Tag Archives: Pilton Party

Pilton Party 2018 with Liam Gallagher

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Rosemary and I set off for Somerset and the Pilton Party in the campervan. We stopped off for lunch on the way at the Lion and Fiddle where we both had a pint and a curry for lunch. We were in plenty of time so we again stopped in Shepton Mallet. The High Street seemed to be in terminal decline with so many units unoccupied and decaying. We did manage to buy some bungee cords at a hardware shop. We then heard all about a hornets nest in someone’s garden! Weird!

We arrived at the Pilton Party car park at the Glastonbury Festival Red Gate. This year they must have been expecting more people because another field had been opened up for additional parking. When we arrived we were one of the first ten to park.

We queued for the gates to open and were soon in the party field. The Pilton Party is located on the site used by the John Peel Stage during Glastonbury Festival.

It was a perfect evening for the party, the ground was dry, the grass green and the sun was shining and a very light breeze. There was the usual huge bar and quite a few food outlets. We ended up eating at the same stall as in Glastonbury Abbey Festival and ate a Vegan Wrap.

Some Villians at Pilton Party 2018

There was now a long wait until  the first band came on, They were an unsigned band called Some Villians and had gone through a selection process at the Pilton Working Mens Club. Sorry about the poor sound on this video

Katy Hurt at Pilton Party 2018

The crowds had now become to arrive and the field was heaving with people. I discovered the quietest place to go was on the right hand side of the stage.  The next singer was Katy Hurt a country & western singer. A little better sound track on this one.

Liam Gallagher at Pilton Party 2018

Finally it was the turn of Liam Gallagher to finish the event. He went down very well, People keep saying there must be an Oasis reunion one day. I expect the odds have increased on Liam headlining one of the slots at Glastonbury 2019.

Strangely, R hated the whole evening, being appalled at the litter and general behaviour. Not like the Glastonbury Abbey Festival, she muttered.

The Morning After Pilton Party 2018

Back at the campervan we settled down for the night and were soon were asleep.  In the morning we were the only camper van that had stayed the night, though a few empty cars littered the field. We were soon off to a local cafe called Hartleys Kitchen where the meet & greet dog Bentley was on duty. We ate excellent breakfasts of deviiled kidneys (me) and eggs benedict (R). 

 

Pilton Party 2017

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During the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza I knew the Pilton Party tickets went on sale. While R and I were drinking at The Who’d A Thought It pub we saw the ticket office queue, snaking around the corner. After our drink, the queue was smaller.  I joined and left with a ticket, cash only. Any tickets left over went on sale on Monday in the village of Pilton.  The rest went on the Internet.  None made it to the Internet, all tickets sold on the two days with no national advertising. It is supposed to be a local event.

On the Friday I drove down to Somerset, had lunch at the The Who’d A Thought It pub and then bought four special Torsy Moorsy fruit cakes from Burns the Bread. Headed over to Pilton and parked in the party car-park. Camping is not catered for, but there were a few vans, and overnight many cars were left in the car park. I parked next to another camper who had been at the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, and had been next door to us.

Walked up to the field where the event was held.  It is near where the John Peel stage and The Wood is. (At least I think so.) It was all fenced off, bar food and stage.  Somewhere like 4,000 people were expected, and the weather was lovely.

First on were two winners from the long-running Pilton Working Men’s Club ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition, UK:ID and Arcadia Roots. As you can see not many came to see UK:ID.  A rap band with a woman singer who was very good. I saw a tweet which is asking for bands to audition for next year’s Pilton Party. Though Glastonbury is not running, the party is.  Watch this space.

Next up on the line-up is the fabulous Declan McKenna, who won the Emerging Talent Competition in 2015.  And finally topping the bill this year were the incredible Bastille, who were last in Pilton to play a triumphant set on the Other Stage at Glastonbury 2016. They also had played Leeds & Reading in 2017, where I saw them with Selina..

I have a few pictures of Michael Eavis, should have got a selfie with him. Was so close.  

Back to the camper van where I slept, very noisy in the car park, the party seemed to go on there for a while.  In the morning after a lie in, headed off to find some brunch at a cafe called Hartleys Kitchen.  Its on a country industrial estate and seemed very popular with cyclists on a Saturday. Two groups, one with normal bikes, and another with the latest carbon bikes and SPDs.

 

Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza

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We had tickets and a campervan pitch for the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza.  There were three acts on the Saturday night, The Black Dyke Band, Corinne Bailey Rae and headliner Brian Wilson.

We drove down on the Friday, stopping off on the way at CJ Van Designs for some advice on wear on the popup roof.  He recommended placing some strips of carpet over the lights in the roof before closing down the lid.  We arrived at the site and parked the van, but we did not erect the awning as we were only there for a couple of nights. We sat out in the sun and drank our bottle of fizz before eating our supper which was Coronation Chicken, finished off with raspberries & cream.

The site was much as it was as the previous year, except that there seemed to be more campervans (of all ages) this time, and where we had camped last year there were now vans there.  The loos were not the composting type this time, but the traditional Glastonbury long drop, a large tank with cubicles on top, open to the weather at their roofs. Even after only a day it was getting pretty stinky.  There was also a van this time selling bacon butties (not that I was allowed to buy one).

Next day it was raining, but it was predicted to get better with no rain for the show.  We hung around at the campsite waiting for the rain to stop, and headed into town on foot and made it to the pub called The Who’d A Thought It. Alas, as it was lunch time we were unable to sit outside, so had to drink our pints in the bar.  Outside I had spotted the long queue to the Glastonbury Festival Office where tickets to the Pilton Party were on sale.  When we left the pub the queue was short.  Rosemary gave me permission to buy a ticket for the 1st September, so I joined the queue where I soon heard it was cash only sales.  I had gone cashless, luckily Rosemary had not yet left the area and was beckoned over to supply the cash.

A couple more hours to spare was spent looking around the weird and wonderful shops in Glastonbury.  After a while, we joined the queue and were soon walking into the Abbey where we sat down on our chairs on a small rise.  I think next year I shall sit more over to the left of the site, this seems to be the area where Michael Eavis appears for pictures.

First on were The Black Dyke Band, a Leeds colliery band.  I thought they were good, Rosemary considers last year’s school band was better.

Next up was Corinne Bailey Rae, sorry did not enjoy the performance, nothing I could sing along too.  We used the time to purchase some wraps with Halloumi, salad and Hummus.

Brian Wilson came on finally with his backing band.  Much more pleasant, with recognisable Beach Boy sounds.  The crowd really enjoyed the performance. Brian is a bit past it, didn’t play much and only sung a little.  The backing band and singers though provided brilliant performances.  The event ended with a great firework display.  

We left quite quickly and were on the second coach back to the campsite.  Very efficient service.  I sneaked in a JD in the campervan before going to bed.

The morning was a bit soggy, breakfasted and left.  Stopped for lunch at 12.00 at the The Cross Keys Inn.  We still had time to kill before meeting up with Sue and Ken, so we visited the National Trust house of Lytes Cary Manor.  It would have been better if we had skipped lunch at the The Cross Keys and had just eaten at the NT house.  

We arrived at Sue and Ken’s, Sue was in, Ken was supporting the pub which had only recently reopened, but he came back fairly quickly. We inspected Sue’s vegetable plots, chickens & cats. Good to see them.

The drive back on the A303 was a pain, Google recommended a big diversion before we reached Stonehenge.  Duly taken.