What to pack, part two: food, booze and keeping clean.

0:00Rob Hi and welcome to GlastoCast, the unofficial podcast for Glastonbury Festival. I'm here with Jessi.

0:18Jessi Hello.

0:18Rob And with Miguel.

0:19Miguel Hey guys.

0:19Rob And I'm Rob.

0:23Jessi And this episode, we're going to carry on where we left off.

0:32Rob Talking about what to pack. We covered the essentials with regards to the tent, sleeping bags, mats, and things like that. This time I think we really want to talk about the little things that are going to make a difference, the things that we're going to take food-wise, toiletries, keeping clean, everything like that, to really make sure that nothing's missed. Okay, so food. Now, what we're really going to talk about is food that you might want to bring with you. Glastonbury in its vastness and in its greatness is equally great in the food that's available. There is loads of food, loads of food, so many good stalls. So much so that I think we're gonna have to talk about that specifically. What we want to focus on at the moment is things that you're going to take with you. Um, so obviously it's going to be slightly different for myself and Jessi than it is from you, Miguel. So let's start with you, uh, the lightweight packer.

1:26Miguel Yeah, so for, uh, Throughout the years, I've been bringing some different things, and I try to choose foods that have some good nutritional value but are also light and easy to pack. So since about the last 2 editions of the festival, I started bringing some tuna pouches.

1:42Rob Wow.

1:43Miguel It's a bit different, but I mean—

1:45Rob I didn't think you were going to say that.

1:46Miguel Well, I think for camping and trekking, people tend to take some tins of food, right? Tins of tuna or whatever. And then in some supermarkets, you can find the actual pouches. It's not just tuna, plain tuna, but you have some, maybe some tomato sauce or some dressings and seasoning. And I think, I think it has some good nutritional value for my morning breakfast at the tent.

2:06Rob Yeah.

2:06Miguel In the same vein, I also pack some nuts, some different kinds of nuts. And now I'm finding it a bit weird. I know there's more of us out there.

2:17Rob There are varied tastes. I'm sure people are like, oh yeah.

2:20Miguel Very similar, you can find those snacking olives.

2:23Rob Oh, okay.

2:23Miguel And also come in little pouches, also with some different seasoning. You can buy in some health shops. If you can buy in health shop, it has to be good. I also I also take some cereal bars, not just, not really cereal bars, actually protein bars, which I think they're good to maybe give you a little extra energy. And they're also excellent to carry in a day pack. So it means in the middle of the day, or if you are in the middle of the main stage surrounded by a massive crowd and you're hungry, you can have a little snack.

2:51Rob Yeah, I think the benefit to all of those foods, I think, is that they're in their own little package.

2:55Miguel Yes.

2:56Rob Okay, so not only is it giving you something that you can eat it directly out of, it's gonna stay nice and, you know, it's gonna stay dry, it's not gonna be affected Yeah, so I don't—

3:05Miguel there's no preparation involved. They're really easy to pack. I put them together in my backpack. When I set up my tent, I just have my food in a little corner, just grab, grab and go. Yeah, grab and go in my tent.

3:17Rob You haven't got like a little portable table that you put your candles on? No, I don't have your little tuna pouches.

3:22Jessi Well, dinner for one.

3:23Miguel Maybe, maybe I will upgrade my setup for this year. But what I'm saying is, because I go by bus and I, I really like to I keep cutting my equipment every year. Every year I take less. I've never been one of those that take actually little stoves and do some cooking in the morning, but it's still doable. Even if you bought a coach, you can do that. There's really small stoves you can buy, and some people maybe take bacon, or maybe some people actually boil water and do coffee in the tent, which is also a good idea actually. But no, that's my choice for food.

3:50Rob No, that's fair enough.

3:51Miguel Like, way practical, and I find it nice, delicious, and nutritional.

3:54Rob Very nutritional. Covering all bases there. Yeah, definitely, you've got it. It's got— with, with being lightweight, obviously the packaging and, uh, and the amount you take is vital. And like you said, you've got some really good nutritional stuff in there. Energy, really important as well. So you're definitely going for the quick, simple, easy approach.

4:11Miguel Yeah, exactly.

4:11Rob Excellent. So, uh, Jessi, anything, uh, that you do the same? Anything you do differently?

4:16Jessi So I have done the whole bring a stove with you and cook foods. Um, I haven't quite done the whole, you know, you see some people around the tents cooking bacon and eggs and, oh, that gets you out of your tent in the morning, doesn't it?

4:28Miguel When I pass near those really large setups in—

4:32Jessi Oh yeah.

4:32Miguel You do smell them.

4:33Rob You can smell them from far away, can't you? Yeah, everyone's nose kind of up it goes.

