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As the Westhill troops gathered at the Christie house and began munching their complementary bacon rolls, excitement was already mounting. Shelter, clothing and supplies (mostly liquid), were loaded aboard the bus and then the journey was underway. We stopped in town briefly to pick up Parky. He was responding to a beer explosion as the bus rolled up outside his flat, much to the hilarity those on the bus. Meanwhile in Edinburgh, Stevo met up with Gauci who had endured a valiant overnight bus journey from England to meet up with his festival pals.

On arriving at the campsite we gathered our possessions for the weekend and trudged for what felt like several miles until we found a good campsite. We began erecting our tents with Rossco’s “fisher price” tent and my “vintage” tent taking most of the light hearted abuse. Stevo and Gauci rolled up shortly after our arrival and once our base was created the beer began to flow in the afternoon sunshine. Gauci’s lack of supplies and Asda jeans created another moment of laughter. Meiks arrived a couple of hours later from Glasgow with an impressive range of baked goods to complete the group. This first day was spent taking in the campsite atmosphere. Several of the gang bought wigs from a charity stall, with NJ going one step further and running through the campsite wearing a dress.

On Saturday morning the hangovers were shaken off with greasy food and coffee. Several brave souls headed to the toilets returning with tales of woe. By mid morning the sun was already shining and again the beer, vodka and boxed wine came out. Everyone was in great spirits as we left the campsite for the festival. Once inside the arena beer tokens were purchased and the ice cream van provided a central meeting point for the group. Some sampled the festival food at this point with Cogs returning with an impressive carton of potato wedges purchased from the Mexican stall.

Most of the group were eager to see The Kooks, however most of the festival crowd had the same idea. With Placebo providing a poor competition on the main stage, many were forced to leave The Kooks in disappointment due to the volume of people gathered around the NME stage. People drifted off with Kula Shaker, The Zutons, The View, and Clap your Hands say yeah all providing great interest. Around 5pm the heavens opened and many headed for bands playing in the tents. The evening line up meant sacrifices for many. The group was well represented at Sigur Ros, The Charlatans, a rain soaked Paul Weller and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. As everyone arrived back at the campsite with tales of great performances the rain halted any further partying. This was probably for the best, it had been a great day and everyone was happy.

As ging awoke on Sunday morning he said he had “some big decisions to make” regarding the bands he was going to see that day. He was also concerned for the red squirrel population of Scotland as Parky considered purchasing a hot dog for breakfast. Gus paraded his latest festival purchase a “Lifeguards” military style jacket that received a mixed response. Again around mid morning the party kicked off in the intermittent sunshine of the campsite. Once we entered the festival arena most headed for the NME stage and watched We are scientists followed by a blistering performance by Dirty Pretty Things. Then it was a quick hop over to the main stage to catch Arctic Monkeys who were very well received by the large festival crowd. After this the sacrifices again had to be made with the Go Team and The Strokes providing again creating tough choices. Those big decisions must have proved too much for the ging who turned up a bit worse for wear by early evening after a solo bender. Then it was time for possibly the main attraction of the weekend, The Who. Daltrey and Townsend didn’t disappoint, belting out their back catalogue of hits with their trademark energy and skill. Some also saw Richard Ashcroft and Kasabian who were a much welcome last minute addition to the bill.

Once everyone was back at the site the partying continued. Again tales of great performances were swapped and the booze flowed until the early hours of the morning. The next morning it was time to get packed up and head off. The site was littered with festival debris and abandoned tents as we made our way to the exit. By this point many left the festival with hangovers, sunburn and in need of a shower. However as we boarded the bus everyone left with great memories of an excellent weekend and vowing to return next year!.

Cam