Camping and Coping…

So when I last wrote in here it was before Glastonbury. It feels like months since I was there. I had a great time this year. So much better than last year and I think that was mainly down to the fact I am so much better myself. I spent so much of 2009 asleep, I hardly saw anything I wanted to and I felt terrible when I was awake, so wasn’t in the mood for it all. I didn’t have that problem this year. I coped. I was really excited to be there again. I love that place. It is just so special to be in this big temporary city of pleasure and fantasy. Glasto is so removed from the real world it is a great place to escape to.

I did have a small stress when I realised I’d forgotten most of my Reboxetine. I took them out when packing to cut the half tablets I needed (I take 6mg – 1 and a half tablets a day) but forgot to put the whole ones back. The staff at Festival Medical Services were great though. The pharmacy obviously didn’t have them in stock but they ordered them for me. I had enough to last until Friday so I could wait til they came in then. The pharmacist was going to give me the whole box of pills because they were very unlikely to need the rest and I could obviously use them but she didn’t in the end. I had my repeat prescription list with me for reference and when her and the doctor saw it and the long list of drugs, she got worried about the fact I only get fortnightly supplies. I gave her my assurance I would be ok, but she wasn’t convinced, so in the end she just gave me enough to last whilst I was there. Fair enough, but it made me sad to think how much of a consideration my overdose risk is still considered, even now all serious thoughts have passed.

I was impressed at the set up at the medical centre. It was basically A&E in a tent. They even had an X-ray suite in a lorry! Lots of crutches to hand, although instead of all the mud-related falls they usually get, there were just lots of heatstroke cases.

Musical highlights included Laura Marling, Muse, Broadcast 2000, The xx, The King Blues and Rolf! Laura was amazing. I saw her proper set on The Park, but also saw her do a very short secret set on the BBC Introducing stage for Jo Whiley’s show, which was nice. Had to beat the England match anyway! Although I am sad we missed Ray Davies at the same time.

I was registered as disabled whilst I was there which meant my bloke went for free as my carer and I had a viewing platform wristband, which was to make it easier if I was struggling with the crowds. I felt a bit weird about this as I didn’t feel disabled enough really, but then if I was still as ill as I was when I applied I would have needed it more. I did use the wristbands once for Muse. I wouldn’t have been able to stay and watch in the normal crowd. I felt panicky enough just getting to the platform. I don’t understand where my crowd anxiety has come from since I’ve been ill. I used to love being in a proper packed gig crowd, but it makes me really anxious these days. The view over the Muse crowd was amazing though. I loved watching the people signing in the deaf zone too. I didn’t get quite how deaf people could enjoy a gig without hearing it, but seeing those guys work was inspiring and the people watching were obviously enjoying themselves.

Leaving Glasto is always sad, but I think it was harder this year than normal. I didn’t want to go home, back to boring Limbo-land. I felt pretty low and dejected when we got home. Glasto soon felt like a distant memory and I just wanted to go back. I can’t wait for 2011.

Since then we have also been camping in Northumberland which was weird with the Raoul Moat thing going on whilst we were there. We were far away enough from Rothbury though to not get caught up in it although we didn’t go up to Cragside because of it all. We did drive past Police HQ in Ponteland on our way to Hadrian’s Wall on the way home on the day he was caught though and it was strange to think about what they were all dealing with whilst we were on holiday.

Camping was good. Windy, but pretty dry. Saw lots of castles and beaches, which is what you expect up there. Nikki dog was very, very happy. Bless her. Highlight of the trip was seeing all the Puffins on The Farne Islands. They’re very cool birds.

We’d been home for a few days and then today was my sister’s graduation in Birmingham. They are excessively boring ceremonies although hers was better than mine at Manchester. I felt a bit weird in there. It made me think about how little I have achieved since graduating.

And now I am on the train to catch up with my bloke and our uni friends who we are camping with this weekend. Lots of camping at the moment. Hopefully we’ll have a good weekend but it looks like it will be wet.

This post is very dull, but writing it on my phone has kept me entertained whilst on the train and I thought it was time I tried to write something to catch up a little.

There are lots of things I want to catch up on and write about but I haven’t had much time for blogging lately. Soon I hope.

Xx