4:38Jessi Yeah, I am looking at them going, God, do you wanna cook me some of that? Um, yeah, so I haven't, haven't gone quite to that, but I used to bring a stove and used to make things like, uh, sort of soups or, you know, the classic pot noodles. Um, so I've done, I've done that, but now, uh, kind of like you, Miguel, I more bring snacky things, breakfasty things, things that I can chuck in a bag and have with me. And then I will buy one or two meals while I'm there as well. I mean, if I would, if I could, I would buy 8 or 9 meals. They're so good. The food is so good. Fantastic, isn't it? Um, but the things I bring with me, I have some weird ones as well. I have sort of narrowed it down to, yes, okay, uh, your breakfast bars, as you say, like protein style or sort of oat flapjack-y type things. I tend to bring crisps even though they're bulky and annoying. It's just something to have and, and quickly, uh, eat in the morning. But I bring Babybels, which my friends find really weird.

5:25Miguel I've done that.

5:26Jessi You've done that? Okay, good. I'm not the only one. They— I don't know, I just have a bit of a cheese thing and they they survive really well out of the fridge. I mean, maybe not onto the Sunday if you got there on the Wednesday, but definitely Wednesday, Thursday, Friday they'll be fine because they're in their own individual wax. And I just like having that in the morning. I don't know, there's something— I don't know, reminds me of my childhood. Um, what else to bring? Oh, I bring fruit as well, which is a real hit or miss. Some people really hate doing that. Yeah, I, I just bring satsumas. I'm quite gentle with them when I bring them in.

5:54Rob Yeah.

5:55Jessi And again, they only survive the first couple of days, but I just like having that vitamin C in the morning. As you say, you need to get your, uh, nutrition in.

6:01Rob Yeah, fruit's definitely one some things that I, I would buy there, but just personally it spoils for life. Yeah, no, I get that. Maybe I'm a rough packer or something, but it never really lasts very long.

6:11Jessi I just think satsumas, you know, I just put them in the top of a bag and then they'll, they'll be fine for the first couple of days. And you make a lot of friends in the morning sometimes when you're sat around your tent and someone's like, oh, you've got a satsuma, let's have one of those.

6:22Rob So nice, you know, nice.

6:23Jessi Bring them to share the love around my campmates.

6:24Miguel Yeah, that's true. I mentioned people who take the stove and do coffee in the tent. Yeah, yeah, I have a guy that do that for me. I have a guy, I have a guy.

6:32Jessi You know a guy.

6:34Rob Excellent. Well, I think what's clear is that we're all in agreement that with the smaller stuff, that the cereal bars, I mean, they're fantastic. Like, they are small, they're portable, but they're also, they're going to give you that energy boost. They're quick, simple, and easy. Plus they taste great. One of the most important things is, you know, still being happy. And, you know, people get hangry, don't they? If you're hungry, you get angry, and that's the last thing you want to be, you know, irritable. So, you know—

6:57Jessi You can't be on a diet at Glastonbury. You need these calories to get you around that site. You are going to be walking a long distance. You are going to be dancing until the early hours. I'm looking at Miguel. So you need those extra, just something to have on you as a little boost. And then also definitely eat a couple of good meals a day just to get you, you know, energised.

7:16Rob Yeah, definitely. So I think one thing that definitely is worth mentioning on, on the back of that is day packs, because we've said it a couple of times, oh, I keep this in my day pack, I keep this in my day pack. Definitely take something that you're going to be able to carry around with you for the day. Personally, I don't like carrying anything, so having that small rucksack for me really just makes it easy to just put it in there. I've got a water bottle, like we said before, I've got that, that disposable poncho for the just in case, even Even if it's just to get me back to the tent. I've got food in there, usually the cereal bars. Keep a couple of cans of, uh, of cider in there, just, you know, because you never know when you might get caught short, need a quick beer. Um, but yeah, so the small things, definitely. You said about crisps, I take crisps as well. I take like Pringles or alternatives, mainly because they don't tend to get crushed that bad.

7:58Jessi Because they're in the tube.

7:59Rob Yeah, the tube, you know, stops that kind of crushing thing. Uh, and they're great little snacks just when you need that kind of perk up. Just something like that's fantastic.

8:06Jessi Especially if you're waiting to see that one band that you, you know, you've waited for hours, you're right in the middle of the crowd.

8:11Rob Yeah, definitely.

8:12Jessi You don't want to leave.

8:13Rob Definitely.

8:13Jessi Just to be able to have something to be like, oh God, I need a little boost.

8:16Rob Absolutely. And like you said, if you've got one to spare, you'll be everybody's best friend.

8:20Jessi Yeah, exactly.

8:22Rob Absolutely. Um, I don't take a stove. I know it's very popular. I have done, and I just find that the washing up's a bit of a pain. Storing any food that you're going to want to cook is always difficult.

8:32Jessi Um, I think if you're having a campervan, if you're coming in a campervan, then different story. I mean, completely different story. But to come to the tents with a stove is For me, it's more hassle than it's worth in my mind.

8:40Rob You've got to keep the food fresh if it's going to be that kind of thing. So however, I, I really can see the benefit to the hot drink side of it. Yes. I mean, there's, there's water available across the site for free from the taps. So, uh, you know, I can really see why people would do that. And like you say, that you can get those small ones, uh, briefcase size. Um, fantastic.

8:59Miguel Not even briefcase.

