There were many things that stand out from last year Glade, but maybe the funnist for me happened on Saturday afternoon, by the Liquid stage, just to the left by Herbal High.
This was my first Glade, but I was with some regulars if you can have regulars with only two events. Purple lady (no relation to the purple man), Ben an x-biker who's probably got more chemicals in him, than an Indian take away from Tesco's, Eve a moon child and Mandy a young girl who we sort of took under our wing, as she was camping next to the others ( I had Talua, my campervan) on her own as her friends had let her down and did not turn up.
We were all sitting by the liquid stage, chilling out, enjoying the music. Really, we should had known! we had just spent the last half hour watching (and laughing) at other people trying the massive orange falling down ballons, but despite the evidence we thought we would give them ago.
We joined the queue, handing over our money like expectant kids in a sweet shop. Once we were all holding our ballons we found a quiet spot of grass. Purple Lady and Ben expained to Mandy what to do. With lots of smiles and a count of three we started.
- Mandy was taking tentative breaths
- Ben, being the party animal, downed half in one go.
- Purple Lady and Eve were going strong
as for me......
Now I had tried it a few times before and was still was still trying to pefect my technique. Do you breath out first? or just breath it in? Do you hold your breath first or blow back into the ballon? with all these thoughts in my head it all suddenly became clear. I knew the answers to everything (and even some of the questions!) I could see how a sound could change the patterns of the universe, patterns and cycles, patterns and cycles
Of course whilst I was having my cosmic experince and finding the answers of the universe ( which sadly I would forget within 5 seconds) the others were just standing there with funny looks on their faces..
Mandy was still going slow and steady.
To my left Purple Lady suddenly just fell back. She did not just fall like a clumsy drunk, her whole body was parallel to the ground. Her body hit and she bounced, still parallel to the ground , clutching her ballon to her chest. With out a word or comment she got back up and carried on.
Ben fiished the other half
Eve was breathing in and out like a thing possessd, her face red and her balloon flat and limp, falling and rising to the sound of a raspberry.
Mandy was still going slow and steady
Ben took a step forward handed Eve his empty balloon saying hold this, he took two steps back and gently sank to the floor.
On seeing this, Purple Lady just started laughing, pointing laughing and calling him a lightweight for falling over.... of course the rest of us starting laughing as she had no recolection of her own spectacular fall to the ground....
(Very bad) Artists impression of the event
