Bar work

Brian and I (well me mainly) applied to do some bar work for charity.  I had been contacted by the Campaign Against Climate Change, presumably because I had stewarded for them at the rally last December, to ask if I was interested in volunteering in this way.  You work a number of shifts of up to 6 hours and the wages you earn are paid directly to the charity you are representing.  In return you get free tickets to the festival where the bar is, a couple of vouchers for drinks after your shift and, if relevant, free camping in a secure area and some food.  We immediately applied to work the bar at Glastonbury but were, presumably, at the end of a long line of applicants.  We didn't get a place.  We did, however, get offered some work at the London Feis in Finsbury Park.  No camping but over two days.  I registered us straight away.  Brian was a bit worried about the bar work as he hadn't done anything like it before but I was sure that he would be very good at it (and it turned out that he was).

Brian's family then organised an event on the first day of the festival, which he didn't want to miss, and he got a compulsory place on a speed awareness course on the same day meaning that he couldn't do the Saturday.   We decided that I would do the Saturday on my own and then we would both do the Sunday.  I let CCC know and, unfortunately, it was too late to get a replacement but they were at least able to let the Worker's Beer Company know in time.

About a week before the festival we got our shift allocations: I had 11-5 on the Saturday (which meant that I could watch the Cranberries and Bob Dylan after my shift).  We then had the 5-10 shift on Sunday, shorter but we would be working during the main acts.  As it turned out the bar we were allocated to on both days was next to the main stage and so we could watch when we weren't serving and could listen all the way through.

A few days before the festival I received an email saying thank you being a team leader and giving me instructions.  I wasn't aware that I was a team leader and so contacted CCC to see if it was a mistake.  It wasn't.  Anton, the co-ordinator, had made me team leader of the team of four which, because two of the team were Brian and myself who knew each other, he decided that I might as well carry out that function.

I contact the other team members on Friday arranging to meet them at 9 for registration the next morning.   I met Martin at about 9.30 at the registration tent but the other team member, Navindh, had let me know that he couldn't get there until later.  I spoke to someone there who said that he could register at 11.30am.  In the end he turned up at 12.30 and was sent away.  After a long search I found someone I could ask about it and they said that they had already told him he couldn't work because he was only willing to be there for the shift time and wouldn't make the registration which was a requirement.

Martin and I reported for our shift which was quiet at first but got busier and busier as time went on.  The work was relatively easy and the shift went quickly.  You had scanners that you used to log each drink you sold and which would add the prices up as a check.  Unfortunately, they had a few hiccups and stopped working a couple of times.  Highlights were listening to The Undertones and The Waterboys.

After the shift a group of us got relatively near the front for The Cranberries' set.  The others were sharing round some vodka and lemonade but I hadn't eaten anything at all that day and I didn't want to drink on a very empty stomach so I waited until the end of the set and went off to get something to eat.  I chose a lamb wrap from the Hog Roast which was quite nice, although quite greasy.  I then queued about five deep at the bar to spend my drinks vouchers.  Half and hour later, after conversations with two Bob Dylan fans from Coventry, I was finally served.  I spent both vouchers at once with two medium red wines in one large cup!

I wandered over to the second stage to see what was going on there and found a band called The Afro Celt Sound.  They were excellent with a mixture of Irish, African and Asian Banghra music.  When they finished it was time for the Bob Dylan set.  I wandered back over to the main stage only to find that there was no way I could get back to the group I was with at the front.  I stood a long way back and found myself next to a couple with a small baby in sling.  The couple had met at a Dylan concert 7 years before and so couldn't miss this one and it was great to be able to bring the baby with them (a that very young age they can go anywhere with you).  I also met a Belgian woman whose male friend lent me his binoculars to see Dylan on stage.  She was overwhelmed by how happy everyone was and her outpouring of emotion made me quite emotional as well.

After the concert, still buzzing, I hobbled out slowly with the crowd onto the Seven Sister Road and, as if by magic, Brian and Beccy arrived to pick me up and take me home.  I had told them not to come as I had a train ticket, it wasn't very late and I had a good book for the train, but they came anyway.  Beccy got a peek at the Emirates stadium as we drove past it, which was a treat for her.

On Sunday we were able to have a bit of a lie in as we didn't need to register until 11.30am.  We walked to the station so that we wouldn't need to worry about driving home.  After registration and a quick look around the arena for Brian, we decided to go find a local cafe.  We ended up on a long walk which took us through Clissold Park and eventually to Stoke Newington where we found a reservoir.  The West reservoir was a sailing and boating area with a cafe next to the water.  We had tea and then walked back, stopping on the way to have a look at the Castle Climbing Centre in a large building that looked like it could have been a castle (it had towers and turrets) but was a water pumping station linked to the reservoir.

Back at the festival we arrived in time to get some really delicious chorizo and bean stew with an olive salad.  We sat on the ground and ate while we listened to the Jimmy Cliff set and then it was time to start our shift.

The shift went just as quickly as the previous one.  Brian took to it brilliantly (he was actually offered tips)!  We both really enjoyed it.  It wasn't very busy and so the work was quite leisurely and you got a chance to talk to people as they bought their beers and other drinks.  The bar started to shut not long after the headline act Thin Lizzy started.  There had been a bit of a rush on the bar after Van Morrison and the customers kept on coming as they started to close off the bar at each end.  We were gradually coralled into the middle of the bar and started bumping into each other.  I decided to find other jobs as there were far too many servers in the small bar space left.  I picked up litter as the bar was gradually taken to pieces.

Once everything had been cleared up we were allowed to take drinks that would otherwise be thrown away.  Brian had some gin and lemonade and I had more red wine.  We had enough to keep us going until we were ready to go home.  A tube, train and taxi ride and we were home at around 12.30am, exhausted but having had a really good weekend.  We will do this again.