Saturday at Glastonbury. Healing, Heat & Homoeopathy.

Before I went to bed, I hung my wellies upside-down over poles to let the rain wash the mud off. The mud was still there! At last. The weather was changing!

The first thing I did today was to wander up to the FMS Pharmacy at Ivymeads to see the team and to check stocks. It would be useful to know what they had plenty of, before sending any customers hiking up the hill if we ran out. It was lovely to catch up with duty pharmacist Sue who used to work with me running Arena Pharmacy in the I market. Their range was slightly different to ours and I headed down to Medicine Mans pharmacy with the information. New pharmacist, Brian was coming to terms with the nature of Glastonbury Festival goers. I mentioned that in 12 years, I still haven’t had a grumpy customer!

Relax on the sofa

I had a plan for today, but should have known it would go out the window as I wandered towards the Green Fields. Time at Glastonbury takes on a very strange quality. We call it Green Time.  Nothing is urgent and hours can slip away unnoticed with, or without alcohol (or other substances). On the way I stopped at Elementals. A field where you could settle on a comfy sofa, discuss things spiritual or, it appeared, get your hair shampooed and styled.  I enjoy the artwork around the festival, not placed on a pedestal but all functional here. I saw people sat around giant tables on giant wooden chairs, I saw dragons, lions and ogres.

People rested, suspended in giant moss pods suspended above pools and surrounded by foliage and flowers.

Relax suspended above the water

I meandered up to the Sacred Space, looking out over the valley with the festival stretched in every direction. Everything was relaxed and gentle, that is until someone commits the cardinal crime at Glastonbury.  Weeing in a hedge! The Green Police, dressed like green clowns, appear from all directions, blowing their whistles do draw everyones attention. The offender then has a lecture about how the Environment Agency are monitoring the surrounding rivers and streams after past disasters. You could be caught with your trousers down and find several thousand people booing you. Don’t do it!

Relaxing in the Sacred Space.

I chatted to Sam, a member of the Travelling Homoeopathic Collective in the healing fields. They, and all the other alternative health offerings, were as busy as our pharmacies, with many of the similar problems presenting. I wondered about the sunburn, sneezing, sore throats and sore feet. Sam explained that they are an acute clinic and patients do indeed report relief from their ailments. I need to keep an open mind because our own experience here is that, for instance, Cromoglycate eye drops DO provide immediate relief despite what I was taught at university. I’m undecided about whether homoeopathic remedies should be prescribable, but it would be hypocritical to prevent sales of any item due to lack of efficacy evidence. After all, look at the revenue we get from cough mixtures when the BNF says of demulcents, “some patients believe that such preparations relieve a dry irritating cough.” And of expectorants, “there is no evidence that any drug can specifically facilitate expectoration.”

I decided to scrap my initial plans and take the music as it came. I have 40 Gb of music on my laptop, but skip through listening to snippets, trying to find what I really want to hear. Today was like that with the live bands. I enjoyed some Stornaway, Tame Impala, Nicolas Jaar, The Centrefolds, Paulo Nutini, Elbow , and Nick Lowe.

Pentangle with the original line-up.

I did settle in the Acoustic Stage to see Pentangle. The name brought back buried memories from my early teens and as soon as I heard them I knew I’d missed them, and it was wonderful to have the original line-up. I hadn’t planned to see Coldplay but went by the tree with friends to watch. They had, by far, the biggest crowd I’d seen this year. The sun had finally come out and everyone was in great spirits. I have to say that, with few exceptions, their selection demonstrated again what an accomplished stadium band they are. It was great to watch the lasers and when all the giant balls bounced towards us, I tried to take a photo. Someone else should have had the camera. As I turned, a giant ball attacked me from behind. I can report that it feels very strange to have the top of ones head suddenly enveloped in rubber. As my hearing returned, the laughter was louder than the music!

Coldplay put on a great show.

I decided I was too tired to hike up to hear my friends in Mad Dog McRea playing at Croissant Neuf, and wandered back to write my blog

As I sat outside my tent, the loud Glastonbury noise continued but suddenly i recognised Mikes voice and the songs of Mad Dog. I heard the whole thing, right across the other side of the valley. Proper Glastonbury!

Goodnight chums.

Jim.