Damaris


haha. wasn't a very good episode though.

True :(

This was our first experience of the festival and we weren't too sure what to expect. Overall we had a good time but there were a few disappointments....

Facilities in family camping were insufficient for number of people
Toilets should have been cleaned more regularly.  By Saturday night there was no water available in the toilets!
Carpark was too far from campsite! Like the idea of a drop off site
Too many good acts on at same time and very crowded
Obelisk arena needs bigger screens
Programme should have been available at point of getting wrist bands

Praise:
- Tuesday/late Monday buses for staff.  Good to encourage more public transport use.
- The lovely FR staff member who gave me a lift in her Landy on Tuesday when the staff bus went to the wrong gate.  Her name was Annie and she was on the way to deliver stuff to Hotbox - would it be the same Annie who administers this forum?
- Plenty of capacity for wheelchairs and chargers in Disabled marquee.
- The campsite staff coped remarkably well in assisting people with the high winds.
- Royal Opera House in the Faraway Forest was my first introduction to live opera and it was great to have this opportunity at Latitude.
- Cracking lineup on the Sunrise (especially the wonderful First Aid Kit).  And is there a more atmospheric place to see a band?  I can't think of any.

Suggestions:
- I had pre-booked a VIP ticket for the return bus - the signage/system wasn't very clear as to where I should wait.  Thankfully the coach driver took me to the front of the queue so that problem was solved!
- Draught beer should be sold in the bar near the Faraway Forest.  Maybe nearer loos too, or maybe I'm just lazy!
- Improvement in the 'side entrance' bridge that connects the Lake Stage with the deckchair bank.  It's well used, but narrow.

This was my second Latitude, after attending 2009.  Overall, had a great time, even if this year's music offering was less to my taste.

Praise:
- Wonderful scale of entertainment options on offer, even outside the advertised stages.  In one afternoon wander, stumbled across live music at the Lavish Lounge, then a one-man band near the arena entrance, then even a small stage in the kids area.  A lot of thought went into this and it shows.
- The raised stage at Sunrise made it possible to see the band this year, even from the back of the crowd.  A huge improvement on 2009.
- The screens at the Word Arena were quite a useful addition.
- Enjoyed the comedy in the Cabaret tent, and the ease of access compared to the Comedy tent.
- Bar queues were noticeably shorter this year, and Hektor's ales were still on offer.
- Despite the larger attendance, queues for toilets did not seem any worse than 2009.
- The staff was friendly and helpful.  On Monday morning while walking in the parking area, a couple of lads with a wheelbarrow offered to assist us in carrying our things to our car.  This was unexpected and appreciated.
- Most attendees were well behaved and polite.  Sure, you get roughly bumped into on occasion, but more often than not you get a "sorry".
- Fantastic weather.  Thanks for that.

Suggestions:
- Headliners need enough of a catalog of material to earn the time slot.  Vampire Weekend took the stage 15 minutes late not because their instruments were late arriving from Portugal, but because they only came with 65 minutes of songs to perform.
- Book a few professional, seasoned acts with broad appeal for the slightly older set, a la Pretenders and Squeeze from 2009.  It seems the 2010 music lineup was directed at the kids, on the presumption the age 30+ attendees could turn to non-music offerings for entertainment.
- Book a couple of rock bands, for those of use that like that sort of thing.  Did Pulled Apart by Horses really play Latitude in 2009?  Mars Volta in 2008?  You'd never know it by this year's lineup.
- Narrow (or better yet eliminate) the gap between the crowd and the stage in the Sunrise Arena.
- Make better use of the space in the film & music arena.  Improve the configuration of the seating area, which is awkward.  Find a way to move the centre screen nearer to the seating area. 
- Enlarge the Comedy Tent.  Yes, the comedians complain the tent is too big, but somehow they manage to get over the size of the crowd for Live at the Apollo.
- Enlarge the Literature Tent.
- Offer something for the 30+ set after 11:00pm.  How about some classic jazz on the Lake Stage?  Offer one DJ option with rock or indie rather than just pop?
- Improve dissemination of important information to festival goers.  I only learned about the reported rapes upon arriving at my car on Monday morning to depart, and reading the leaflet on the windscreen.  This was a bit unnerving.

