Big Green Gathering 2005

Big Green Gathering - 3-7 August 2005

This festival is 'the' festival for anyone interested in green issues and generally making our planet a nicer and fairer place to live. There is so much to learn as well as some great entertainment of course. It is a five day festival running from the Wednesday and I would recommend it as a great holiday away from the norm but with far more to it than just people partying (although there is a lot of that as well!)

I arrived on the Thursday with my friend John and we parked up in the campervan field. We were right near the entrance to the horse drawn field which is one of my favourite parts of the festival. This year the horse drawn field had a cafe with a small stage where bands played. My job at this festival was to help at the disabled campsite which I did at the last festival two years ago. This time we had a large marquee where we were able to serve tea, coffee and hot chocolate as well as charge wheelchair batteries, do some kids workshops and keep an eye on the disabled toilets. We even had some bands come and play in the evening although I missed them as I was off doing other things.

After work on Friday I went to see my friend Sam in the campaigns field at his stall 'Circus 2 Iraq' as I hadn't seen him since Glastonbury. I also went to see Kaye at her 'Travellers School Charity' stall to donate some computer bits I had collected for them. Much of the weekend was spent wandering the site bumping into people and getting involved in stuff going on. On Saturday I took part in a singing workshop at the music space in the healing field which was fun although rather repetitive! I also saw some good music but I'm afraid due to me being wooly headed I can't remember who I saw apart from Seize The Day, Ska Daddy and 2000 DS. I also picked up some good information on sustainable energy which is something I hope to learn more about over the next couple of years.

Some of the best places this year were the Star cafe, Glitterland cafe and as always the horse drawn area, but also worth mentioning was the amazing fire shows, the great crafts, the permaculture area, the tipis and the brilliant campaigners. The only downside was as I had already done so many festivals (and working in between) I was quite tired and went home on Sunday when my last shift finished at 6pm. Next year I am not doing as many festivals but I will defiantly be doing this one as it really has nearly everything there that interests me, in fact just get Zion Train and Dreadzone to play there and it would be perfection!

Below are a selection of photographs from the gathering.