Wilderness

The beautiful lake
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

'Bling', the familiar sound of a new email, yeahhh baby! A confirmation of my Wilderness ticket for 2013. I feel like you have to do at least one festival a year, so in exchange for a free ticket, I had to do 2 shifts catering at this years banquet with 2 of the hottest chefs in London, Hix and Ottolenghi. What a deal! One of my best friends T from KL was interested too so soon enough we were both on board and immersed in the pre-festival rush.

Empire of the sun performing in the sky
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

I'd packed my bags, ticked everything off the list, tent, glitter, disposable camera, sleeping bag, draw, wet-wipes.. T and I were heading to Wilderness 2013 but "the real jewel in Wilderness’ crown is Cornbury Park itself (one of the most ancient forests in Britain today): the estate has an enduring beauty and a sense of untouched grandeur. World-class, 800-year old deer park encircled by a ribbon of ornamental lakes. And whilst the lakes and forests provide the perfect backdrop to while away the daytime, so open fires and candle light provide a perfect accompaniment to an evening of outdoor dining and live music." (wildernessfestival.com). 

First day eeek :)

(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

We arrived in different cars, carpooling with strangers who were heading to the festival as well, for £8 return via 'gocarshare.com'; a great way to avoid the £60+ train fare. S and M (excuse the pun) helped me with my bags and I set off to find the ticket booth, with a semi-flexible time frame of 30 minutes before the sun went down and the booth closed. Unfortunately, it just so happened that I began on the opposite side to where I needed to be, and with no wrist band to take the short cut through the festival, I had to walk the perimeter of the beautiful grounds - a lovely walk if you're not in a rush & carrying heavy bags, always a downside to festivals. But I got there! And in front of me were the high pitched voices of excited girls working for the same catering company as I, for our weekend of madness. I collected our wristbands and sat on the grass - When technology becomes unavailable, meeting up with people suddenly turns into total disorder. I suddenly gained so much respect for all the past generations who'd managed to stay in touch without phones or internet. Fighting the urge to pee, I stayed with my mound of luggage hoping T would arrive in the same spot as I. Surrounding me were groups of chilled out rastas wearing their green, gold and red; toffs in their polo necks and hunter boots, flower filled hippies with crystal balls and delighted children running between the ancient trees. This festival was the perfect allegory for the ability our country has (at times) to function as one, despite our differences and eclectic class system. T arrived, shaggy haired and weighed down with his multiple bags and we trekked over hills, back and forth until 'crew camping' spread itself in front of us. We chose a spot to pitch our mobile home for the next 4 days: 
. near a tree
. in front of a caravan/ a little blue car 
. about 200m from the portaloos

Fancy dress in the reading tent

I tried to make a mental note in fear of my constant weakness of getting lost (but despite my efforts, I still roamed that camp site for about 15 minutes each time I tried to find our tent *sigh* .. I swear it's genetic). 

Alice's tea party
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

We lay out the pegs, highly aware of the slowly approaching darkness, discussing all the things we'd rather be doing. But we managed! Just as the temperature dropped and everything around us suddenly disappeared. Shit, no torch.. the list of all the essentials we hadn't brought suddenly  grew a page. Patience is a virtue that we needed at that point, due to the fact that everything we did took 10x as long as it should've. Sight is our strongest sense and that deprivation creates such disorientation, meaning touch has to become everything. What did that white shirt feel like? What wrapper were those cereal bars in again.. ugh not the deodorant. The incense burned and the plumes of flower filled smoke curled up to the centre of our tent as the dim light of a slowly dying phone glowed in the corner. Rice cakes and hummus would have to do, a seemingly simple snack but somehow I managed to spread the hummus over just.about.everything, woops! :)

