2019 - End of the Decade

A fabulous posting by the amazing John Duncan. 2019 was his first Glastonbury festival. But the first festival he attended was the original Woodstock back in 1969! Now that is something very special. He says that Glasto remided him a great deal of Woodstock. Now over to him…. Here’s his recollections of Woodstock and impressions of Glasto!

Five years ago I registered in order to get tickets for Glastonbury 2019 to celebrate my personal journey of survival 50 years on. I succeeded. I connected with a WhatsApp group called Camp Solo that has been going to Glastonbury for 5 years now I believe. They are an amazing group of people and they brought me a tent, sleeping bag, and air mattress which was set up and ready for me upon my coach arrival on Wednesday. Already this was becoming an amazing experience! Being a street photographer the festival was heaven on earth for me. It has the ethos and vibe of Woodstock minus the chaos. To be honest I didn't see that many acts from start to finish as I was up 5am walking the site, meeting people, telling my story and hearing their stories. The thing that struck me most was that everyone was in the same headspace. People from all walks of life and different parts of the globe together celebrating music, art, and life! And everything flowed. A river of people along the railroad and never seeing anyone running into each other or pushing and shoving. To describe it to someone that's never been there would be like describing color to one who is blind. Glasto was as much of a life changing experience at the age of 68 as Woodstock was at 18! I will be there for 2020 with Camp Solo and hopefully continue coming as long as I can stand upright.

MY WOODSTOCK STORY

As I remember it was a Thursday when I was with friends in Portland, Maine and we heard there was a big festival happening in upstate New York. We actually bought tickets! Then myself and 3 friends headed towards Bethel where it was happening. We had no idea what we were in for! 

We traveled through the night. As we got closer traffic became more congested but we persevered coming within a few miles  of the site at which point we parked the car off the road, along with many others, and walked. As we got closer and were heading down Hurd Road towards the fences rumor spread that the festival was free and we didn’t need tickets so I just threw mine into the ground. Little did I know that ticket would be valuable to have now! I was 18 for Christ’s sake! 

We had nothing with us when it came to food, camping, etc. It never crossed our minds. Once inside the site we eventually separated and the adventure began! I do remember Richie Havens opening the show but I never really sat and watched a specific act. I remember going to the Hog Farm which was a ways away to the left of the main stage. There was free food and medical folks for those that needed it. Swam in the pond and just wandered about taking in all that was happening. 

It was Saturday when I took the infamous “brown acid”! I was somewhat new to tripping and this was nothing like any experience I had ever had. Along the road to the left of the stage was a line of trees and in those woods was a path where people had set up tables selling all manner of crafts and drugs. So I’m walking along and as the acid takes over everything began to appear as if I was riding on this river of people heading in a direction I didn’t want to go. It felt like I was in a vortex, like a bathtub drain, being swirled and sucked down into a void from which I wouldn’t return! I turned and started running against the stream of people as if fighting against a current. I felt if I allowed myself to be sucked along with the masses I would loose my sense of self and identity. Suddenly I emerged from the woods onto the hill above the stage. I stumbled through the crowd most likely looking like a crazy person, and l as I began to lay myself down, the ground became like one of those Indian nail beds, so when I was flat on the ground the nails came up through my body! My joints felt stiff and moving my arms and legs felt like knives in my joints!  I distinctly remember Creedence Clearwater Revival was playing “Bootleg”! I think I stayed there through the night and as the acid wore off dawn came. It was Sunday morning and somehow I met up with my friends and we decided to leave as one had to be back in in Portland for work Monday as weird as that sounds! 

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell! 😎😷