For the first time in years I actually wish I was at Glastonbury, rather than just watching the muddy mayhem on TV. The festival space is hugely important, a carnival intervention into the everyday where new inversions of dress, cuisine and social space are celebrated.
The BBC’s coverage is excellent as ever, but I had to smile when one festival-goer was asked what she would give Glastonbury for its 40th birthday: ‘I’d make it Glastonbury all year round!’ she gushed. Any festival has to be temporary. To eat rubbish, hardly sleep and use questionable toilet facilities for a couple of days is fine… try to make this permanent and the happy fields of Pilton would soon begin to look very different. Arguments over territory, problems with resources, people needing sleep while others want to sing… The peaceful TAZ of the weekender would soon become violent.
The ideas of TAZ and festive spaces is something I cover in ‘Other‘. The first reviews are beginning to filter through, and it’s nice to hear that people are enjoying what they’re reading. Thanks to Paul for posting the first review on Amazon – do feel free to add your own if you feel so inclined!