8:59Jessi You get the little tiny—

9:01Rob Yeah, yeah.

9:01Jessi Oh, right.

9:02Miguel Oh, it connects straight into the—

9:04Jessi It's the canister.

9:05Miguel Yeah.

9:05Jessi Although, I mean, it does take a while to boil.

9:08Miguel You know, you have to You're committed to your coffee.

9:12Rob Yeah, for me. And I'll always say that eating is as much part of enjoyment for me as everything else. So I do like to take nice things and I would rather spend a few extra bits of money on getting it. If I want a hot drink, I don't want to wait 10, 15 minutes. I'll just— and you can find some really reasonably priced stuff. And yeah, there is some really nice coffee actually. Finding it is part of the fun. Try a different one each time. So it's easy to find stuff, it's easy to find coffee, it's easy to find, you know, hot drinks, but you can bring as much as you want in. And that goes for alcohol as well. Obviously within reason, you're allowed to bring in whatever it is you're going to consume for the week, which is something that, again, that makes Glastonbury very different to other festivals.

10:17Miguel It's very different from other festivals. You don't need to hide it.

10:20Rob Yes.

10:20Miguel The only thing you need to do is to decant it from glass bottles.

10:23Rob Yeah, very important.

10:24Miguel Don't bring any glass bottles. And ideally you'll be using some reusable bottles as well.

10:28Rob Yes, ideally. Obviously with Glastonbury being a green festival, it encourages you to leave no trace on the farm. You know, love the farm and leave no trace, and that applies to as many different things as it possibly can. So having those reusable containers, whether it be for food or drink, is really encouraged. A lot of the bars are now using and encouraging reusable cups. And yeah, so as long as you decant it into something, it keeps the glass away because it's an active farm, isn't it?

10:52Jessi Yeah. So did you manage to get one of those stainless steel cups that they had at the park in 2017?

10:56Miguel Didn't.

10:57Jessi No, I didn't. I was really gutted. I saw some afterwards.

11:00Rob I was like, oh, I've got a metal water bottle. Has anyone got one of those?

11:03Jessi Oh yeah, no, I've got one of the metal water bottles.

11:04Miguel That's what I use.

11:05Jessi Yeah.

11:05Miguel But it's just any generic brand, sadly.

11:08Jessi Oh, but they did actual Glastonbury ones.

11:10Miguel Yeah, I know.

11:10Jessi But I really want one of those pint cans that they had, like pint cans.

11:13Miguel I regret not getting the tea towel in 2017. Really great one.

11:20Rob So, so yeah, I mean, alcohol then again, I'll come to you again first, Miguel, because you, you, you come on the coach.

11:28Miguel Yeah. Because you see people who come by car really carrying crates and crates of booze. Right? I go, my choice is easy, spirits. The ratio of weight and enjoyment is really great. It's really good. And my choice, my weapon of choice is whiskey.

11:44Jessi Right.

11:45Rob Any particular— no, we won't talk about brands.

11:47Miguel It's a cheap one. So I bring a really good amount of it, again, put in my reusable bottles. When I set up my tent, I also have my little corner for my refilling station, whiskey refilling station. And what I do, and also I think spirits are good, which makes you wee a little bit less.

12:07Rob Oh, okay.

12:08Miguel Well, yeah. Which again, it comes really handy when you're in the middle of a crowd waiting for a gig. Oh my God, beer, beer and cider makes me go to the loo a lot.

12:16Rob The logistics of managing your bladder is very important.

12:19Miguel And also, I don't really like warm beer and cider. So what I really do, I just bring whiskey. And if it's a hot day, I can go and buy a cold mixer, cold mixer in the bars. And when I feel like, I just go and buy a beer, a beer or cider, a really cold one. You have good ales in the festival. So I prefer to do that. bring a lot of spirits. Uh, I end up sharing, I end up sharing with people around me. So I go, yeah, whiskey. What you guys do, you car people?

12:46Rob Car people. Well, yeah, I'll let you, I'll let you go next, Jessi.

12:49Jessi Um, yeah, I mean, I, I bring a lot of spirits as well. My tipple of choice is the gin. It's very popular these days. Yeah, I always, I always bring gin with me. I mean, the, the downside of gin, if there is one, is that tonic is quite a hard mixer to get on site as a, as a mix. Well, obviously it's not really sold in a, in a Oh yeah. In bottles, is it? So I— it does mean if I bring gin, I have to bring tonic with me as well. So I usually bring a bit of vodka as well because that will go in any kind of mix that I can get around site. Um, I do bring a crate of cider or maybe 2 crates of cider with me, um, just to have at the tent because it's not normally that I want to get straight on the hard stuff in the morning. So I'll, you know, without having to go to one of the bars, I'll sit, you know, sit in my chair in the morning and crack open a cider. Um, but like you, Miguel, I think over the years I've done Glastonbury on a really, really tight budget before where I've carried loads of booze in me so I don't have to buy any in there. But I've now got to the point where I am more than happy to spend £4 or £5 on a cold pint.

13:43Miguel The price is reasonable for a festival.

13:45Jessi So reasonable, yeah.

