So here it is, the blog all of you (and by all of you I mean a couple of you) have been waiting for. A while ago I did a blog post about how I was preparing for the festival - read it here - which went down pretty well, so of course I'm going to update you on how the festival went. I know you're all dying to know how the toilet situation went.
Me and my best friend Bethany headed up on Friday - after getting a huge pizza to line the ol' stomachs - and got dropped off at the campsite carpark. Unfortunately the carpark was miles away from the actual campsite so we had to walk for aaages with all our stuff. I had about 3 bags as well as my sleeping bag and foam mat so I looked like a real-life version of Buckaroo.
When we finally reached the campsite we dumped all our stuff on the ground and stared at the tent. I kinda hoped it would magically assemble itself if I stared hard enough, but no such luck. Thankfully Bethany used to be in the Scouts (as you do) so she assembled most of the tent while I touched it a bit to pretend I was helping.
We were blessed with lovely dry weather so we spent some time chilling at the campsite having a few drinks. We have a friend who has a place in Bundoran so we headed up to meet her and then a group of us went to the beach and hung out there, drinking, having a laugh and listening to the music coming from Sea Sessions. We then went inside to check out a few of the acts. We saw Raglans and DJ Yoda - two acts I've never heard before but I really enjoyed both.
The next two days seemed to fall into the same routine - head to the beach and then go into Sea Sessions. We saw The Strypes (which I only remembered when I went back through the photos, oops... I'm sure they were very good!) and walked around listening to various other acts too. As well as music, the festival also had a skate and surf competition and a cool contraption that they strapped people into and it spun them around - although probably not the safest idea after a few drinks.
Sunday we decided we had to see Kelis and Ella Eyre. We saw Kelis (who was very good but she has aged quite a bit, I don't think her gone-off milkshake brings many boys to the yard nowadays). Everyone went mental when she sang a jazzed-up version of Milkshake. We then headed to see Ella Eyre. However, she never came on and instead we watched a reggae act. I later found out her tour bus had had a collision just before the show - so gutted we didn't see her but I'm glad she's safe and well.
When we left Sea Sessions that last night I felt very sombre to know it was all over. I would've liked to see Hudson Taylor, Ron Pope, Rackhouse Pilfer and The Dandy Warhols but alas, you can't see 'em all, and I was glad I got to discover some new acts.
I didn't end up spending too much money (although I did think I was gonna have to pull out one of my kidneys to sell on the black market to pay for the drinks at the festival) and didn't do too much damage to my body but I am paying for it with a nasty cold now.
The camping situation wasn't too bad - the worst part was the lack of sleep, I'm an awful grump if I don't get enough sleep and we were located right beside a tent full of people who sang 'til about 7:00 a.m. - but hey, that's festivals for you. I'd like to camp again, just not at a festival.
I shamefully ended up bringing my pee bottle and set up a 'toilet corner' in the tent with the bottle, tissues and antibacterial wipes (pretentious) but luckily didn't need it. Portaloos were plentiful and not that bad - although on the last day they were like a warzone and I saw things I can't unsee. I think my soul left my body. It was like musical Portaloos trying to find one that wasn't vomit-inducing.
So that was my festival experience. I had a brilliant time and I'd cert go again - although I'd probably stay in a hostel next time! I'm dying to go to Longitude later this month but I'm poor. If anyone could hook me up with (give me) a ticket I would do nearly anything for you...within reason.
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