Have you been to a festival lately? Did the whole experience leave a bad taste in your mouth when you realised how much you spent, and how it wasn’t equal to the amount of fun you had?
Did it make you feel like you were slightly too old? Or maybe that you were the only one who wasn’t having fun, and, therefore, you weren’t quite as cool as you used to be?
A recent article by Six out of Ten gave a voice to what most of us are thinking. The author talks about how she’s sick of having noodles thrown on her when people chuck them into the crowd, and don’t even get her started on why people would wee in bottles and do the same thing.
She goes on to talk more about the bathroom situation, which is one of the main reasons why I’m so anti-festival. I’m not a portaloo kinda girl. I’m claustrophobic and one of my biggest fears is getting stuck in a portaloo while it’s tipped over. A little ridiculous, but it could happen.
I’m also not a fan of camping. Paying hundreds of pounds to sleep on the ground? Are you crazy? Do you know the kind of hotel or resort you could stay at for that price?
As I get older, I find myself less willing to put up with other peoples drunken shenanigans. Don’t get me wrong- my drunken shenanigans are fine, but when I look at how many people are getting hurt at festivals due to drunk behaviour, I have to roll my eyes and ask myself why.
For some reason, people like to get drunk and do ridiculously stupid things at festivals. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the amount of people who egg them on, wanting to see something funny and not minding if someone ends up in A&E. Pryers solicitors recently created an infographic (see the bottom of this post) which highlights the danger of festivals, especially for people who are unaware of the danger.
Some things to be aware of include projectile injuries (because people like to get drunk and throw things), falling objects, crowd surfing injuries (why? How is this a good idea?), being crushed in crowds (absolutely my worst nightmare), bodily harm assaults (because people get drunk and aggressive), moshing injuries, slips, trips and falls, and drunk drivers (probably the worst of the bunch).
Honestly, none of this sounds fun. Sure, you may get to see some of your favourite bands, but there are probably also plenty that you don’t care about, and chances are high that you’ll be too drunk or in the wrong place to see the acts you were really looking forward to.
I used to be one of those girls who thought I would “have fun once I’m there” and didn’t want to be lame. But as I’ve gotten a little older I’ve realised that I’m not the festival type. I like actual toilets, a roof over my head, and people I can trust to not get drunk and stupid.
