I'll be at Mandela tonight, but I'll make sure Amy heads off in the right direction after her set. Looking forward to the digital glasto coverage in all its forms.

Martin

Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall.

Nice and dry and warm.

I'm off to Radiohead at Glasgow Green tonight with that Glasto essential, the cagoule, packed and ready for a downpour. The rest of the weekend will be spent enjoying digital Glastonbury, where the sound is always better than it is in the middle of the field at Pilton - ergo Killers and Arctic Monkeys last year, great on the telly, by all accounts barely heard by the Glastonbury masses.

I will become my father, as I enter fully into the world of gardening. Not just mowing the lawn, but actually planting stuff into the ground, with an actual spade, or perhaps trowl.

And then on Sunday, instead of recovering from watching Jay-Z, I will instead going to my second Archery class.

At no point will I be in a muddy field with anyone. I hope.

all together now trudging slowly through thick mud back to the tent where your clothes were stolen it's the wetland town they forgot to close down.

Word of warning "revellers" no drink should be this colour.

This sentence "here the wine is always chilled, the bathroom arrangements are familiar and a short stagger takes us to our beds" in twenty words describe why I stopped going to festivals.

Looking forward to listening/watching from the comfort of my "comfy" chair though, inbetween grouting the bathroom, painting the hall and gardening (weather, of course permitting).

What was I thinking?

...and I was offered a ticket, it would have been my first, but just couldn't bring myself etc...

I will be recording someone playing electric guitar for the next four days. The studio will be warm and dry, tea and biscuits will be readily available, as will a clean and functioning commode. The only downside to this is that I will of course be topping up on my studio-tan. I therefore expect the weekend to be the warmest on record, which always seems to happen when I have three or four days booked.

Geoff

Have to say I even can't face watching it on the telly these days, mainly as they hop from act to act, missing out anyone who might remotely appeal for some attention seeking popular act. (But, as I write, if Laughing Len is on the telly, can someone let me know)
And as for the bloody presenters.....
Cambridge telly is all I can stomach these days.
I'm going to a 52nd birthday Chinese tonight, 9 year old twins birthdays bash tomorrow, which is better than it sounds,as the kids run riot in the garden, whilst the parents talk cooking, travel,alcohol and, even, if there's a chance, music. Good chums coming round on sunday for tea. At some stage I may get a touch slarmied. That'll do me. Oh, and Sky are coming to restart the interweb after a month without, thru' moving house. Lots of blogs to catch up on.

Off for a few beers down the local tonight,will head home for 11 to watch the BBC coverage with a wee dram of whiskey. Will no doubt nod off unless anything grabs me . Slightly curious to see how Shakin Stevens goes down, could this be the mother of comebacks or Glastonbury's cringe moment this year? Who knows, looking forward to seeing if Crowded House are up for it too. Off to a muddy forest in the North Yorkshire National Park to see Quo tomorrow night! Hope the burgers are better than last year. BBC coverahe of Glastonbury tends to be "Safe" viewing every year.

Mrs Wonderful and I will be opening our garden this weekend for charidee. All of the preparation work is done, the weather forecast isn't too bad, so we'll probably settle down for the afternoon tomorrow and Sunday with the day's papers and a chilled bottle of Lambrusco responding to visitors enquiries as to how we get our geraniums looking so nice. I'll probably occasionally pop in to check on the TV whether Glastonbury has been designated a disaster area (floods, a fire yesterday, it can only be a matter of time before the plague of locusts descends).

I've been to Glastonbury once and it only rained once...for four days solid. Never again.

...now I'm having some beers and catching up with today's blog. Missed the disco, but grateful for Betty Boo vids. Will watch Glasto on telly, have more beers, possibly peanuts, then fall asleep on sofa. Life is sweet.

All these digital options are a bit much for me. I always feel if I press the wrong key it will all go on my bill.

I spy lots of anoraks.

What's everybody having for dinner?

Just seen the performance on BBC3 of the "song" Hip Hop Saved My Life.

It was good and reminds me that some hip hop can have a cross over appeal to a hardened rock fan like me.

