Camp Triangle

Post by: Clive
First year at Camp Triangle:

• Tuesday 4 Oct 2016 (8 years ago )

Glasto 07 was a well-known wet one. I was back with my usual buddy, but I’d also enticed my middle lad’s friend’s Dad Paul and his brother-in-law Sean. Albeit I came by car and they weaselled in via the new coach ticket deal. We had a fine spot in Kidney Mead, five minutes from the main stage but on the edge of the fledgling Camp Funk. For example, The Dame sounded great but we were floored by a box of red and never saw her wellies until catching up on TV highlights.

Roll onto Glasto 08. Paul was now firmly entrenched in the forums of a reasonably well-known festival website where I’d been lulling around for a few years. He’d found a fine job that allowed him seemingly unlimited time for posting Glasto banter. We got entangled into tickets for a new little festival mid-May and camped with a few people we’d got to know over the net. Some of them were planning for Camp Triangle at Glasto. We were enticed to move location despite 07’s prime spot.

These days people can’t believe that I, at 6’2’’, can squeeze into a two-bod tent. But our miscalculation for our first Camp Triangle, pitched right on the centre next to the communal gazebo, earned it comparisons to some of the smaller stages. More than once, people wandered into it thinking there were communal shenanigans going on. The photo of it here doesn’t do its size justice. Maybe the biggest tent ever in Camp Triangle? Next to the lowest gazebo that seemed to be permanently covered in sweets.

Here was the cementing of friendships though, if on the back of that little festival, Bearded Theory, from freezing May. People like MikeyB, Aly, Ed, Sinclair and Paul TM. Others were met for the first time: Another Paul, Gordon, Kay, Andi, Joy and Dave. Still others popped in for just one year, Niko and friend being most obviously memorable coming over from Denmark and drinking unquantifiable amounts of tinned lager.

But enough of this developing camaraderie. I bumped into Scottie from that website early Friday, on the way to see Bristol world music act Mankala opening the JazzWorld. He had spare backstage passes and I was in the right place at the right time. 

But those precious few of us now had access to behind the JazzWorld stage for fresh toilets, a little stage and a no-queue bar! That may account for my lack of recollection of Friday night. There’s memories of being in the Avalon Café and the Bimble Inn any/all late nights with Paul and Sean though, hence the 3 Daft Monkeys photo.

Just to add that Saturday was Elbow day. They’d finally made it, Other Stage beaming sunset slot and a stunning new album. Photo of a load of us bods included, all Camp Trianglese. One day like this indeed.

& then I was alone hanging off the barriers for the precious few of us who bothered for Ethiopiques’ magnificent JazzWorld headline slot. I guess Jay-Z had a certain pull on people. I knew where to go after hours though, but did I miss glow-stick wars back at the camp that night? & did I get there via the monorail??