Turn Left At The Womble: How I didn't get tickets for Glasto...but still went..

extracted from "Left Again at the Womble- The Adventures of a middle-aged Dad working at the Glastonbury Festival"

This bit below is all about how I had to try to get tickets on ticket sale day but was on holiday...

So that Sunday was exactly half way through our Florida trip. I’d been sort of putting it all to the back of my mind during the first week, trying not to tempt fate and just getting into the holiday mode. It had been a great holiday, but on the Saturday night, I did go to sleep thinking what the next day would bring. We were planning to go on a bit of journey on the Sunday, so it was an early night for all. I drifted off with visions of pitching our tent in the sun.

Bearing in mind the time difference between the U.K. and the U.S., (5 hours behind the U.K), I knew that when we got up, then good news would be in the offing. Not being very good with mobiles/texting in any way, shape or form, I was reliant upon Sam texting Jackie with the update. At 6.00 a.m. U.S. time Jackie got a text that Sam had sent at 9.30 a.m U.K. to say that she was on and trying but with no success so far. No worries-there was still time. I got up, made a coffee and paced up and down with a ciggie, like an expectant father. Next text- Sam had still had no luck but was still trying. She kept updating us and I knew that the next text would be “Yes!”. But at 7.15 a.m. a text arrived- “Oh I’m so very sorry, no luck, it’s all sold out”. When Jackie told me this I honestly thought she was joking in that sort of “I didn’t get the job/pass the exam” crestfallen-face but “No, I did actually!” way. She wasn’t joking at all-it’s not the kind of thing you joke about. And whilst I was eternally grateful for Sam and knew that she had given it her all-that was it -no Glasto in 2011.

I tried to let the news sink in, although I still didn’t really believe it. I did ask Jackie more than once if it was really true, if she was joking and if Sam had really got the tickets-even though I knew it was a false hope. I did half think that we’d get another text from Sam saying she’d somehow managed to get a ticket and it was all a mistake, but after an hour or so I had to face up to reality-there were no tickets and all the efforts had been for nothing.

It was a bit of a grim morning that day. The drive to the theme park took an hour or so and I didn’t feel too jolly. Jackie kept saying all she could say, things like “Well, there was always a risk you weren’t going to get tickets” and “You know Sam will have tried her best” as well as “Don’t get too down-hearted, these things were maybe meant to be” alongside “At least you had a great time in June, maybe it just can’t be repeated”.

All this was meant to make me feel better and was said with the very best of intentions, but it didn’t really work. I was too pissed off and dejected. A lot of shrugging and nodding went on. I was trying to say that I understood and that I was ok, but inside I was metaphorically kicking the cat. Not that we either a) have a cat or b) if we did, that I would kick it or even consider it, but that’s the way with metaphors-I was in that sort of kick something around frame of mind. It wouldn’t have meant that I would have actually ended up with tickets or made me feel any better yet for a bit that’s how it was.

At the same time however, I did feel both a bit guilty and selfish for feeling that way in any event. Jackie had said that I shouldn’t let it spoil my holiday and she was totally right. It was true that the experience of going to Glasto in June could never possibly be repeated anyway and I just had to develop that stiff upper lip British attitude. After all, I was in America at the time and that is what us Brits are renowned for. So I manned up (as our American cousins might say) and put it all to the back of my mind whilst I sobbed inconsolably into my sugar coated U.S. cereal breakfast.

Get/read Left Again at the Womble here - all about how I did manage to go & what happened..

UK
Kindle book :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IBK2V6M