13:45Miguel Especially, yeah.

13:46Jessi And they have so many different types of bars. They've got real ale bars, they've got the cider bus, they've— any booze that you want, they will have, you know, cocktail bars. So I, I think for me now I've got to the point where I carry in less, but I, uh, I like to buy things at the bar as well.

14:00Rob See, I'm, I'm still of the, uh, carrying stuff. Well, I used to have cans of lager. Um, however, like you said, Miguel, they're very tough to drink when they're warm. Personally, I don't find it too difficult drinking slightly warm cider. So I now, I now have cider that I do carry in for the tent. Logistically, it is a tough one to get from the car. It is. And—

14:22Jessi They're bulky and awkward to carry, aren't they, crates? They're a bit—

14:24Rob Yeah. Once you see, once you've picked it up, It's fine. And in your head you think, well, I can carry this for ages, but all of a sudden, what, you know, it does get quite tough. Um, so whether or not 2 of you go back to and from the car, I mean, for me, Wednesday really is a setup day. I'm quite happy to go, yeah, go back as many times as I can. But what I would say is don't get too hung up on it. Don't make it the be-all and end-all. Obviously it's going to be whether on how you manage your budget, how much of that expendable money is for alcoholic drink. Um, Miguel, you're bringing in the spirits in, in the, in the plastic bottles.

14:54Jessi Yeah.

14:55Rob you can't really go far wrong. You know, you're talking strength-to-weight ratio.

14:59Jessi Yeah, yeah.

15:00Rob You know, you're gonna get a lot out of it, and, and there is mixers available. Um, for me, it's worth buying them there because, because of the sheer weight of bringing it in. You know, you can, uh, you can try it. They're— one of the things I'm sure we'll move on to talk about later is, is means of transporting things on, whether it be trolleys or carrying. But there are all sorts of, of crashes and you know, trolleys down because they're just so heavily overloaded with all these great big crates of beer. But what I'd say is, yes, you're there for a long time. Things to be really mindful of is hydration. You've got to stay hydrated. So make the most of the water that's available across the site. Always have a water bottle on you. Yeah, there's, there's the metal canteens that are available. You can buy them there.

15:41Miguel Every time I go past a water point, if there's not a big queue, just go and fill it up. Even if you still have a bit of water in your bottle, just keep filling, keep filling your water bottle.

15:50Rob Every time you go past water, fill it up. Every time you go past the toilet, use it.

15:54Jessi Yeah, absolutely.

15:55Miguel You'll be psyched to see what happens.

15:56Rob Yeah.

15:57Jessi One thing we can't not mention, guys, is that we, we go to the Twist O' Me on a Thursday afternoon, and one of the things that has become a bit of a theme there is that we all bring a flavoured, uh, spirit with us. I know that I brought, uh, Murray Mint vodka one time. Like, whatever you guys—

16:12Rob Yeah, traditionally—

16:13Jessi Flavoured spirits.

16:14Rob An infused vodka, isn't it?

16:15Jessi Yeah, infused vodka is usually the one.

16:17Rob Just a pause for thought. Any, any flavour you can think of? of has probably been done. Yeah, yeah, it's probably been done over the years. There's been some absolutely fantastic ones. There's been some that I, I'd care not to really taste ever again, to be honest. But it's, uh, yeah, it's an experience. And, uh, I don't know about you guys, but I'm, I'm already starting, uh, mine.

16:39Jessi Oh yeah, I'm thinking about it, but I haven't, I haven't narrowed down what I want to do yet.

16:43Rob I like to maximise the infusion.

16:44Miguel I must confess, I have— I haven't joined in the tradition yet.

16:48Jessi Oh, you've just come and told me you haven't.

16:50Miguel Yeah, vodka parasite. Sorry everyone.

16:55Rob Okay, well, so you're the guy, you're the guy.

16:57Miguel Well, I've been to 2 meetings, maybe it's time. Yeah, it's time to start. It's time.

17:01Rob Even if it's only a small one.

17:03Miguel I'll change one of my bottles for a flavoured vodka.

17:05Rob There you go, there you go. I like that.

17:07Miguel Promise, on air.

17:08Rob We'll hold you to that, we'll hold you to that. We have the proof.

17:10Jessi Even if you're not coming to, you know, this Twisto meet that we mentioned, it is just something that I think really goes down well. Like, I've noticed people have flavoured vodkas or something like that. I mean, somebody had I made an infused whiskey last time, like a cherry whiskey that was amazing. Like, you know, I would just say, if you've got the time, grab yourself a bottle of something, see what you can do. There's lots of tips online for infusing various alcohols.

17:32Rob So, we talked about water and drinks and alcohol and how you should always have a full bottle of water. We also said, if you're going to walk past the toilet, use it every single time. One of the things that really important for me is toiletries, cleanliness, and that, you know, the kind of things that are going to make me feel fresh each day.

17:54Miguel And there's a concern for a lot of people.

17:56Rob Yeah, really.

17:56Miguel The question I get asked much is like, wait, so you don't have a shower for 5 days? For someone who's coming for the first time.