Ham Sald for dinner David! See you at Cornbury on 2 weeks.

...the first (of many, no doubt) Joy Division tribute band are playing. Is it The Editors or Interpol? I literally find it impossible to tell.

got anchovy pasta coming soon. Coronation Street's on sky+, the boy's in bed, i'm sat on a comfortable rug and my bed's a few feet upstairs. How bad can it be?
*pours another, slightly larger than the last*

is on UKTV Gold!
Happy days...

Glastonbury weekend is going really well.

Just finished a Friday evening takeaway curry, had a couple of relaxing beers and now contemplating a stroll down the road to the local. Or I may open a bot of West Australian Shiraz. The decision will be taken in an entirely mud-and-Winehouse free envronment.

Like Glastonbury, I will be trudging around in the rain - to the shops, the tip and places inbetween, clearing up the DIY debris done by someone else (!). Apart from seeing Laughing Lennie I will boycott the poor coverage of the unprofessionals at the Beeb who fail to speak the Queen's english and never show anything of Stackridge performing from the acoustic tent.

Whatever happened to those nice boys that used to present the Earl Grey Whistling Kettle? They could string a sentence together in their day.

..cos there's a Tony Hadley lookalike on screen at the moment.

Ham, essentially. Plus one has gone to M&S, flushed with the triumph of having placed Hall & Oates's "Abandoned Luncheonette" on the Word album cover map of the world.

...it's my birthday on Sunday, and I will be celebrating it with Eric Clapton at Harewood House, as my birthday surprise (that I'm not supposed to know about). Can't say there's much at Glastonbury that I'm looking forward to, this year. I'm not surprised it's not sold out.
Chicken Myers for tea, with noodles and a bottle of Broadside. A dram of Auchentoshan will surely follow shortly

Had lasagne for tea,salad potatoes, fresh salad and for desert, well I decided to leave the lemon cake and opted for a BBC3 desert and the first band of the night The Gossip. URGGH Ghastly. Think I prefered the lasagne. Off the pub now will catch up at 11. Just been listening to the Neil Finn track "Sinner", forgotten how good it was. Expect it will be a full Crowded House hits set tomorrow. Liam Finn's new album sounds promising.Hope Tim Finn is there tomorrow, but I doubt it.
On a quick side line, do any word bloggers have an allotment, I think this could be the new rock n' roll for me. I am keen to take up gardening and pleased with the progress of my potatoes in mother's garden.

What a marvelous moustache on the bass player of We Are Scientists. Looked like an extra from Desperately Seeking Susan. My highlight so far, aside from the large Vodka and Tonic and the sound of the door bell as the take away was delivered. Chin chin.

Bet he gets to see more sex than a policeman's torch over the weekend.

You get a point every time one of the BBC presenters says "so-and-so is gonna be amazing."

I have three points already.

Are some of you WATCHING Glastonbury?

Mark Ratcliffe and Lauren Laverne. The Fratellis...er a bit crap aren't they?

...The Fratellis. I'll only put it on again when they've finished! That 'Mistress Mabel' thing was one of the most drab records I'd heard in years.

MGMT I've not heard much of; I only know that one song.

Hmmmm... Zane Lowe, The Feeling, The Fratellis, sundry tiresome performance artists frollicking on a bed.

I lasted about 10 minutes before watching a documentary about the 150mph white elephant that was British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train.

i think i overdid it with the blanket on my knees. this "log" thing BBC3 are doing seems to have been a bit over-played, no?

Barolo, btw

...I would give anything for a cup of tea and the wooden hills to Bedfordshire. Because I'm not on the site I can do just that.

But I bet I'm first on duty in the morning.

Edith Bowman just said the Kings Of Leon are going to be "absolutely outstanding". Only an hour ago they were going to be "amazing".

...accompanied by last night's Seeger Sessions repeat. Let me know if Candi Staton or Shaky are on.

there's a double CD of southern soul (1961-1968) that's just begging for my attention

Anyone watching Glastonbury right now will have missed the epic meeting of minds between Gordon Brown and Fearne Cotton backstage at Hyde Park.

