Carry on Camping

Everything you need to know about Summer Music Festivals

The Festival season is upon us, I know for some people listening to bands in a field is there idea of hell, but in general I’ve always had a good time.

I wrote about Glastonbury a lot last summer and so in spirit of green loveliness here are some re-cycled posts!

Festival Checklist:

Including a link to my popular festival packing checklist (550 plus downloads) so if you need a checklist of what to pack for Glastonbury, Lattitude, Cornbury, T in the park, Cambridge folk festival, Isle of Wight, Hop field, Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Bestival, Bloodstock ,Connect Music Festival ,Creamfields ,Download Festival , The Glade ,Global Gathering ,Golowan festival ,Isle of Wight Festival ,Montol Festival ,Offset festival ,Radio 1's Big Weekend, Reading and Leeds Festivals ,Summer Sundae ,T in the Park ,V Festival ,Wakestock, 2008 Temple Festival ,Godiva Festival , End of the road,..

Click Here to download it.

The truth about "why it all ways rains at Glastonbury?"

Why Glastonbury toilets aren’t so bad
What to eat and drink at Glastonbury or other festivals
Why festivals aren’t getting more middle class (they always where)

Music festival media clichés

What Michael Eavis will say after it rains all weekend.

The film I made at last years Glasto

Romping Axe Fans

Words only ever used in the papers:

Romp: Strangely when the tabloids are reporting on a “sex scandal” they often refer to the couple (or more!) as “having a Champagne fuelled all-night romp”. Romp is such strange term it always sounds a bit “Benny Hill”. I always see a footballer (his trollies around his ankles) shuffling after some giggling WAG, that or they spend the night bouncing on the beds, after all the only other use of the “romp” is in “romper suit”; something babies wear!
Also “fuelled” is strange usage it’s rare in day to day life we say “I had big night last night fuelled by London pride, ready salted McCoy’s and a cheeky Macallan at closing time”.. And as for sex being a scandal I blame the puritans,

Signalled: as “in the C of E signalled the government that it doesn’t mind the repeal of the blasphemy laws” how exactly does it “signal”, by semaphore, by very pistol, or Morse code, or maybe fan language* like in 18th century courts or maybe the Church got their mate Shelly to tell Gordon’s mate Gary that it were ok if people said god was a bit of cranky git!

“Mystery” Girl/man”: as in “Mark (posh boy looks like a lawyer) Ronson left an exclusive central London nightspot last night arm in arm with a Mystery girl”. Isn’t “mystery girl” a bit Nancy Drew, she’s not a “mystery girl” it’s just that the Metro doesn’t know who she is yet. Oh and Nightspot? Isn’t that another name for acne?

Axed: This is used instead of “cut” when describing people being laid off/sacked by companies as “EMI axe 1,000 jobs”. I know it sounds more dramatic but it’s quite subtle how the paper mix and match the words, nasty job cuts they want too vilify are “axed” were as “cut” “slash” comes out if the approve of the measure i.e. “Tories to cut benefit to benefit scroungers”

Revellers: I’ve mentioned this before but honestly when was the last time a “revel” was held in Britain 3-400 years ago! I mean Revels are rather odd sweets aren’t they. No one has ever said oh “we couldn’t get into the pub it was filled with revellers”.


*I’ve just looked up fan language and it seems designed to make the already tricky job of communicating with the object of your desire that bit harder. Also has anyone ever been to London’s most obscure museum over in lovely Greenwich?

Glastonbury Media Clichés pts 3, 4 & 5

Excessive metaphor
The moment it rains …… “it’s like the Somme”
The best reposte to this, is a quote by (rock writers) Paul Du Noyer (or possibly Jon Savage ?)


“it’s a common quip to compare rock festivals to the Somme but here’s one difference the Somme probably involved more teenagers”

Update Monday 18th morning : as if by magic a cliche appears from today's Guardian

Coo eeh Travis cop a load of these!!

Either in the papers or on TV we are bound to see the obligatory shot of an attractive bikini clad girl dancing on her boyfriend’s shoulders.



Arcane Language pt 12.

We know that only in the papers do people have “12 hours sex romps” and so it is with Festivals, where a strangely old fashioned word gets rolled out…….the word is “revellers”.
As in “Rain doesn’t dampen the fun as revellers at Glastonbury Festival enjoy the laid back grooves of….”