General comment:
- While there are a lot of complaints about the size of the crowd, I was not too bothered about this.  I was still able to get near the stage for those bands I wanted to see, by arriving 10-15 minutes before the start of the show.

- I had pre-booked a VIP ticket for the return bus - the signage/system wasn't very clear as to where I should wait.

not really picking on this poster, could apply to many posts on here...but really some one has to say this...from all us common people, just so as you know...our hearts are flipping bleeding

^^ Hehe, the 'VIP' was simply the pre-booked departures - very handy for those with Advance rail tickets.  But yeah, the regular queue was far worse so I should count my blessings.

Anyway, I've found an interview with the landowner who would like to see a permanent bridge across the lake.  Presumably it would pay for itself when the costs of erecting and dismantling the temporary bridge is taken into account.

I support all of the above. Having attended in 2009 and persuaded some friends and family to come this year, I was embarassed.

1. you promote recycling - why were there so few bins?
2. Was toilet paper and hand wash rationed? There often was none
3. Surely it is part of the contract with the toilet suppliers that the doors should lock? Very interesting on Thurs and Friday when it was quite windy!
4. Why so few toilets?
5. Why so few staff on Thurs? We hired a camper this year and were put in a pen holding 8 rows of campers for two hours waiting for staff to turn up and give us wristbands. It reminded me of the last time I was stuck due to a ferry strike.
6. The Tom Jones Thursday night thing was a fiasco and very dangerous. The crowds at the entrance to the wood area were scary - my sister feared her two young kids were going to be crushed. I think you were very lucky you didn't have an incident.
7. And where were the staff on Thursday night? It was ages before someone appeared with a megaphone to tell us what was going on.
8. It was too crowded. And every one of the rumoured 10,000 extra must have been under 20 and drunk... sort of ruins the family atmosphere.
9. Was there water rationing as well? In the family camper area it failed regularly. Luckily the nice young man at the top of Tower 4 was happy to constantly radio for help.

Latitude was wonderful in 2009 and I still enjoyed it this year despite these gripes, I just fear that it is becoming less of a family festival which is a huge shame.

First time at Latitude and had an absolute ball!  Loved it.  If I were to change anything:
 
*  Coffee/Tea/Food Stands in the Campsite - was a massive ball ache waking up and having to hike all the way to the village to get a drink and some breakfast - One outlet in each campsite would be wonderful.
 
* More bins
 
*  Green Police - Get people coming round to campsites and telling the kids that they have to clean up their camping area or they will be ejected from the festival - the state of some of the campsites were absolutely disgraceful
 
*  More toliets - at least a 10 minute walk to the nearest toilet is a tad excessive - especially when a set is 40 minutes and you are spending half of it walking to and from the toliet.
 
Other than that - amazing job, really enjoyed it and will be back again but it is very important is doesn't get any bigger!!
 
Nudge

Where indeed were the compost toilets?  They were brilliant last year and absent this.

tillyandthewall


Praise:
- Tuesday/late Monday buses for staff.  Good to encourage more public transport use.
- The lovely FR staff member who gave me a lift in her Landy on Tuesday when the staff bus went to the wrong gate.  Her name was Annie and she was on the way to deliver stuff to Hotbox - would it be the same Annie who administers this forum?
- Plenty of capacity for wheelchairs and chargers in Disabled marquee.
- The campsite staff coped remarkably well in assisting people with the high winds.
- Royal Opera House in the Faraway Forest was my first introduction to live opera and it was great to have this opportunity at Latitude.
- Cracking lineup on the Sunrise (especially the wonderful First Aid Kit).  And is there a more atmospheric place to see a band?  I can't think of any.

Suggestions:
- I had pre-booked a VIP ticket for the return bus - the signage/system wasn't very clear as to where I should wait.  Thankfully the coach driver took me to the front of the queue so that problem was solved!
- Draught beer should be sold in the bar near the Faraway Forest.  Maybe nearer loos too, or maybe I'm just lazy!
- Improvement in the 'side entrance' bridge that connects the Lake Stage with the deckchair bank.  It's well used, but narrow.