18:02Rob Yeah, exactly. So we can talk about the toilets themselves separately because that's a whole nother issue. But I want to talk about, yeah, what to bring to, you know, to help make you feel clean, make you feel fresh and ready to start the day. Because I think that's the way you want to start the day, isn't it, Jessi? Clean, fresh, and good to go. So what's your routine?

18:18Jessi So, uh, until 2017, I had never used the official showers. So 2017 was the first time I actually went and used the showers at the bottom of the Kidzfield, and they're great, but there is a massive queue. The only reason I did this this time is, uh, because the Wednesday had been so hot.

18:35Rob Right, yeah.

18:36Jessi 2017, it was absolutely melting. Um, so because of that, Thursday morning I went, right, I need to start again, and I went and used the official showers, and I queued, and it nice. But usually what we do is, between me and my friends, we either bring, uh, kind of like a big 2-liter bottle, or we bring, um, one of these solar shower bag things, and then we just have camp showers. So we get in like sort of a swimming costume, or, you know, down to your shorts, and then, uh, one of you holds up the bag for the other person. You get on your knees and just give yourself a, a once-over with a bit of shower gel, and honestly, it makes you feel alive again in the morning. Excellent.

19:07Rob So is this something that's like purpose-made that you've purchased, or is it something that you've made yourself?

19:11Jessi Um, well, it depends. We— the, the solar showers are—

19:15Miguel you can buy them.

19:15Jessi They're kind of like a bag with a handle at the top.

19:18Miguel Yeah.

19:19Jessi Um, and you have to sort of hold them above the head of the other one. The water runs down the little hose and then off you go. You can just do it with a 2-liter bottle as well, just kind of chuck that over your head. The, the point of the solar showers is that you're supposed to leave them out in the sun and then the, the bag is made to heat up the water inside.

19:35Miguel You do need sun then.

19:36Rob Well, I found that any, any bottle of water that I'd leave out in the sun—

19:41Jessi Yeah, exactly. I think it's more— we— it's supposed to, you know, make that process a lot quicker, but we're always too impatient. You're supposed to kind fill it up in the morning, leave it a couple of hours, and then do it. Normally we've forgotten and then we just end up having a cold shower, but a cold shower if you're a little bit hungover, that will wake you right up. Quite refreshing, I can imagine. Yeah, it's great. So probably 2 days, you know, uh, every second day we'll do this in the morning, um, and we'll have a bit of a camp shower to ourselves. Uh, in between it will be baby wipe shower, as they like to call it. Yeah, so get in your tent, give yourself an all once over with the baby wipes. Um, biodegradable baby wipes you can buy now, just to put that in there. God, the number I, you know, you end up using, you want to make sure they're biodegradable.

20:23Rob When you're doing a full wash.

20:24Jessi Exactly.

20:25Rob So you are, you are going to use a few. So maybe take plenty.

20:28Miguel So useful for anything, really. Most of the issues you're going to run into in Glastonbury you can solve with a baby wipe.

20:35Jessi Yeah, yeah, true, very true. Um, yeah, so that's, that's my usual, like, camp showers Baby wipes in between. Oh, and brushing your teeth. I mean, I forgot my toothbrush one year, and I mean, I bought one on site, obviously. I didn't go 5 days. But it makes you feel, you know, you wake up in the morning, you do feel a little bit, you know, rough. You've slept on the floor, you've had a few drinks the day before. But giving yourself a quick rinse or a baby wipe shower and then brushing your teeth, you feel like a new person.

21:01Rob Absolutely. It goes in line with that dry socks thing as well, doesn't it? Dry socks, brush your teeth.

21:06Miguel Fantastic.

21:07Rob Just before we move on, can I just quickly ask, how long did you queue? Uh, just for out of interest.

21:11Jessi So I mean, we— well, I mean, this is revealing something about myself now. Uh, we went out on the Wednesday night to the Southeast Corner and, uh, we stayed— as you should, as you should. So yeah, we stayed till the sunrise.

21:26Miguel No embarrassment here.

21:26Jessi No embarrassment, exactly. We stayed up till the sunrise. Um, we went and got breakfast. We, we kind of knew that we wanted to have a shower. The shower was open at 7, so we knew that we were so sweaty from the whole day before and carrying your things in and just being in that melting sunshine. We kind of were walking back from the Southeast Corner about 5. We sat at the tents and had a chat for a while, got all our gear ready, and we went down there about quarter past 6 to kind of get in the queue, you know. Got ourselves some breakfast on the way, so we were eating breakfast in the queue. And I think we were done and dusted by 7:30, but that is because we were there—

21:54Rob You were there so early.

21:55Jessi Before it opened. That sounds fairly painless. It was fairly painless. I think the, um, the pinch point is obviously kind of between, I guess, 7:30, 8. If you arrive there between 7:30 and 8, you might not leave until 10, 11.

22:06Rob Yeah, if you're one of the morning starters.

22:08Miguel But there is another option, right? There's the showers in the Greenpeace field.

22:12Jessi Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's quite a few.

