Heidi Wesson, 2013

I first went to Glastonbury Festival in 1998. I couldn't afford to go in 2000, that was the year my first daughter Megan died. It was a sudden death from SIDS at 9 days old. It was then that my neighbours and old school friends Ant and Sue introduced me to Tracy Harrison, hygiene manager at the festival, and I started working the festivals. At Glastonbury we cleaned the toilets for THC but it was definitely like of a family than a job and I have met the most amazing people working for her who became family. We are all still super close.

In June 2013 I was 9 months pregnant but the baby was not due until July. My other babies had been born two weeks late so I was not expecting anything to happen just yet. I had been to watch the Rolling Stones on the viewing platform but we left after a few songs (controversial but we were bored!) we went to see Chase and Status instead. I felt a few twinges then but thought it was just her enjoying the music as she often did. Her dad, Sean, had arrived on site that day and gone off with one of our friends to Naughty Corner. I sat in crew camp with a few friends and we rang them to come back. They thought I was joking and came running into the caravan saying he hadn't done a risk assessment that it couldn't happen! Tracy's daughter, Lindsey, called it in on the radio they asked if I was breathing, she said “very heavily she's in labour!!” they couldn't find us so Stu ran to find them. A little festival ambulance van took us to Ivy Mead and we were stopped at every gate. Lindsey ran across site and somehow managed to get to the hospital tent before us and apparently face planted on her way she told me later... no midwife was available and someone told Tracy I had been taken in. She called Lindsey to see if I was alright and appeared in her panda outfit (Glasto-style!). She said very calmly “let's get her out!”.... Emelia (or Acadia as the festival family call her) was born at 3.10am on 30 June, weighing a healthy 6lb 6oz. Tracy, still dressed as a Panda, was crying her eyes out and covered in blood. Her & Sean cut the umbilical cord.

"I first went to Glastonbury Festival in 1998. I couldn't afford to go in 2000, that was the year my first daughter Megan died. It was a sudden death from SIDS at 9 days old. It was then that my neighbours and old school friends Ant and Sue introduced me to Tracy Harrison, hygiene manager at the festival, and I started working the festivals. At Glastonbury we cleaned the toilets for THC but it was definitely like of a family than a job and I have met the most amazing people working for her who became family. We are all still super close.

In June 2013 I was 9 months pregnant but the baby was not due until July. My other babies had been born two weeks late so I was not expecting anything to happen just yet. I had been to watch the Rolling Stones on the viewing platform but we left after a few songs (controversial but we were bored!) we went to see Chase and Status instead. I felt a few twinges then but thought it was just her enjoying the music as she often did. Her dad, Sean, had arrived on site that day and gone off with one of our friends to Naughty Corner. I sat in crew camp with a few friends and we rang them to come back. They thought I was joking and came running into the caravan saying he hadn't done a risk assessment that it couldn't happen! Tracy's daughter, Lindsey, called it in on the radio they asked if I was breathing, she said “very heavily she's in labour!!” they couldn't find us so Stu ran to find them. A little festival ambulance van took us to Ivy Mead and we were stopped at every gate. Lindsey ran across site and somehow managed to get to the hospital tent before us and apparently face planted on her way she told me later... no midwife was available and someone told Tracy I had been taken in. She called Lindsey to see if I was alright and appeared in her panda outfit (Glasto-style!). She said very calmly “let's get her out!”.... Emelia (or Acadia as the festival family call her) was born at 3.10am on 30 June, weighing a healthy 6lb 6oz. Tracy, still dressed as a Panda, was crying her eyes out and covered in blood. Her & Sean cut the umbilical cord.

The proper ambulance arrived about 40mins after Emelia arrived. We went to the birthing centre down the road had a bath, tea n toast! I was checked over and then we got picked up and took back to site. All the security had heard about her arrival and let us through.... we had champagne breakfast delivered from Ebony at the park, clothes and presents from all different people across site was all quite bonkers and then the calls from newspapers, tv crews etc started and this was before we had even told the parents. We are so lucky to have had our amazing festival family with us and that everything was ok besides using the long drops after giving birth... I wouldn't recommend!!