Brown: "I just think he's a fabulous inspiration. He shows no recrimination. He conquered apartheid but now, at 90, he's dedivated his life to ending poverty and HIV/Aids"

Cotton: "Yeah. So, who on this line-up are you looking forward to seeing?"

interview her boy friend insightful stuff!

seems difficult to call right now

in a good way or indeed 2008

brilliant!

the enemy I bought their single because it had a picture of arthur scargill on it

highlights of my first Glastonbury with digital TV (thanks Rupert...) so far Estelle and her heels and fluffy dress & Lupe Fiasco have been way better than the rock dreck on offer...oh look, there's Candi Staton, bye...

this is meant to be a joke, right?

live and die in one rubbish town then, y'know, it's your fault, your lack of drive and ambition. but that's just me

yeah, WOTEVA

is currently on the plasma. We've reached that stage in the evening that we always do when Auntie covers Glasto, they're repeating the acts from earlier in the day and we feverishly await the headliners for the BBC2 transmission.
Estelle seems to be "giving it loads", bless her, but "American Boy" is a bit rubbish live. The Enemy are just awful, all the worst bits of Oasis, the Jam and Arctic Monkeys in one colon-draining package.
Quite enjoyed the Feeling though, they got it right. KT Tunstall's a cutie isn't she?

Seems I underestimated Estelles determination to ruin her own song.... My ears!

there are 3 girls with guitars fronting 3 bands on the interactive screen. This is progress, right?

is progress? sheeesh!

30 seconds summary of Mandela 90 Concert.

Channel flicked to see Stephen Fry in full-on luvvy mode ('If only we could bottle a little of this and take it home with us') while Schofield asked him if he was enjoying it. Meanwhile in the background music plays...oh yes there's a concert going on apparently. Perhaps they'd turn it down a little so we can hear the more of the presenters.

After Classic Cotton, and Stephen Fry battling manfully to talk about What It All Means over the stadium pub rock of Paul Rodgers and Queen, we got Simple Minds. When, exactly, did thy replace Jim Kerr with Peter Tatchell?

PS/ For anyone else channel-hopping before the doubtless amazing Kings Of Leon come on, Emily Maitliss is looking decidedly fragrant on Newsnight tonight.

we are having walls feast round our house mainly because we only crap orange lollies as kids

are they the "spin doctors" of 2008 or what

I'm tired....so tired

Amy Winehouse soon to be on at Mandela gig! Miss at your peril! Oh. She's already been on. Did I miss much?

What is Amy doing with her skirt?

god bless Winehouse

but kind of good, no?

He had someone drumming behind him!

Hmm..they've not shown any Kate Nash yet. Did she bomb? They've just outlined the rest of the programme. I'm off to bed.

Anyone still up? Just back from the local and watching this band who sound very like Kings Of Leon. It's taken me 10 mins to realise it is Kings Of Leon, kind of lost touch after their first album. They need their long hair and beards back. They sound okay, but doesn't all music after four pints of bitter!
Que segue after they finish: "Weren't they just amazing". Edith Bowman never seems to speak properly, she is a very lazy public broadcaster.

What stage are Ultravox on?

... with a six-pack carry-out. Jimmy Cliff!

Has it been this good all night?

...was 8 Out Of 10 Cats. Really. Sean Locke and Lee Mack both latter-day comic geniuses. Best line of the night though was from Frankie Boyle, likening recent pictures of La Winehouse to "campaign posters for neglected horses..."

... have they abandoned this ship they launched?

Don't tell me... they've nodded off.

Is it just me or is Lauren Lavern just on the right side of being annoying! Oh GOD HELP US, not more Sons Of Leon on now!
I'd rather see what else is going on!

I've just been out for ribeye. Have I missed much? I got a text halfway through the meal saying Estelle's American Boy was an absolute shambles, and I figure it must have been truly awful to prompt that kind of unsolicited message.

The Enemy on now on other channel and up next.........The Fratellis.Can't wait more bland Indie, think I might go and watch an old Frasier DVD.