22:13Miguel That one, they actually get— they give you a little number. They have like a line.

22:17Rob I like that.

22:17Miguel Yeah, they, they kind of give an estimate, uh, probably come back in 2 hours. So you go out, you leave with the number already, and if you come back and it's past your number, they're gonna say, oh, you lost it. They will kind of let you in. I never had showers in this— any of either of these places because I think you still lose so much time. Yeah, you have to come from your tent, maybe bring a All your stuff with you. Yeah, change of clothes or whatever you need for a shower, need to go back to your tent to drop that. I understand how you make you feel more alive again, but I, I never have made use of the showers apart from the year where in 2014 when I was working. Yeah, because we actually had a separate campsite with plenty of hot showers.

22:56Rob All right, now you're just rubbing it in.

22:58Miguel And always showing up, always kind of empty for you.

23:00Rob So yeah, but again Again, you know, for those people that are willing and do work the festivals, that's a really good benefit for them as well, isn't it?

23:06Miguel But then usually my strategy is mainly baby wipes and go to the taps, fill up a water bottle, go to the corner, clean the main bits.

23:16Jessi Have you ever been to the Lost Horizon Sauna Spa?

23:20Miguel I'm aware of it, but sadly I can never go.

23:23Jessi So I'd never been at Glastonbury, but I went at another festival last year. Now it is not, you know, not to sell it in a bad way, but it's not for the faint-hearted, uh, because it's communal showers and they encourage kind of, you know, just no clothes basically.

23:39Rob Yeah.

23:39Jessi So if you're, if you're just one of those people who goes, I'm not bothered at all, just get in there and communal shower and there's no queue. You're in, out, and they're lovely people as well. I did it last year. It took a bit of, uh, I think I had a cider in the morning. Yeah, come on, get in there. But honestly, it was really good. So I might— I had never been I've never been at Glastonbury. I might think about doing that this year.

23:58Miguel Good shout, good shout. Yeah.

23:59Rob Before I carry on with a few of my own tips, it'd be worth mentioning that there actually is hair salons available, isn't there?

24:08Jessi Oh yeah.

24:08Rob I personally haven't ever felt the need to use them. I'm a bit thin on top.

24:13Jessi Rob is pointing to his currently bald head.

24:15Rob Thank you. Yeah, thank you. But I'm not just talking about having your hair washed. You can have it styled and, you know—

24:21Jessi I got braids in 2017. I booked in to get braids. I thought maybe it was a look that I could rock. It turns out it doesn't suit me at all.

24:27Rob Did that last the whole festival?

24:29Jessi It lasted, well, it would have, but it lasted a day before I realised it wasn't really my style. Not your thing. It just didn't suit me. I prefer having my hair loose and long.

24:38Rob Well, maybe I've got time to grow enough to give it a go by then.

24:41Miguel Yeah, you can get fully pampered over there.

24:44Rob Yeah, I know. But I mean, I think we've covered most of the tips, uh, items, and, you know, clearly baby wipes is an important one. A few bits that I do, I mean, it's not that I don't bring anything else. Um, I do bring Um, regardless of the weather, suntan lotion. Oh, got to keep suntan lotion, especially after that hot year when it was just unbearable. So really important, uh, to keep the suntan lotion.

25:05Jessi I'm sitting here as a redhead, so that, like, sun cream should have been my number one thing.

25:09Rob It can just catch you out, can't it? Yeah, it can just catch you out, especially if you've had a few drinks and you don't necessarily feel it right away. But you know, there's a lot of, a lot of the areas are outside, a lot of the areas are exposed.

25:17Jessi Is it Baz Luhrmann that said always wear suntan lotion?

25:20Rob Always wear suntan lotion.

25:20Miguel Yeah, especially it's good to know in the information points, they They do.

25:24Rob They have it available. They do.

25:26Miguel Of course, try to bring your own, right?

25:28Rob Always. Yeah, just because then it's— you've got it on you. It's one of those things that I said about keeping in the day bag. But talking about day bag, there are a couple of tips that are really, really useful to me. And we talk about the importance of socks and being dry. So I always have a pair of socks and I always keep a loo roll on me. Now, more importantly, I put them in Ziploc food bags. Airtight Ziploc food bags, because there's, you know, nothing worse than Wet, soggy toilet roll, it just falls apart, doesn't it? And if you do get caught short and get your feet wet, having a nice pair of dry socks on you. So Ziploc bags can be used really, really well for those things.

26:00Jessi That's the point, actually. Like, lots of people— and we will discuss the toilets, I'm sure, in much more detail— but people might think that there is always toilet roll available. You need to bring your own. Sometimes you'll be lucky in the very early mornings, depending on if you're— especially if you're near the compost loos, that you might get lucky there. But in general, you need to bring your own with you in there.

26:19Rob Absolutely. I mean, bear in mind the number of people there. there, from that alone, you can generally consider that the condition of the facilities deteriorates. It's just one of those things you're going to have to accept. And if you do take your own, you can, baby wipes, wet wipes, whatever, you can have a little bit of a clear up before you start. But always, I'd suggest, yeah, definitely take a loo roll. And if you can't take a loo roll, just a packet of just normal tissues would be good.

