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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 1:04:46 GMT -1
Well, it's been a hell of a lot of fun barrelling about this past four weeks: Latvia was really, REALLY strange. Barca even vibier than usual and unseasonably hot for June Llafranc (on border of Catalunya and France) absolutely beautiful as ever, I live there in my heed Strathallan for TitP crazy cold & uber wet. NIGHTMARE. About three tonnes of laundry on the tat floor, from swimsuits and shorts to fleeces and jumpers and muddy jeans. The bath's currently full of assorted wellingtons..absolutely CAKED in mud right up to the knees--- so much so I think I've blocked the drains trying to shower the worst of it off. Even my hi-viz jacket is splattered with the stuff, and that's saying something. At several points at T I had sheepskin jacket, boots and two pairs of socks on, while some festival revellers seemed to think short shorts, bare legs and sleeveless tops were enough. I'm too old for this shite. No, really. I worry about them.  |
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Post by notanimby on Jul 16, 2015 5:06:49 GMT -1
Well, it's been a hell of a lot of fun barrelling about this past four weeks: Latvia was really, REALLY strange. Barca even vibier than usual and unseasonably hot for June Llafranc (on border of Catalunya and France) absolutely beautiful as ever, I live there in my heed Strathallan for TitP crazy cold & uber wet. NIGHTMARE. About three tonnes of laundry on the tat floor, from swimsuits and shorts to fleeces and jumpers and muddy jeans. The bath's currently full of assorted wellingtons..absolutely CAKED in mud right up to the knees--- so much so I think I've blocked the drains trying to shower the worst of it off. Even my hi-viz jacket is splattered with the stuff, and that's saying something. At several points at T I had sheepskin jacket, boots and two pairs of socks on, while some festival revellers seemed to think short shorts, bare legs and sleeveless tops were enough. I'm too old for this shite. No, really. I worry about them. Ah TITP - were you on traffic directing duties.......................?  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 17:18:36 GMT -1
Part of my remit's to control the site traffic, yes, but in my case only on the actual festival site not on the perimeter roads. That's done by a freelance traffic manager, a professional-- plus Perth and Kinross Council, who rubberstamp the traffic plan. I think it *could* have worked in principle had it not been for two factors: total catastrophic downpour on Friday night, which turned the (hilly) carparks to mud within an hour (our trusty tractors with bark and chippings made hardly any impact as the downpour was so severe) and also the worst really was punters walking on the narrow perimeter roads. Someone had set up an off-site camping field, so up to 500 folks left site on foot Friday night to get to it. That itself held up the coaches and parents coming in to the pickup points: so many less than sober revellers in big groups, traffic had to slow to a standstill to avoid killing someone. Someone did have a slight collision with a bus but thankfully not badly injured as nothing was moving faster than a crawl! Mr Rolo, after his 12 hour shift in the Slam Tent, couldn't get off site and after two hours in a queue started to run out of petrol, so he ended up sleeping in the car in the staff car park. I found him at 7am next morning when I went out searching for the car with a cup of tea and a banana  He was back on duty for another 14 hours that day....eeek. Strathallan itself is absolutely stunning though, did you see it on the telly?  |
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Post by notanimby on Jul 16, 2015 17:54:52 GMT -1
Part of my remit's to control the site traffic, yes, but in my case only on the actual festival site not on the perimeter roads. That's done by a freelance traffic manager, a professional-- plus Perth and Kinross Council, who rubberstamp the traffic plan. I think it *could* have worked in principle had it not been for two factors: total catastrophic downpour on Friday night, which turned the (hilly) carparks to mud within an hour (our trusty tractors with bark and chippings made hardly any impact as the downpour was so severe) and also the worst really was punters walking on the narrow perimeter roads. Someone had set up an off-site camping field, so up to 500 folks left site on foot Friday night to get to it. That itself held up the coaches and parents coming in to the pickup points: so many less than sober revellers in big groups, traffic had to slow to a standstill to avoid killing someone. Someone did have a slight collision with a bus but thankfully not badly injured as nothing was moving faster than a crawl! Mr Rolo, after his 12 hour shift in the Slam Tent, couldn't get off site and after two hours in a queue started to run out of petrol, so he ended up sleeping in the car in the staff car park. I found him at 7am next morning when I went out searching for the car with a cup of tea and a banana He was back on duty for another 14 hours that day....eeek. Strathallan itself is absolutely stunning though, did you see it on the telly? I knew, when I heard the crap on the MSM, there would have been sensible explanation from yer good self - after all new site, new problems to overcome and practice makes perfect I did see a facebook complaint to yer offishul TITP facebook page - some daft bat complaining about the lack of fire escapes in the camping field - she felt so unsafe on the first night that she slept in the car- she took pelters for saying some right stupid stuff - first retort was someone telling her to go an lie on any fire as she was a right wet blanket |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 18:57:14 GMT -1
I knew, when I heard the crap on the MSM, there would have been sensible explanation from yer good self - after all new site, new problems to overcome and practice makes perfect
I did see a facebook complaint to yer offishul TITP facebook page - some daft bat complaining about the lack of fire escapes in the camping field - she felt so unsafe on the first night that she slept in the car- she took pelters for saying some right stupid stuff - first retort was someone telling her to go an lie on any fire as she was a right wet blanket
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The media's been in overdrive, unfortunately, partly driven by complaints on the TITP FB page.