Kate Nash, that's it, I'm off to bed, work at 9.

... hate that!

Think I hear my Creative Vision:M calling. This bloody thing better improve fairly nifty.

... looks like 1am is too late for The WORD community.

Peace Out.

from those who, quite frankly, let the side down by actually watching Glastonbury on the television, it really is a rum old line up this year. There's not one band mentioned who is remotely interesting.

Stretch. Scratch. Make tea. Bloody hell. Matthew's up already.

Do I win a prize for the most appearances on record by a non musician I’m at least 4-5 live “from Glastonbury records.”
As a callow youth we eagerly got down the front to see New Order. You can hear me shouting for “Blue Monday” on the BBC recording, it being (then) less than 5 years since they released BM, they obviously didn’t play it even though they were headliners and it was their then only hit!

Next up those with very good hearing can pick me out in the crowd singing along to “the one I love “ on an REM live extra single, followed the next year but my backing vocals on entire live cd free with Pulp last studio lp, I’m the one declaiming my man love for Jarvis!

Lastly I’m probably more intrinsically on “Grace under pressure” by Elbow; the original LP version of the rude declaration of the human spirit “we still believe in love so Fu*ck you” sung at the end was recorded at the festival (with yours truly and mates in the mix) as was this live version also a single.

So anyone else do better I think we should stick to official releases not bootlegs!

Digital Glastonbury seems quieter this year than it has been in the past. I counted a total of four people on the site. The bedroom next to my own is empty, indicating that 2008 has not been a sell out year for the festival. That said, the facilities are good and there are abundant toilets. The absence of mud can be put down to the organiser’s firm ruling that all festival-goers take their shoes off before entering the site.

There is so much to do at Digital Glastonbury that one can attend the festival and yet never see a single band. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours lying on the floor of the onsite media centre, staring at an electrical wall socket, unable to gather the will to stand up. In any other part of the British Isles concerns would have been raised for my mental health. Here at Digital Glastonbury such behaviour regarded as free-spirited performance art.

I did manage to catch part of a set by Editors and was amused by the lead singer’s amateurish attempts at being a one man band, playing the piano with a guitar strapped to his back. It's much harder than it looks, isn't it Tom?

Those of you who are wondering whether Digital Glastonbury has retained its ecological credentials in this commercialised era, may rest assured. On Friday morning I carried two pink bags full to the brim with recyclable waste to the outskirts of the site. These were collected a few hours later. I understand that the discarded paper, plastic and aluminium will be put to good use as building material in a new generation of affordable detached properties planned for Ethiopian villages.

One essential item for anyone who is planning to attend Digital Glastonbury, is a TV remote. This is useful for banishing the malevolent sprites that turn up between performances and babble incessantly. Last night I successfully used it to teleport myself far, far away from a workmanlike performance by Katie Tunstall.

Anybody know who won the election in Zimbabwe?

and a china cup of lady grey. then i shall breakfast like a medieval knight.

...we've just had a second cup of tea and some toast, had a walk round the garden (doesn't take long) and we're now listening (very quietly) to "Guitar - Boy Superstar" by Sir Victor Uwaifo, a record that Rob found in the office yesterday which is brilliant.

has it come to this?

Special award for Most Difficult To Justify Editorial Decision Made By BBC Staff In Order To Get A Free Glastonbury Ticket.
I've just heard the BBC Today Programme interviewing BBC Wales at the site. That's a start.

Milk for the son and heir, now if only there was a stall selling doughnuts in my garden...

I've made porridge and am about to grind coffee. Breakfast will be taken with an episode or two of 'sCrubs'

Just defragging my Archos....Now there's a sentence you'd have trouble explaining to someone 20 years ago.

is there to be no escape?

...my dad used to have one of their albums too but he never liked it.

Didn't see much more of Glastonbury last night- saw the tail-end of MGMT's set on one of those interactive channels and they weren't bad. Couldn't bear any more of those Fratellis/Enemy types.

Anyone special playing today? I haven't really checked the line-up.

Always pays to get here early.