Caroline Kenmore, 1982

I found some photos of My First Glastonbury!
We camped in the Pyramid Field, I was with friends from college. One guy, Julian, had the bright idea of doing his laundry an hour before we set off. Needless to say, it rained. His clothes never got dry. He got quite ill after the booze had worn off. That’s him in the beige woolly hat.
I bought a pair of bright yellow wellies from an abattoir suppliers in Debden Essex. These became my festival staples for the next 20 years. You can see my beret-I was very attached to that too.
This was the only year I actually bought a ticket. It cost £12. All the following years I worked: I have done mask-making workshops in the craft field- it was called MaskForce. I had NO CLUE how to make masks!
I worked for Rainbow Circle in their well-being area;
I was also the shiatsu practitioner for the Wheel of Astrologer’s, ( thanks Tina &Ceri).
I ran a yurt in the Avalon Field, making art and crafts out of scrap and recycled materials;
I have worked the Tadpole Cafe a few years running;
parked the tour busses for bands playing on the Pyramid stage, and the Other Stage;
I’ve worked in welfare;
the Healing Field for many years doing shiatsu (thank you Jacob &Julie);
And most recently, I organised an area in Arcadia to provide treatments for the Arcadia Crew. That has easily been my best gig: 3 meals a day, hot showers without queuing, electricity supplied to my caravan, a wonderful crew to work for!
I’ve also had tickets as a performer, singing with the choir (once with Michael Eavis!), and acting in the Vagina Monologues with the Women of Avalon.
I can’t remember which year was my first, 82 or 83. As the trope goes, it’s all a blur!
My Glastonbury experience in recent years has been about connecting with my festival family, those connections made over the years that only happen in a field.
My best part of any festival is before the punters come in, it’s just the crew and we are all relaxed and fresh.
Last year I decided to hang up my festival wellies. I’m lucky to have experienced festivals before Health & Safety changed the scene from a DIY culture where we all participated in the creation of our weekend together, to the rigorous spectacle it had become today, where crew and punters have segregated, and Security has the power to make you tramp over many excess miles to comply with their one-way systems.
I feel blessed to have seen Glastonbury festival grow from strength to strength. The last photo is when I gave my camera to Mary who was going on a helicopter ride (first year it happened). You can see how small the site is, compared to nowadays.