Chelmsford, UK - August 18th, 2001
by Hereward Cooper

Tuesday 14th
Train arrives at Padington. 3 days of London stuff to go.

Friday 17th
Up at ~9:00 pack, wash, repack, eat, repack. The repacking is due to all 24 bottles of 'Stella artois' continually digging into my back. I solve this problem by drinking 4 of them. Me and Mark head of Liverpool St. Station for the non-stop train to Chelmsford.
We meet a couple of other eager festival go'ers waiting on the platform.
With none of the continually amassing groups of campers waiting at the bus stop knowing where the bus go to/from we wonder to the bus station.
After an hour a "PRIVATE HIRE" double decker appears and we all clamber on board. 10 minutes later where waiting at the gate to the blue camp site.
A very generously security guy who has just confiscated glass bottles off 3 people in front of us, blatantly ignores all the beer clinking around in the bottom of my bag. Thanks mate.
Wondering through the semi-erected tents we find a nice spot oppersite the arena entrance, but away from the main path.

Time passes, beer gets drunk.

We go and watch a film on the sex pistols, snatch and sexy best in the JJB arena for evening entertainment. The arena is not full open yet.

More time passes, no beer is drunk, allot of sleeping is performed

Saturday 18th
Wake up tinking at it is about 9/10 o'clock, actually its 6!
Cold baked beens and bottles of tesco cola get eaten/drunk.
I also most forget what I'm there for after the 6 1/2 hour wait tell the gates open at ~12.15
We chat to the guy next to us, James, from uurrrgg? Kent?
When we are eventually let in the place seem pretty empty for a festival, i wonder past all the stages to get my bearings, ending up at the V-Stage where i eventally spend the whole day.
Sit down, Mark appears from somewhere and sits next to me. Not much happens then GUST come on. GUST? I hear you say. GUST? We if someone could please tell me who they were. They were funny though! I was under the impression that it was the guy from Trigger Happy TV, the prakster bloke. Basically it went along that the members kept playing the wrong song, or he forgot the words, or something like that, (you had to be there!).
Next the cool dude the Barnster, Jimmy Barnes. A sixty year older bloke who was once famous trying to be popular again, the only people i saw who knew him where two women behind me that looked older than my parents.
Spooks, well i was expecting more, I'll liked there tracks i heard on the radio, but i can see why they were put on second.
Nelly, she was wicked, but not really a festival type i don't think. I got some photos of her about a meter in front of me which i think my friend who runs a Nelly site would be they jellious. Well faithless and coldplay where wicked too. I didn't know who embrace where, just like what i could hear of them.
I think it was after coldplay that a piece of cling film appeared over the centre front of the crowd (10x10 people) though it worked, it didn't last very long as people not under it got very jellious at ripped it. After that i was sooo cold i had to go back to my tent and change into waterproofs, losing my place at the front centre.
I looked around the other stages whilst the Charlatans where on, and decided to go looking for Lisa as Texas where going to be on soon. Found her and talked to her. I was worried at first as once the Charlatans went off every one started to disappear, allowing me to get back into a aright spot. But once Texas where nearly on the place did fill up again.
Texas where the best (of course). I sure that every one has already described the performace. The only think i will point out is that when shear came down to look for blokes to pull on to the stage, i was sure she was pointing at me, and not the bloke next to me. She said "the one with yellow in his t-shirt", well i had yellow in mine as well! The encore worked really well again, and every one enjoyed it.

After Texas a brisk walk up to the JJB arena for the slight chance to catch a glimpse of Kylie, not for her music though. For her HOT PANTS! No luck though as about 1,000 other people had the same idea!

I went back to the tent to find my friend asleep hogging the entire tent. I wasn't at all sleepy so went back to see if a film was on. MI2 sent me to sleep and I wandered back to my tent.

Sunday 19th
The only noticeable thing about Sunday is that after Starsalior/David Gray me and Mark just decided to go home, so packed up in 5 minutes walked to the train station, whilst being passed by 5 'free buses' and went home!


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