The production team are experienced event professionals and parents ourselves: our first and foremost priority is people's safety. Always has been, always will be
I TOTALLY get the anxiety of so many parents trying to get in to pick up their kids. Had I been a parent of a 17/18 year old on their first TITP, whose phone had run out of charge or battery while I was waiting to pick them up, I'd have been a basket case too. It's completely understandable.
And sure, I understand why so many kids tried to walk through the traffic jam to find their lift home, whether coaches or cars. It exacerbated the initial problem, though, plus so many were completely unprepared for the weather: it was cold and wet and many hadn't brought enough clothes and suitable footwear.
Look, it's SCOTLAND, in JULY. Surely, you have to accept a degree of personal responsibility and be prepared! We have VOLT--http://getvolt.dk/ on site who recharge phone batteries for the asking. And there are ways to remotely top up your kid's phone credit too.
It's a festival site, not Brigadoon. We have WAY less incidents than seen in comparable towns with a population of 100,000 over any weekend.
I got stuck in horrendous traffic on the M8 on my weary way home Monday. Who do I complain to?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 17:12:46 GMT -1
And it keeps on chucking it down, it's more like March than July. Check this out, from Perthshire today: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-33569028When you're coping with downpours of THIS severity, it's hardly any wonder even the best laid plans can fail when a site can be reduced to mud in a couple of hours. I know from experience it takes a good week of decent sunshine to bake the stuff dry, so if it keeps raining, well... I feel for my pals and colleagues on HebCelt festival this weekend, they are getting the worst of it in the Western Isles and it's not looking much better tomorrow. The Open Golf was postponed for a while today at St Andrews too. Mr R's on Edinburgh Castle duty at the annual big shows there, at least it's high on a hill.. Then to the hugely popular Rewind in Perth next weekend..let's hope the ground's not still saturated for that one.. I'm going on to Merchant City Festival next week, with outdoor stages, markets and stalls. But at least there's plenty cafes and bars folks can take refuge in a downpour. Ach. Bloody jetstream.  |
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Post by ozneil on Jul 17, 2015 21:08:45 GMT -1
mmm makes Sydney in mid Winter sound bearable. Seems you had the hell of a time but reading between the lines you and your team did a fine job... well done! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2015 18:00:32 GMT -1
Thanks, Oz, by far the most challenging T I've worked, and that's 21 out of the 22... Here's what happened to our colleagues over in Tiree. And they only had 1000 campers, we have 85,000+ www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-33579737For only the second time in history, the Open at St Andrews will finish tomorrow (Monday)instead of tonight. Evidence of just how bloody consistently AWFUL the weather's been in Scotland this year... p.s. The Ozzie backpacker reports severe storms at the festival he's at in Northern Germany...shoulda taken his Dunlops..but couldn't afford the excess baggage! |
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Post by ozneil on Jul 19, 2015 20:56:57 GMT -1
Saw them squee-geeing water off the golf course at at Andrews on news last night. weather looked horrific. Everything looked very very green
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2015 17:34:32 GMT -1
I know we whinge a bit about the usual Scottish summer but this really is exceptionally awful  Today the sky's leaden yet again and it's been chucking it down all day, no respite. I have two more young visitors this week, teens-- and instead of getting out and about in lovely Scotland on Fair Holiday Monday, we dreeped from shop to shop in town trying to avoid getting soaked. Last night they played video games draped in slankets, I had to put the heating on in the end...  Shops still full of ridiculously light *summer stock*. Nobody's buying. Big run on boots and jumpers though. And rain jackets... I could weep, I really could. Everyone looks and feels bloody miserable. |
