Monday 27 June 2016

Glastonbury Festival: More Mud Max than Mad Max


Glastonbury Festival this year kind of felt like a party in some post-apocalyptic pleasuredome as the world fell to ruin. You might be thinking that the pictures I've posted here don't exactly show civilised conditions, but I have to say that despite a 10-hour traffic jam to get through the 12-foot high steel fence that surrounds the site and sometimes ankle-deep mud once you got in, the festival felt like the last enclave of humankindness while outside people turned on each other with increasing viciousness.

I'm rather glad I had almost no phone signal as the news coming in made me feel very sad. I honestly don't mind how people voted - we live in a democracy and everyone should be able to express their wishes at the ballot box. It is the anger, hatred and even violence by some people against those who disagreed with them that makes me feel we are now living in dark times.

Yet I had a wonderful time at Glastonbury Festival. I sang at the stone circle with the Shakti Sings Choir, learnt about the science of music at a live recording of The Infinite Monkey Cage, was entertained by singer/comedians Beans on Toast and Mitch Benn, and listened to an amazing range of music from bands including Hobo Jone and the Junkyard Dogs, The Alarm, Squeeze, Madness, Muse, Mercury Rev and ELO.

More than the music, I enjoyed spending real time with my friends - not just chatting to them over social media. And I always enjoy the Glastonbury Vibe - that little flame from the Summer of Love that is kept alive in Somerset and fills the festival with the spirit of peace and friendship. I hope that everyone who was there - and those who couldn't get tickets but watched on TV - can take just a little of that back into the world. Because maybe, just maybe, that light of peace, love and - most of all - understanding, can help us through the darkness to a future where we can all learn to live in harmony.


2 comments:

Pippa said...

Lovely article. Thank you :)

Badwitch said...

Thanks :)