one of our bedrooms. I think I was quite worried about that. If I was ill, we were away in a tent together and the pressure of ruining someone elses weekend is quite prominent. I know the girls have always been good about my illness but I was still worried that my 'extra baggage' might have been more in their face when sharing a tent.
We camped in the normal camping, though there was disabled camping and I think in future I might opt for that as you can go in and out of the disabled camp which would be better for if I needed anything from the tent or if I was ill and wanted a lie down and it's also a little nearer the arena. We camped at the farthest camp site from the arena 'Gold camp site' which was about a ten minute walk but it meant it was quieter which was what we all wanted/needed.
I was also worried about the busyness of the festival and about my bag getting crushed in big crowds or my tube pulled so I was on the look out for that all the time and getting a bit paranoid. This is another reason why you should go with people who know you well because you need someone else to understand your limits.
On the first day we set off at 6am meaning that we had to get up at 5am. If I went again I would probably set off a bit later. We set off early to avoid traffic and get a good tent pitch but we ended up stood in a queue for 2 hours carrying all our belongings on our back and in our arms which was extremely painful and difficult for me (and for the other girls as well). The queue died down later on in the day and the camp site did get busier but people came on the Saturday and still managed to get a pitch so if I were to go again I'd set off later and opt for busy traffic over standing in a queue with bags.
It didn't take us long to get our tent set up and all our bags inside and we all had a rest before heading up to the arena to have a look around and get our wristbands. There was some events going on down at the arena on the first night that we had all planned on going down to, but in the end we were all so tired that we were in bed for 9.30pm - absolute grannies!
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| I was so proud of myself until I realised I had to carry this and more for two hours. It hurt. |
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| Irwin done Gold Duke of Ed and had nothing on us. |
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| Tent up like pros |
Saturday was the first day of music and it was super hot and sunny for it. We could not have asked for better weather! There was a great line up on Saturday and I was absolutely buzzing to see George Ezra. On the first day we saw: The Proclaimers, Gregory Porter, Scouting for Girls, Ella Henderson, Ellie Goulding, The Kooks, GEORGE EZRA, Kodaline, The Script and Calvin Harris. I think the Saturday was probably my favourite day music wise, largely because I got to see George Ezra but Kodaline and The Script were also amazing.
A non-musical highlight of the Saturday was when I went to get a toastie from a gluten free-toastie stand (I won't bother in future) and took two bites out of it before I was attacked by a wasp and flung my toastie about 10ft where it hit an innocent and very startled man. The girls thought it was hilarious and I couldn't get my head round what I had just done with my £6 toastie. Oops...
After the toastie incident I found a 'carvery' van and decided a bit of plain meat might not do me any harm but the soggy £6 dollop of pork made me quite ill and I was worried I might have to miss George Ezra. Advice: Never trust a portable van that calls itself a carvery.
After George Ezra (did I mention that I saw George Ezra? He was so good!) the girls went to get some dinner and the heavens opened. We'd bought some £1 ponchos so they came out and we looked fit and stylish in those beasts for the rest of the night. After food, we went on to see Kodaline on the MTV stage followed by The Script and Calvin Harris on the main stage. It was thundering and lightening for all three of these acts but it did not kill the atmosphere one bit. Calvin Harris was quite rough on my back-pack which made me feel a bit uneasy, but we were really near the front and it was an absolutely buzzing atmosphere.
Here are some pictures from Sarturday:
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| Survived our first night |
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| The Proclaimers |
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| Henna tattoo for Meggy B |
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| Henna tattoo for Little Meg |
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| All of our henna tattoos |
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| Ella Henderson |
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| EZRA! |
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| Had my picture with George Ezra... sort of. |
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| Kodaline |
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| The Script |
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| Calvin Harris |
On Sunday we went down to the arena a bit later because there was nobody on we wanted to see until 2.35pm and that was James Bay who was excellent. It was really hot in the morning whilst we were sat around the tent but when we got down to the arena it pelted down again and after that it was really cold. We bought new ponchos (well, I did because my day 1 poncho had ripped) but they didn't have sleeves in and my jacket got soaked which made me colder. So I ended up forking out £40 for a V Festival hoody. Saying that, it's really soft and cosy so it was probably worth the money.
