Day 93 – about Glastonbury (1)

(1) because there’s another Glasto-based post coming tomorrow…

I’ve already mentioned that it would have been Glastonbury Festival weekend in the UK, were the Glastonbury Festival going ahead this year.

The Glastonbury Festival is not going ahead this year. However, the BBC are doing their best to make it happen – virtually – and I have heard of many people using that coverage and living the dream by camping out in their gardens doing “Glast-home-bury” (but with the luxuries of a shower and a flushing toilet available just through the back door).

If I’d tried to do that today, I’d not be in Kansas anymore. It’s rather breezy here today. Like gusting to 100kph breezy. I might still try and find some waves to ‘tog later if the rain eases off though.

I digress. Often.

Back to the thing about Glastonbury. Mark Radcliffe and Jo Whiley are living the festival dream and camping out at Worthy Farm anyway – from where they are presenting some of the BBC coverage. Mark shared some images of their spot and the Pyramid Stage and they’re properly surreal.

Bear in mind that there are supposed to be 90,000 people stretched up this hill in front of the stage.

Not just a small herd of cows. (You can see the BBC Airstream caravan over on the right there)

If you’ve ever been to Glastonbury, you’ll know just how early those cows will have to have got up in order to get a place that close to the stage. Although, I’d have thought that they’d all congregate at… The Udder Stage.

Thank you very much. I’m here all week. Try the veal.

I’m going to consider wrapping up warmly and consider venturing out into the rain and the wind with the flappy-eared beagle. I have to admit that I’m not hugely keen on the idea though, and I’ll definitely be the more enthusiastic of the two of us.

More tomorrow, should I survive.

Get Well Soon, @themarkrad

I’m not into celebrity worship. I get enough of that at home, in the streets of Cape Town, in the gym and… well… everywhere. I recognise that it can be wearing for the celebrity involved.

But this is Mark Radcliffe and he’s been part of my musical education, upbringing and enlightenment since I can remember.

On Wednesday evening, he announced that he would be taking some time off work as he had been diagnosed with cancer. And he did it in typically understated style:

His tweets followed an advert on his timeline for his local pub’s annual conker championship, because that’s the sort of bloke he is. And in case you were wondering how others feel about him, there were tweets from every decent band going, artists, fellow DJs, football teams and apparently most of the general public wishing him well.

I’m really hoping that everything works out well and that we’re not deprived of his frivolity and humour for too long.

Get Well Soon, Mark.