26:43Miguel It is a good conversation starter for the toilet queue as well. If you run out of toilet roll, you're just going to—

26:48Jessi Make new friends.

26:49Miguel New friends.

26:49Rob There's plenty of If you just give a little wave out the top, there'll be somebody— there'll be more than one person looking at that door waiting for it to open because they'll be straight in. So yeah, definitely. Okay guys, so I just want to take a little break here and talk a little bit more about the toilets. Now, for those of you that haven't been to Glastonbury yet, no doubt that you've heard some horror stories and heard really bad things about the toilets and the conditions that they get into and the fact that you're probably gonna fall in or something. Something crazy is gonna happen. So use our socials, let us know. We want to hear these stories and just how bad they can get. But at the same time, people that have been to Glastonbury, people that have experienced it, what are your top tips? How do you go about dealing with it? And we'll use that, that information to get rid of those rumors, to dispel them, so that no one has to have any great fear of, of these horrible horror toilets. They're not the greatest, but they can be managed. And with your tips and ours, and hopefully people can, can get Okay, so final topic for this episode then, guys, is money. Very important subject, I think. Probably a lot of people concerned about how much to take, especially given the fact that, you know, you've already spent, you know, quite a lot on the ticket price itself. A lot of people talk to me about the price of the ticket. What I always say back to them is, yes, it's an expensive ticket, but what do you get from it?

28:17Jessi So much.

28:17Rob Have a think about what you pay the, you know, these days for a single, for a single gig ticket.

28:22Jessi Oh, some of the gig tickets have come out recently. Was it Fleetwood Mac? There was over £100.

28:26Rob Yeah, it's crazy.

28:27Jessi You know, they're amazing, but you can see 4 artists, you know, probably 10 artists of that caliber and then hundreds more.

28:34Rob So it's fantastic. So add on top of that the fact that you've— you're going camping for, you know, almost a week, and really the value speaks for itself. Um, so other things that we've been talking about, all these things that we suggest you buy, we've been going for a number of years, so, you know, we've got— we've had a lot of time to build up buying things. So, I mean, we appreciate it's going to be maybe an expensive one if it is your first time. Speak to your friends, maybe, you know, buy things together. But once you're actually there, how much money are we going to need to take? How much money are you going to need? And I think for me, it very much depends on what you— what it is you want to gain out of the festival. It can be done on a low budget. I know Jessi's done it on a low budget, so I'll leave you to talk that one. But for me, I consider this one of my main main holidays for the year, if you will. It's something that I look forward to a year, a full year in advance. So, I want to make the absolute most of it. So, I really save up for a long time. I've got all my stuff that I take with me, but I like to have a fairly reasonable budget, you know, £50 to £100 a day, maybe maximum. Don't have to spend it all, but I like to have that option to go and, you know, try drinks in all the bars, have all the really, really nice food. There's so many shops, there's so much to buy. And what, you know, for me, I don't want to not be able to get something that I want, you know.

29:45Jessi Mm-hmm.

29:45Rob There's so many new things that I don't I don't even know I'm going to want it until I see it. So, I mean, my tip would be consider what you want to get from Glastonbury. And if it is something where you want to not have to worry about things like that, then take the time. We've got plenty of time left. Save as much as you can. Save as much as you can. And like I said, you don't need to spend it all. It's quite hard because there's so much good stuff there, but you don't need to spend it all. But definitely save. What about you, Jessi? Because I know you've done it. You've done kind of both ends of the spectrum, haven't you?

30:15Jessi Yeah, I have done both ends of the spectrum. Um, one, I don't know which year, but one of my first couple of Glastonburys, I went with only £30 cash available to me. Um, so I did bring a lot more booze with me. I did bring, you know, loads of tent snacks and, and various kind of noodles to cook in the morning. But actual kind of hard cash that I had on me was just £30. Uh, that's because I was a struggling student, um, and I kind of thought if I better for that year and I'll carry it in all with me, then I won't have to spend very much when I get there. So that £30 essentially went on one meal a day.

30:48Rob Yeah.

30:48Jessi Uh, and I didn't get to treat myself, and I only had available to drink what I brought with me. Didn't have any cold ciders, it was all warm beer. So yeah, I mean, you can do it that way if that's, you know, if you want to, uh, save money and do it that way. But over the years, like Rob, I have learned that this is what I look forward to every year. This is my treat. I, I've seen all the, the shops, and as I mentioned, I like a few sequins and sparkles. So I always get there and see these market stalls and go, oh, that is what I want. But as far as how much cash do I bring, I now bring, uh, probably about £150 in cash, but I will spend more than that using my card because the bars definitely all take card. Some of the food places even take card, and, and definitely quite a few of the stalls take card. So that is obviously, as the years have gone on, that's become more handy. But cash-wise, I take about £150, and then I'm about the same. Like, I'll normally spend £20 a day on food and probably £20 a day on alcohol.

31:38Miguel Yeah.

