What can I say about Bestival . . . . . . . . it was AMAZING!
We got the train to Southampton early Thursday morning, where upon arrival we discovered that there was a 3 hour queue for the ferry we'd booked onto (slow one) and half an hour wait for the fast catamaran. A ticket upgrade later and we'd set sail, heading to an island I'd not visited since a 12 hour Vespa ride to the Isle of Wight Scooter Rally.
Once on the Island we located the shuttle bus queue and got some ciders in from the local Co-Op. The queue was an hour or two long, but when you have cider, sunshine and heaps of excited people, it doesn't really trouble you. However, it was still a welcome sight when we saw a shuttle bus pull up, which at this point in the queue, we thought we'd be sure to get on. The next part set the tone for the entire festival. As it turned out, it was hit or miss as to whether we'd fit onto the bus or have to wait for the next one. As we neared the front of the queue it looked as though we'd have to wait another half hour or so for another, when to our absolute delight, an open topped tourist bus turned up, displaying BESTIVAL in the destination panel! Not only were we getting on a bus, we were getting on an open topped one. The excitement spread through the upper deck and we were soon chatting away to our fellow travelers.
Upon arrival, it was a short walk to Blue camping where we got set up and went to explore. After seeing Paul TM and his Forum Allstar friends kick off the big top with a quality DJ set, we went exploring.
The site is fantastic. Very hilly, but this just made it more interesting and allowed more creativity with the decor. The main stage was nicely positioned and decorated with welcoming smiley faces and brightly coloured artwork. Upon finding the woods, we were in wonderland! Huge hammocks in the trees, illuminated bird sculptures, wood carved critters and an adventure playground were particular highlights.
The atmosphere was very friendly and excitable, with a wide range of ages present all intent on having the best time of their lives.
From finding and successfully navigating the adventure playground to the Monday morning is a bit of a blur if I'm honest, so I'll just list some of the artists/bands that I was particularly impressed by.
Public Enemy played a brilliant set and allowed FlavorFlav to show off and quote from his latest book. "Read about how I lost my virginity aged 6, and it wasn't from abuse, it was a girl the same age." was a particularly memorable quote!
Magnetic Man were brilliant and were followed by Zane Lowe, who played an excellent mix of tunes.
I think Crystal Fighters came next, they blew all of us away, they were much better than at Glastonbury and that was an excellent set.
From there we went via a Filthy Dukes DJ set at the Arcadia rig, to Groove Armada. A real full on show, trippy lights, high sound levels and a crazy dance floor full of people just wanting to party hard.
Saturday was all about one thing for me, PJ Harvey. She didn't disappoint, one of the best shows I've ever seen ever!
As the weekend went on I seem to remember less and less and it all kind of melds into one big bunch of happiness in my mind.
Sunday we went for a carvery at the pub by the gate at the top of the hill. It was a nice recharge and went down well with a few pints.
Later, I saw Macka B and the Roots Ragga band who were brilliant and then headed to Bjork who was . . . . . strange. That night was the big party night and we spent hours walking round the different late night areas having a dance and talking rubbish to randoms.
Woke up Monday morning to gale force winds and driving rain and began the journey home. All in all, not too bad, hour and a half for the shuttle, hour and a half for the ferry. The best part of it was, even though thoroughly broken, the people in the queue were just as excited and happy as they were at the beginning.
As I said, most of this just sits in my brain as an unorganised pile of happiness and laughter so the events described may not be chronologically accurate and are far from a comprehensive review of all of our adventures. Ooh, did I mention the toboggan ride!? Or the Womens Institute tent? Or the fireworks?
To conclude, Bestival is one of the best festivals I've been to, it's right up there with Glastonbury. I expect to see all you mongrels there next year so you can see for yourselves, definitely not to be missed!