On the Sunday we saw: James Bay, Tove Lo, The Courteeners, Hozier, Sam Smith and Kasabian. So many good artists. I wasn't too bothered about seeing Sam Smith at first but he is REALLY good live. We were right at the front for Sam Smith which was incredibly rough but luckily, Irwin stepped in again for me and held my back pack the whole time. Massive thumbs down to the twats who pushed passed us, poured their drink over us and nearly ragged my tube out. I hope you never know what it feels like to be stood in a crowd of thousands of people, connected to your friend through a delicate tube in through your abdomen. People are so inconsiderate. One of them was about 6ft 5 and I stood with my face in his stinky back pack for the latter half of Sam Smith whilst his friends kept turning around to stare at my tube and watch me struggle. I appreciate this is the nature of gigs as I have stood in much more rowdy ones than Sam Smith (refer Hadouken 3 years ago!) but I didn't have my back pack on last time. I'm aware that you get knocked about and was prepared for that, but then there's just people being blatant knobs and that was these people. Despite this, Sam Smith sounded amazing and even though I wouldn't usually have listened to that sort of music I enjoyed him! He was absolutely awesome live especially singing Latch and La la la.
After Sam Smith we headed to some space at the back to watch Kasabian finish off the weekend. I actually can't tell you how amazing Kasabian are live - they are absolutely insane. The atmosphere for Kasabian was the best one by far all weekend and the music they were producing was just unreal. I've wanted to see Kasabian since I was about 15 and as high as my expectations were for them, they way exceded that. Seriously, you have all got to go and get yourself tickets to go see Kasabian. I want to go back there. My fancy for Serge has expanded.
Here are our pictures from Sunday:
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| James Bay |
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| Hozier |
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| Nervous smile for being squished at the front for Sam Smith. |
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| Sam Smith |
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| 8 years after I first heard Kasabian, I finally saw them live! |
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| Kasabian |
So that's a round-up of the weekend. I arrived back on Monday afternoon and went back to work yesterday (Tuesday) I was SO tired. I still am. I'm just keeping my head above water now until the weekend where I have my first lie in, in... I don't even know how long. Just exhausted right now but so happy.
I'm on such a come down from the festival, I just want to be back there. It was absolutely amazing and I just encourage everyone to do it. Here are my top tips for taking on a festival as a zebra:
1. Don't pack too heavy - it's really cramped in a tent anyway, and there is nowhere to put your stuff except on the floor even if you have a big tent. The more stuff you take, the more stuff there is to get lost. It's also really heavy to carry from the car to the campsite.
2. If you're ill/disabled go with people you know really well and who know your limits. It's a long time to be out and running on spoons that you don't have. Go with people who are on your level.
3. I didn't do it, so I can't full recommend it but - camp disabled if you need to. There is no shame in it and you'll probably get nicer toilets.
4. You can still get a perfectly good view without going into the mayhem at the very front. The atmosphere is the best part anyway, and you can get that wherever you stand. Don't jeopardise your body to get close.
5. Don't eat the food. It's rank.
6. Take comfy shoes! Invest if you have to - pay more for your shoes than the tent - I did! My friends wore wellies which was great for them, but if you have bad joints then get some decent waterproof walking shoes. My feet were sore anyway but they would have been worse in wellies. Wellies are cute for festivals, but I'd rather not be in pain and have a decent, supportive pair of shoes. You're on your feet all day without a break - once it starts raining you can forget sitting down on the floor!
7. Take plenty of water/drink plenty of water!
8. Don't bother taking waterproofs - they're just cumbersome. Just buy a plastic mac when you get there! I took a warm waterproof and a summer lightweight and used neither of them. You can't carry craploads from the campsite to the arena and you don't want to be carrying it round all day.
9. Remember toilet roll. Expect disgusting toilets.
10. Be prepared for it to hurt afterwards - I don't have the perfect way for us Spoonies to do a festival without consequences. They will be there and it will hurt like no other. It is probably one of the most physically difficult things I've ever done but it was absolutely the BEST experiencee and it was 100% worth every single bit of pain.
I'm feeling so very happy right now and have some very precious memories. If you haven't done a festival then go and do one! You can thank me after!
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| Last morning - it was freezing! We survived!! |
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