31:40Jessi Yeah, you know, like cold pints, etc., etc. And then I'll usually come home with one extravagant purchase.

31:44Rob Yeah, do you wait till the end?

31:47Jessi Oh no, I tend to normally do it on day 1. Yeah, I'm in the splurge mood, I'm too excited, I'm like, ah, buy me that sequin bomber jacket! I don't know.

31:57Miguel Well, I, I don't do the, the shop thing. No, no. Yeah, I certainly go to most of the shops and I love going around all the items, but I don't— I I think one year I bought the official shirt and that was it. But in terms of cash, I think I take the same amount as Jessi, £150. But usually I spend less than that. But I take— the cash I take is mainly for getting a couple of meals per day.

32:17Rob Yeah.

32:17Miguel And then cold drinks.

32:19Jessi There are toilets on site.

32:20Miguel Yeah, yeah.

32:20Jessi Just to clarify, but they do have queues.

32:22Miguel Yeah, they do have queues. But again, these days with contactless, probably it's not needed.

32:27Jessi See, one thing I do— people worry about bringing, you know, having cash on you because even Glastonbury, with the loveliest of people, some people, some bad people get in and there are stories of kind of tent robbery and things. What I do is I— well, firstly, I split up my cash. I usually, um, you know, only have kind of certain piles of cash in certain places. That makes sense, you know, like £20 maximum.

32:46Miguel Yeah.

32:47Jessi But I, uh, in 2017 started using the lockups as like a bank for the day. So they have free lockups, um, in most of the big camping fields, and they— you can store anything there. Like, people store their trolleys there, people store their, um, kind of buggies and bikes and anything from massive to small. But I keep a bag in there, and inside I then keep a wallet, and I go in there there every morning and I go, cool, and I'll take out £30 a day or £40 a day.

33:12Rob Like your own version of a cash point.

33:13Jessi Yeah, no, they're so lovely and it's, it's completely free and completely secure 24 hours a day. They have loo roll as well, which is a really great tip. So if you're in the morning and you're, you know, running to the loo and you can't find yours or anything, you can go via the lockups and, and take a bit from them. And yeah, I think they're great people and I— that's one of the things that I wish I'd taken advantage of many years ago is to start using the I, I love the lockups.

33:38Miguel Yeah, I've been using since my first podcast. So a shout— I want to give a shout to everyone who's been running. They do take donations, so it's nice to leave a generous donation at the end. And yeah, mainly leave my ID, part— half of my cash.

33:50Jessi Car keys.

33:51Miguel Car keys.

33:52Jessi Well, you come back home. Yeah, that's the other thing I put in there.

33:55Miguel And yeah, maybe some— if I take my camera or something, and I, I usually just use it the first days and then I put it there. So yeah, thank you everyone from the lockups.

34:03Jessi Yeah, you're lovely people.

34:04Miguel But I, I think you mentioned also you were splitting your cash. I think a good A good tip is when you set up your tent, unpack everything, because if you leave everything inside your backpack, it's easy for anyone to just pick up your backpack.

34:14Jessi I think if your tent is neat— I always say to people, you know, keep your tent a bit scruffy. Yeah, because they'll, you know, if there is a nasty person that will, you know, look inside, if it's neat and tidy and perfect and they go, oh, there's a bag there, it must be in the outside pocket. Don't leave it in the obvious place and keep it a bit messy because they'll look in and go, no, I can't be bothered.

34:33Miguel Definitely unpack everything and organize your away, organizing the sense, like you would in a hotel room.

34:39Jessi If you go on holiday for a week, you get everything.

34:40Rob Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in all the years I've been going, I've— neither me nor any of my friends have had any.

34:46Jessi No, it's more prevalent at other festivals, but I have heard stories that it's happened at Glastonbury as well. But it is obviously, it's a much nicer crowd that go there, so I don't hear it there.

34:54Rob Uh, just to kind of close things down, uh, if you, if you're worried about how much money you need to take, if you're worried about what to take, hopefully we can— we've, uh, helped out a little bit with some of these tips. All I'd say really Um, is have a good plan. Have a good plan about how much you think you're going to have, have a budget, and then, you know, think about what you're going to take in relation to that budget. You know, the more money that you, you have available to you, the less things that maybe you have to take in there. So maybe it's, you work out and, and decide in your own way. But what's important is that, you know, regardless of what your situation is, you're going to have a fantastic time once you get to Glastonbury, isn't it? Excellent. Absolutely. Yeah, so I think we're gonna wind the episode up from there. Hopefully you've found some of those tips really helpful. Obviously we didn't have anywhere near enough time to discuss everything, so what you can do is go to our website glastocast.co.uk where you'll find a much more in-detail blog by each of us about what we take and a few more extra tips.

35:56Miguel Some really special tips. Yes, some top secrets.

35:59Rob Some of the extra little stuff that you're going to find beneficial. So in our next podcast, we're going to discuss arrivals. I think each of us has a very different approach to this, so it should be a really interesting one. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with us and visit our socials, let us know what you think so far. And, uh, thank you very much for listening.