Reading 97
*Scroll to the bottom for the condensed version

"Its bank holiday weekend - lets go to Reading" said Dean in a slightly over enthusiastic manner.
"Fuck off" quoth I. "Its started and we're all skint."

This was very true. This conversation was taking place on a Saturday morning and we were all trying to get over a week long session that had only ended two days before.

"Come on! We can scrape enough together. We've still got a bit of weed. All we need is beer and petrol. We can work out a way of getting when we get there."

And so a plan was formed...

The expedition, now down to the last three survivors, arrived late on Saturday and took stock.
Beer situation: Poor
Finances: Poor
Weed situation: Critical
Ticket situation: N/A
Morale: low
The evening was spent parked outside the site, sharing our meagre rations while listening to the faint sound of the Manics drifting over to Base Camp Astra.
Day 2. Possible result. Another group with the same plan as the heroes of this tale needed money and had mushrooms. After a brief inspection of the wares, the trade was made. My two fellow explorers declined the kind offer, but I was sorted.
Two fact finding missions were then launched. The last of the money was split. Dean would find tickets/any other way in. Andrew would get the cheapest alcohol available. I would initially stay at base camp rolling the last of the weed into spliffs ready for the final assault, following up with another drugs search. Joints rolled. I promptly fell asleep...

"Wake up you twat - were ready to go"

My colleagues had excelled themselves. We had tickets and Vodka.

Soon we were in the arena. Sat on the grass, warm sunshine starting to burn exposed skin, slowly smoking our last spliffs and drinking the hairspray tastefully sold in vodka bottles.
I take in our surroundings. Life is good. But what is that? A small plastic bag, near my foot.
It was a plastic bag. Containing around a quarter of hash. Refuckingsult...

Things go very blurry here. Someone suggesting getting closer to the front to see Marylin Manson and Metallica. Trying not to throw up as I chewed up a stinking mass of fungi washing it down with warm pisslager.
Standing shirtless in the middle of the crowd, swaying slightly, waiting for the band. Someone threw a bottle. And it came back. Followed by another. And another. And repeat. A bottle bounces of my head. I barely notice but enough to want to throw it back but by now by body is fucked. I launch it directly into the back of the head of the very big, very scary looking hairy bloke directly in front. The neanderthal looks at me as if to kill someone then quickly turns back. It seems a grinning, pale, skinny, sweaty, swaying and shirtless bloke with mad looking eyes is not to be fucked with (Apparently I have mad looking eyes even when unsullied with narcotics tho)

Then, the epiphany...

"I AM FUCKING IMMORTAL!!! LIKE THE HIGHLANDER OR SOMETHING! ONLY WELSH NOT SCOTTISH!!!"
"NOTHING CAN KILL ME!!!"
"I CAN LIVE FOREVER!!!"
"RAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"

Thats it. A blur; a swirling mess of memories. Snippets of Moshing, Marilyn Manson and Metallica. I think we stopped in the services and ate a Burger King on the way home. But what I do know is that I had a fucking awesome time.


And so children, that is the story of TheMattInAHat's first festival experience. And every time since has been a let down...


*Got drunk, took a pile of drugs and had a great time. Probably the same as 95% of the rest of the stories here TBH.
Also I needed to google to find out the date that this happened. And now I feel fucking old and not at all immortal.
Fuck.
( TheMattInAHat has a particular... odour..., Fri 5 Jun 2009, 22:40, 1 reply)

Heh
I was there that festival. I recall many many bottle wars.
Amongst my group of friends is the tale, that night, of another mate coming back from Manson, having wrestled his way to the front, with soaking wet trousers and a soporific grin. He then collapsed outside his tent.
Good times. Not as extreme as yours, but still.
ps - I saw the Manics right up close :P
(tweebianmonkey Should be known as Widget, Sat 6 Jun 2009, 15:03, closed)