Festivals, like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. My last festival, in July, was Latitude in Norfolk, which has been described as the “Waitrose of Festivals”. When I was tracking down tickets for the Isle of Wight’s Bestival, a friend, Laura, who lives on the island and is an experienced festival go-er, described it as “a more traditional festival – and magical”. I was intrigued.
Laura and I arrived late Friday evening, and were greeted by a spectacular sunset. It was warm and strangers smiled. From the top of the hill we looked down at a sea of colours, the landscape decorated with stars, balloons, flags and, of course, tents – so many tents. As we journeyed further into the festival the noises became familiar. The atmosphere hummed with happiness and solidarity. There is something special about thousands of people gathering together, in this case 12,000.
Against the backdrop of music and dwindling daylight, we swiftly set up the tents and made our way down to the main arena. MGMT were playing, an American band known for their vibrant performances as much as for their music. Absorbing the atmosphere at the back of the crowd, we watched the screens set up either side of the main stage and danced along to Kids. The party had started and the permission to dress up, be happy and go crazy for a few days had been granted.
We watched the British trip-hop band Massive Attack, who I first discovered over 10 years ago. One of the last songs they played was Unfinished Sympathy: the crowd roared with excitement and fond memories flooded back.
The next morning, we used the morning sun to investigate just how successful out tent-building had been, and met our new neighbours. As it turned out, they were eight strange-looking space characters, and we duly praised them for the ingenuity of their fancy dress. After facing some queues, we brunch and stroll down to the arena accompanied by another group dressed-up and bouncing on Space hoppers. It is – as this year’s tagline has it – “spectacular”: robots, stars, space Gods, Daleks and ‘Pac man’ to name a few. Laura’s favorite was Captain Birds Eye, complete with a tray of fish fingers. I particularly liked the Thunderbird attempt.
We popped into the inflatable church just as it was accidently deflating and watched the end of a white wedding (which had to be booked in advance). A creature from space persuaded us to make an appointment with Dr Dorothy and his assistants. This was on the premise that they would help to ease our transition as an alien back down to earth. We laughed, and the real world seemed a million miles away.
Faces were being painted as well as, for the daring, a few bodies. Our friend helped a star, who had lost her moon, struggle into the toilet, and a pair dressed in Planet of the Apes suits were debating their schedule. We were encouraged to visit the Insect Museum where we saw the Bearded Ladybird and peeped in at the insect circus. Just before the sun set we discovered the woods were inhabited with mischievous fairies and elves – just perfect.
The evening set in and we were indecisive, too many choices – disco tents with Ibiza club tracks, or the rock n’roll tent. We opted for the ‘Kinky Bingo’ and the Cyber tent. Then we zig zagged through the crowds and found a patch nearer the main stage and watched the German band Kraftwerk play their electronic music.
We had discoed until dawn but the sun shone through our tent, stealing our Sunday morning sleep. After a very slow start, with lots of coffee, we headed downhill to the arena. It was lazy Sunday morning for most people – we simply settled down and listened to music in the Jim Bean tent. We passed some time by throwing paper airplanes and made more new friends. As the afternoon wore on, people were coming back to life, costumes were out and activities were starting. The evening was relaxed and quieter, watching new bands and the more established, such as the British band Doves.
A final sunset, and the festival started to wind down. We all, sadly, had to journey back to the real world, promising to return again next year. This planet demands further exploration.
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