Swimalims

We braved the cold and crawled out of our tents. The 'innocence' crew were our neighbours, a total bonus when you're being handed free smoothies every morning to replenish a bit of everything you'd lost the night before. We walked across the wet, muddy grass as the notorious British drizzle began and the grey clouds greeted us again. We could smell the whiffs of fried garlic and pot noodle as people covered up their pots and pans and portable stoves. One thing about festivals now, is the prices, you pay for the ticket but that just allows you a bit of walking space. The rest, all has a price tag, and it's the perfect place for a business as you can charge whatever kind of extortionate fee you want (because it's not like the majority of us come that prepared). We'd accepted it though and tucked in to the one or two amazing £5 - 15 pound meals a day, the choices were brilliant. There was a meatball stand where we munched on spinach, pork and ricotta meatballs with wild rice and tomato sauce, mac n cheese, chorizo wraps, English breakfasts, burgers, pizza, award winning Indian curries or Buddha bowls. The food was scattered around the festival and it took us 4 days to figure out everything that was on offer. Outside each little cove of stalls were hay stacks and grass to spread out on, some areas sheltered, some not. During the day you could check out the forum tents, the comedy arenas, roller discos, bubble shops, banquets, clothes, make-up tents and wood-working stations. We spent most of our time by the lake when the sun was out, lounging on the edge and soaking up the vitamin D before the clouds took it away in exchange for goosebumps. The lake was freezing and full of weeds but once your body got moving the warmth spread comfortably. Dotted on the side were beautifully built, round, wooden sauna's that could be enjoyed, for £30 an hour... The steam rose from them as their victims threw their heads back and watched the clouds flying by. Early morning was the nicest time for a swim, the nudists stripped themselves of their layers and dived in, the 20 year old lifeguard making an effort not to peak as he scanned the vicinity from the big fallen log. But that all came the next morning. We'd spent our first night just observing, wondering around, looking in shame at the crumpled up beer cans that littered the floor and shrugging off the odd drunkard that would find their way onto our shoulders. The music hadn't started yet and only silhouettes of huge crane-like structures, stages and rides could be seen, their secrets not to be discovered until morning came..

(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

We made our way back to our tents, delirious and thankful for the warmth of our sleeping bags, the blow-up mattresses were arriving with my cousin the next day, so the lumpy floor would have to do for a night. I woke earlier than T and left him sleeping to stretch out in the lake, the drizzle hadn't subsided but an hour later, when T's sleepy head poked itself into the day, the sun spread its warmth over the camp-site.  Strums of guitars could be heard around us and the festival gear was out, glitter, fluorescent lycra and funky masks - I looked around me wondering what other lives these people lead before they stepped over the barrier. It was a 4 day break, and having been working myself, I shared their relief. The three themes of the festival were 1) La Belle et la Bête 2) Masquerade ball and 3) Dance of the vagabond dreamers (1920's esque) but anything extravagant and colourful would fly.

Chef Ottolenghi and Sammi
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

Crunchy granola with deep red strawberries & yoghurt with a warm mocha was enjoyed for breakfast, followed by a wonder through the fairy garden, the yoga huts and gongs, a guided meditation and a game of badminton or table tennis. How civilized! The gypsy kids were doing flips and practising their performance for later, giant bubbles floated by, catching every colour of the rainbow as they drifted over the trees, producing smiles and reflecting off of wide eyes before they popped and became one with the air. The 3 pieces of clothing we had to bring for the banquet were jeans, white T's and converse. T forgot the main component so we headed off on a jeans hunt, with one or more doubts as to what we'd find. But karma was on our side and a jeans shop popped up, right next to the winter jackets that I swarmed to. The owner of the shop was a happy man that day, as the coats and jeans dropped away one by one and everyone got a little warmer each time, including us. 

Salmon on rye - catering at the banquet
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

