Etiquette at Festivals - an update to my rant

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Some time ago I ranted a tad about behaviour at festivals.

It is not difficult to have fun at a festival and ensure that everyone else has fun too. Sadly it's easy to ruin someone's day too.

I have a couple of extra things to rant about after last years festival experiences.

  • Trolleys. The first time I attended a festival no one (no really, no one) had a trolley, not the sort with 4 wheels that you use to transport all your stuff and later, your kids, anyway. As festivals became popular and more and more families attended trolley hire became a thing and then people moved onto buying their own (quickly realising that if you attend a few festivals the purchase pays for itself in the saving of hiring fees) I bought a trolley too after Camp Bestival and it's long walks from the car park via umpteen hills. But using a trolley in a crowded area is an art and you need to be polite, you do not have the right of way based on how many small people are in the trolley or how many fairy lights it sports. People have the right of way. Your lumbering metal monster of a trolley is a convenience to you (as mine is to me) but it's a pain in the arse to everyone else. Take care, give way, watch where you are going and if you have to wait at the back of a long queue and a huge crowd, after say, the fireworks, then wait! Taking a trolley is really useful, but it comes with great responsibility. Don't be the twat with the trolley.

  • Bubbles. Did you know that detergent (the main ingredient of bubble mixture) damages tents? Not just damages them a bit, damages them a lot and usually makes them irreparable. The detergent changes the waterproofing of the tent effectively making the water just pour through instead of sliding off of the tent. Canvas is particularly badly affected, and canvas tents are becoming every more popular in the form of expensive bell tents and tipis. The odd bubble bursting on the tent probably won't hurt, but a giant drippy bubble from a giant bubble want might and the drip that spray from the giant bubble wand as you wave it about definitely will. My tent has suffered damage this year and I'm not sure if it will ever be waterproof in the areas splashed again. Especially sad as we'd just finished painting it for festivals. So bubbles, let's play with them far away from tents shall we?

  • Chairs and blankets. We all like to use them, but be considerate - chairs need to be at the back of a crowd or low down, or they stop everyone seeing what's going on (do not get me started on pop up sunshelters) blankets are great to sit on, but if, like us there are only 2 of you do you really need 6 square meters? Let's all be thoughtful, snuggle up, and help everyone see what's going on and have a nice time. And if someone steps on your blanket as they squeeze through the crowd, let's give them a break eh? It's a tight squeeze!

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