Festival Survival Guide 2010

The Quintessential S&C Festival Survival Guide!

Summer is upon us and that can only mean one thing – it’s Festival Season, wahoo!!! We’ve compiled our annual “Festival Survival Guide” to see you through the season:

1. Tent: Don’t forget the pegs, ground sheet and rubber mallet!

2. Wheelbarrow: Handy for lugging camping equipment and slabs of cider into the event and for wheeling overly merry friends out!

3. Zdar Boots: If they’re good enough for the Russian military forces then they can kick right royal Wellington boot ass! Better yet they are in the Summer Sale so you can save a few pounds for a cheeky pint of pear cider!

4. Sunnies: Confuse and confound the crowds… (ahem, and hide your hangover in style!) thanks to Ray-Ban.

5. Toilet Roll: Carry it everywhere. You may feel like a nugget to start with but the sense of smugness will be worth it!

6. Suncare: Okay, so we know sunshine is not always guaranteed in the UK but you’ll be kicking yourself if you forget the SPF and After Sun!

7. Turbo charged moisturiser: Erborian Ginseng BB Crème SPF 25, this 3-in-1 skincare is the ULTIMATE festival essential; not only does it greatly reduce the amount of gear you need to carry through the mud but it moisturises, hides those “too much partying” blemishes and protects from sun damage! Perfect.

8. Baby Wipes: Face cleanser and shower in one handy compact pack – whoop, whoop!

9. Spare mobile phone battery: As if you’ll ever remember to take your phone to the sponsor’s tent to recharge it… and, if you do, you’re likely to forget to collect it – trust us on this one, we speak from experience.

10. Cash: Stop at the cash point before the event or you’ll spend 3 hours in a queue and miss your favourite act.

11. Tea Bags: When you wake up early realising the nearest “tea-pi” is 1 mile up a vertical muddy hill, our pal Mr. Jones will help you – but don’t forget the camp stove!

12. Chocolate: One whole kilo of vital sustenance - The Kasbar.

13. Oil Cloth: Kitsch Kitchen’s funky summer oil cloths double as a picnic blanket by day and funky rainproof canopy by night. Now that’s utilitarian!

14. Comfy Cushions: Somehow a warbler cushion just seems like the perfectly appropriate tipi accessory, nuff said!

15. Energising Foot Spray: Spritz puffy, tired, overworked feet and legs with “Pumps”. Tighten, revive, reduce swelling, stimulate blood flow and deodorise. Now, go, break out those dancing shoes!

16. A Peculiar Hat: An unsaid golden rule; wear a festival hat! Bleurgh, not one of those horrific multi-coloured velvet numbers with jangling bells but something kooky yet striking. Your friends be able to spot you from afar and the photographers will snap you up in seconds… we think this Vintage Doll Face number will do the trick!

17.Spare pants: Festie or not there is no excuse for not having freshly laundered Pull-in underthings. Fact.

18. Rock n’Roll accessories: Keep them simple, understated yet striking. Leather wrist cuffs are stylish and robust perfect for withstanding a festival, each time they are worn their character ages and evolves; the epitomy of perfect festie styling.

19. Warmies: You may be sweltering by day dancing through fields and jostling amidst the crowds but, rest assured, when you get back to the camp after the last act you’ll want to sit around the campfire exchanging tales; a cashmere scarf or lightweight woolly cardi will warm your cockles keeping you in the party spirit.

20. Tealights: For an ethereal glow, decorate your campsite at dusk with pretty cactus tealights… mind you don’t forget to blow them all out though!

We would love to hear about your festivals adventures. If you have a specific tale you would like to share, please leave a comment in the form below… and don’t forget to include any links to photos, preferably not rude ones… you never know, the best ones may even get featured on the Strawberry & Cream Gossip page too!!!

All that remains to be said is… HAPPY FESTIVAL SEASON EVERYONE!

Please be safe not sorry.