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Post by ozneil on Jul 20, 2015 20:15:54 GMT -1
yeah your header pic was shown on TV here
poor youz
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 0:05:58 GMT -1
No respite, it seems We usually have the pleasure of my sister's late July birthday party outside in her tiny, lovely wee back garden, at least till about 9pm when we'd usually resort to slankets and setting fire to the cocktails to keep warm. Not so tonight. Back door stayed resolutely closed while we piled more coal on the fire in the living room... Today in the office-- the building heating's been off since May, quelle folly, we were a-chittering like chittery wee things so I had to fire the fan heater on to keep our brave wee hearts working. Even our big, tall, strong young men were grateful for a heat... Mr R, meanwhile, has been working ridiculous hours outdoors rigging sound systems at Wickerman in Dumfries--at least maybe the punters'll get a bit of welcome heat when they set the thing on fire at the weekend! He's away now in Perth to rig Rewind, the hugely popular 80s festival. In the rain. With hail showers forecast for tomorrow. You gotta laugh. No, really. |
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Post by ozneil on Jul 24, 2015 3:01:16 GMT -1
Never mind you can always go to Spain and get away from it all  or DY pool [img src=" ![]() img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/ozneil/SHELFDYPOOL.jpg" src=" " alt="  " or Rowardenan ( may have been Balmaha) on our epic trip June 1985. Was a lazy wind that day.....too lazy to go round you went straight through you  |
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Post by notanimby on Jul 24, 2015 4:45:32 GMT -1
No respite, it seems We usually have the pleasure of my sister's late July birthday party outside in her tiny, lovely wee back garden, at least till about 9pm when we'd usually resort to slankets and setting fire to the cocktails to keep warm. Not so tonight. Back door stayed resolutely closed while we piled more coal on the fire in the living room... Today in the office-- the building heating's been off since May, quelle folly, we were a-chittering like chittery wee things so I had to fire the fan heater on to keep our brave wee hearts working. Even our big, tall, strong young men were grateful for a heat... Mr R, meanwhile, has been working ridiculous hours outdoors rigging sound systems at Wickerman in Dumfries--at least maybe the punters'll get a bit of welcome heat when they set the thing on fire at the weekend! He's away now in Perth to rig Rewind, the hugely popular 80s festival. In the rain. With hail showers forecast for tomorrow. You gotta laugh. No, really. Rolo, gonnae stop tellin the furriners aboot our wonderful summers - yer givin away to many secrets......................they'll be wantin to come and experience it fur themselves next - and there isnae enough to go round as it is |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2015 18:50:32 GMT -1
Never mind you can always go to Spain and get away from it all or DY pool [img src=" ![]() img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/ozneil/SHELFDYPOOL.jpg" src=" " alt=" " or Rowardenan ( may have been Balmaha) on our epic trip June 1985. Was a lazy wind that day.....too lazy to go round you went straight through you *My* bit of Catalunya doesn't look like that, Oz It's a well-kept secret, away from the madding hordes..or should that be maddening DY pool? Done that. Been there, LOL and rather lovely it is too.. And yeah, looks like Balmaha. Loving the dufflecoat in June. Just like today in Glasgow.. again.. folks bundled up in wet weather gear (the sensible ones that is..) while the imprudent sloshed around in open toe sandals, bare legs and shorts. I got home tonight to find the garden underwater...again. Cannae keep up with the rate stuff's growing--it's a jungle out there, I tell you! <hacks way to front door>... |
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