Secret Garden Party 2009 lineup

[Stoat Boy]

that's a very partial version of events - cans weren't 4 quid, not all showers charged, not everyone had long walks etc etc etc.

Fair enough. To be honest I was surprised he even gave it a go in the first place but its been highly amusing to hear him ranting on about it.

I told him that being open minded was not all it was cracked up to be (he aint ever been to a festival before and the people he went with were very middle class work friends) and that its plain wrong to ever sleep in a place which aint got a plumbed in toilet but each to their own.

I think it was a case of wrong person, wrong place.

 

[El Jefe]

it is a VERY expensive festival, and everyone seems fucking loaded, but he's just exaggerating

 

[gosub]

Shower charging happens at some (and I now see from EJ's post that not all showers charged at the SGP anyway).

It's pretty rare (as christonabike questions) to stop people bringing their own beer onto the campsite, more common (but not universal) to stop people bringing it into the main arena.

We select our festivals fairly carefully to avoid arsey security and ripoffs, one we're going to later in August (in Devon ) has beer at pub prices in the ale tents AND you can bring yer own anywhere you go ...

I'm hearing very enthusiastic reports entertainment and atmosphere wise of the Secret Garden Party on the other thread (El Jefe's) so maybe your friend's experience was worse for him than for others .....

Everything Stoatboy said was true, but was £3.60 can, £3.70 pint didn't stop it being a decent party in my view.

There was no security between arena & camping.

Even the crew from Bimble Inn were holidaying there.

 

[Stoat Boy]

it is a VERY expensive festival, and everyone seems fucking loaded, but he's just exaggerating

He might be. However its given a lot of people an excuse to rip the piss out of him for being such a wannebe hippy in the first place so alls well that ends well.

He reckons it cost him £150 just for a ticket ? Would that sound right ?

 

[yoTango]

Yeah tickets were maybe 145 + 5 postage. but it was a long festival (thu night - mon).

In my opinion it was the best looking festival I've ever been to, soo many nice little touches and funky ass stuff / dens. Music didn't come first in my priorities so I was fine.

It's standard to be searched on the way in and only allowed X amount of alcohol.. just hide bottles throughout your stuff and they generally won't find them (they don't look too hard)

Your mate who didn't like it is probably simply not too keen on the styles of music there / that type of festival in the first place.

 

[William of Walworth]

Even the crew from Bimble Inn were holidaying there.

Excellent, they've always been really friendly at very festival I've been to with them there ...

 

[Riklet]

I reckon Secret Garden Party was cheaper than both Glade and Glastonbury quite significantly (on site, shit never realised it was £150 for tickets, woahhh, i paid precisely... nowt), and the bars were pretty standard festival prices. In fact, the Brothers on tap is over 7% so you're hardly getting a terrible deal at £3.60 a pint. Most of you are from London, so wtf, it can't be that much cheaper there?

If you weren't a wallie you didn't need to walk miles to camp, nor hire a wheelbarrow. Not everyone was middle class or loaded, and if they were, they were of the highly pleasant variety.

To be fair, I did milk the staff benefits a fair bit; found a sausage place which did me hotdogs for £2 and got given free ribs and drinks and stuff, woop. I took in almost no food/booze and spent far too much on drugs though, so it was kinda a necessity

 

[Stoat Boy]

It's standard to be searched on the way in and only allowed X amount of alcohol.. just hide bottles throughout your stuff and they generally won't find them (they don't look too hard)

Your mate who didn't like it is probably simply not too keen on the styles of music there / that type of festival in the first place.

I think you are right and he is very much of a mindset, as am I, that anywhere that searches you on the way in is perhaps not a place you would want to be.

Each to their own. Some of you sound like you enjoyed it. Its just amusing to here this particular bloke bitch so much.

 

[Giles]

Just been speaking to a mate of mine who went to this as part of a Stag trip. He left after 1 day. Reckons he has never seen so few people ripping off so many for so little in return.

On turning up they have to walk a long way before they can pitch their tents. They are offered to rent wheel barrows for a £10 (with a £20 deposit). They have their bags searched because people are only allowed to bring 12 cans of beer in with them.

And then they are expected to pay £4 for tins of beer from the bars.

The final straw was going to the shower and being charged £2 to use it along with an extra 50 for a bit of soap and £2 for a towel. And then being told he could only have water for 2 minutes.

At this he just fucked off.

Is this sort of thing common at all music festivals ?

LOL.

Pretty much all festivals have random searches on entry - they usually have to as part of their licence conditions, in order to be seen to be doing their bit against the Drugs Menace That Ruins Young Lives. Often the police are there too, searching people.

Also checking for glass and excess booze.

Most have SOME restrictions on bringing your own booze. Many SAY a really small amount but aren't that strict in practice.

Most festies you do have to walk a long way in from the car park. Glade this year at Matterley Bowl was a f*** of a long way (40 minutes) with several hills.

Glade was £3.80 a pint. Glasto £3.60 I think.

Was going to go to SGP but couldn't at last minute. Will definitely go next year....

Giles..

 

[citydreams]

I just heard the Edenites thoroughly beat the Babylonians. I reckon the judges must have been bribed with mead (William, it was 17% vol. and £4 a glass ).

The vibe was spot on all weekend. I didn't think it expensive at all. If you bought the early bird tickets they were £120. For that you had 6 outdoor stages, five indoor stages, plus loads of soundsystem areas, action camps, art installations, theatre, pagoda, swimming in the lake, cirque burlesque, kids area... All of this for less than 10,000 punters.

It really was a party atmosphere.. fancy dress was breathtaking.. As was the burning of the Tower of Babylon, complete with a thousand chinese lanterns and awe inpsiring classical music..

Will post up pictures once I've fully recovered