Into the banquet tent we ran and work-time began. The next few hours we bonded with our fellow workers, it was paradoxical being in festival/ work mode as we went from jokes to serious tasks, balancing wine glasses on trays and serving food without dropping it all over the animated guests that had paid £75 for their meals.. Ottolenghi was the chef for the first night, a vegetarians favourite - sweet beetroot salads, salmon on rye, rosemary potatoes, lamb shanks, wheat-free chocolate fudge cake - it never ended. By the end of service we were all completely loopy after having downed a few wines before they got chucked into the alci bucket. We laughed and stumbled into the tent, munching on the mounds of leftovers that'd been saved for us. Eating was the last thing on our mind, so with our new-found group, we bumped and skipped our way over hills and tent pegs to the little circle, watching the transformation of caterers to wacky festival goers. The wigs and costumes were out with a splash of M and C. Spinning to the sound of the beat we ran and joined the rave in the secret valley. All you could see was a wave of people, crazy costumes and wide eyes, all green and elevated due to the bumpy hills and funky lights. From stage to stage we hopped, dancing the night away until the silent 2am alarm went off and the music stopped.. when you stop dancing your body heat noticeably lapses and the light of the fires called our name. We squeezed in to the tight circle surrounding the powerful heat of the white embers and blue flames. Folky tunes began and I looked across from me, at a familiar face that I couldn't quite place. I shuffled over to him "do you know Eden? The forest rave in Koh Phangan?" "yeah.. we live there!" And in that moment, a sense of fate was shared. Amidst the thousands of people, on the other side of a fire in Oxfordshire, England, I had just bumped into the musical, eccentric twins, that months ago I had shared a sunrise together with J. after an all-night-all-day rave in a remote area of Thailand, on the other side of the world. For the rest of the night we caught up, appreciating the lick of the flames on our cold skin, before sleeping soundly until morning. 

That faux fur coat saved me.

Bumping into the twins <3

Saturday was our day off and we had until 11.30am on Sunday to recover before our afternoon shift with Hix. So we went for it, a morning swim, breakfast and a sesh, bumping into new friends and checking out the secrets that were still revealing themselves. And then at 5pm it all kicked off. From funk to orchestras to jazz to house we danced till our legs could take no more, stopping off at the water-filling stations that were always jam-packed. I spotted a beautiful owl mask worn by E, my older cuz who was jamming it out with his girlfriend and crew. Sticking with a group brought with it both stress and security. Staying together was tough but finding people you thought you'd lost was fun. The night ended rather messy as I woke up to the door of the cubicle, inches from my nose, realizing I hadn't quite made it to my tent before my eyes had shut. I wondered the fields in the darkness, tripping over tent peg after tent peg and rustling the sleeping tents as I clumsily struggled to stay awake. Damn it! I'd tripped again, but then I realized they weren't tent pegs this time, but 2 legs, that hadn't quite made their way into the tent either. T had passed out in the entrance of the tent and I crawled over him, fully dressed & made-up, passing out on whatever softness I could find.. oh dear. A man in a neighbouring tent had a serious snoring problem that was always one of my auditory landmarks whenever I was lost.. but that Saturday night, no snoring was gonna keep us awake! We woke up on Sunday feeling remarkably fresh, having slept at least 8 hours and not spending the whole night in a manky festival toilet cubicle :s. 

The sanctuary
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

We gave ourselves the perfect amount of time to chill and enjoy a leisurely breakfast before our shift. This one went slower than the rest, it's tough working when it's a beautiful day outside but I guess everyone has to deal with that now and again.. just not so much in England. Buttering bread, stabbing chickens and placing gravy was the appetizer on our menu but we munched through it with vigour and grace until the witching hour struck and we all sat down happily in the sun, enjoying a big plate of Hix's fabulous food. Beer sticks, jellied ham, roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, soda bread and eton mess, mmm. Trays of food were still left once we'd had our fill so T and I filled cups of strawberries and placed them neatly in a box with a sign that read '£1 strawbugs!' We went around the festival, selling soda bread and strawberries for £1 each, and after 15 minutes, we'd made £40 and funded our night ahead. Collect phones from charging station, drop, get dressed, party. And went our last night. We discovered a tent in the neighbouring field that was full of various concoctions and spells, and soon we were under one. I ate olives under a tree and watched the sky turn from cartoon to reality as T and I struggled to communicate, snuggling under the random sleeping bag that lay overlooking the lake. People were generous that night, and despite a few mean looks, we were given everything, from masks to love to sleep. 

A spectacular end
(Picture from Wilderness FB group)

We'd packed up pretty much everything the night before, so only the tents, sleeping bags and mattresses needed to be zipped up. On with the bags and off with our heads we waved goodbye to the characters of Alice and Wonderland that had greeted us the night before, the fantastical entertainment, food and people. Hopping into our carshares we journeyed home, anticipating the Tuesday blues and the post-festival depression. I walked through the door, had a hot shower and lay down. Had that really happened?

Artist of the day: The Correspondence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZukiRrYROA