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gateway to the world of pharmacy and medicines
Up to strength & up to speed.
By Jim Hutchins
This
weekend saw Medicine Man Pharmacy units operational at Download Festival and at
the Isle of White Festival. With a mixture of sunshine and rain (and mud!),
this was good practice for potential conditions at the Glastonbury Festival
this year. The logistics, organisation and, of course, the sheer scale are very
different though. Both smaller festivals have a separate arena where markets
and the main performance stages are. This is the busiest area for customers but
there are also good opportunities to trade near the camping areas. The Isle of
White had another pharmacy (operated by St Marys Hospital on the island) inside
the arena. This pharmacy had both dispensing and retail pharmacy functions. As
happens at Glastonbury, James Powell (Med Man) liaised with the other team to
provide a ‘joined up’, professional pharmacy service to the festival goers. On
the business side, however, this means that medicine sales were shared too! At a
very muddy Download, Medicine Man was the only pharmacy.
With only
8 or 9 days until many of us head up to Glastonbury, there has been some panic
among family and friends about tickets and parking. Many still have no ticket
yet, simply because workers tickets are often among the last to be distributed.
There has also been disappointment for some over car passes & guest
tickets. For my own part, other ticket problems will now prevent two family
members attending and working this year. Since they had offered to help with childcare
while we worked our shifts, others have thankfully agreed to step in. It looks
like both pharmacies do have full staff though and everyone is excited about
getting back to Glastonbury.
I enjoy
being part of the event and living out in the open with thousands and thousands
of people. A lot has changed over the years I’ve been going to the Glastonbury
Festival but I still love how it feels, smells and sounds! In the nineties it
took me ages to get used to the noise of the crowd. Someone would shout
something and the replies would turn into a ‘Mexican Wave’ circling around the
valley day and night. Through the noughties, I also got used to the constant
sound of drums from the Sacred Space. This year, since the Vuvuzela horns
from the World Cup also made their way to the Isle of White Festival, I predict
we won’t get much sleep at Glasto! Never mind. That’s not what we’re there for!
14 Jun 2010
Glastonbury. Festival Pharmacy in 1999.
Glastonbury. Arena Pharmacy in 2007. This is how I always think of it now.
Medicine Man at Isle of White Festival 2010 . . coming soon to Glastonbury! (Photo by Jamie Hollett)
Nine days ‘til I get there! Yay!