Yes, that was me.  Glad you enjoyed your weekend.

Why does it say on the site front page review of The Antlers that they played Sylvia and Bear when they did no such thing? Just rub it in, why don't you.

...thats pretty much my only complaint. Apart from all the bloody kids. Started off looking in yellow for a pitch but it was full of 16 year olds, so we retreated to red, pitched, realised we were surrounded by loud, drunk and unamusing 16 year olds. Where were the friendly, laid-back and welcoming festivalees camped, because I'd like to go there next time. (yknow, if they want us, i'm clearly not a very nice person)

My suggested improvements;
- more and better toilets (particularly the compost ones)
- a toilet next to the Cider Bar (what are they thinking?)
- move the spoken word tents further away from the bands
- bigger Poetry and Literature tents (they were too often full and could have been 50% bigger with no real difficulty)
- a shop selling books, cds and merchandise of the artists there
- a kids cafe near the kids area
- a better kids arena (this year was NOT better than last year)
- available kids drinks (e.g. Ribena - God knows we will pay for it)
- more shops and restaurants in the Village (particularly selling coffee for the mornings)
- better quality food in the Village
 
and the lineup next year MUST be at this level or higher
 
But overall I loved it.

Hi guys!

Well after all the fabbo advice I received from this forum before going this year I just wanted to say a quick and hearty thanks for helping me organise what was a great introduction to Latitude! 

The only request I'd make is for some better facilities for the disabled - a good friend of mine has a severe ear disability which made for some difficult times at some acts... sometimes his ear frustrated him so much he spent the whole time during the music bouncing up and down like a mad man! :)

But other than that, an awesome time was had by all... See you next year, I'll be posting back on here from about April 2011!

MCC
x

Oh, and the Supermarket.  I got the last 2 loaves of bread on Saturday night when there was still one full day of the Festival left.  I know you don't want to be left with unneeded food, but it ran out of things FAR too quickly.  And if you have underordered, then why not go up to Tescos and buy stuff - you still make a decent mark up (50%?).
 
On the plus side the lady in the Lost and found was brilliiant and did not let up until my 7 year old son was reunited with his phone.
thanks.

3) Showers. Only eight for the whole of family camping?

Family camping gets showers? Lucky you.

Let the campers come in Red Gate 4 and just camp in Green Camping B

Absolutely NOT. The Camper Vans are taking up more and more of Green Camping every year. This year they encroached considerably on Green Camping A, which is where my party like to camp. Green Camping B is the designated Quiet Camping area and is extremely important for those people who can't afford the luxury of a camper van, but do want a safe, decent night's sleep. And as someone else has pointed out, there are an awful lot of LOCAL people camping in Green. So my plea is PLEASE PLEASE DON'T decrease the area of Green Camping any more than you have already, just so you can cram in more of those vans.

My other small gripes are:
• Please bring back some Composting Toilets – either in the arena or in camping, or both would be nice!
• Please make sure all the doors of the long drops shut and lock at the start of the festival at least, and ensure there is staff to maintain them from Thursday.
• Please reduce the attendance numbers to last year's level (you could do that by limiting the number of camper vans back down to sensible levels which would solve the problem above! lol).
• The Waterfront Stage wasn't big enough particularly for the Ballet, with crowds of that size. There were H&S issues and the crowd got a bit nasty at the back. They would have been better on a stage with screens. That's not really what the Waterfront Stage is about, after all – it's supposed to be an intimate space for a small audience.
• £5 for a glass of Pimms? You're 'aving a larf...

Otherwise, I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.
Particularly enjoyed:
• Dream, The Great British Country Fete, Idiots of Ants, Mark Watson, Arthur Smith, The Unthanks, The Coral, Mumford & Sons.
• Driving off site at 1.30pm on Monday with no queue at all.
• The weather! (once the wind had dropped)

It's the second time I've been to Latitude and this was a much more enjoyable experience than the first all round, mainly because of the weather and the quality of the acts. First rate and a very pleasant environment.

Gripes however:

1. surely, in 2010, toilet technology has advanced far enough that we don't have to endure such horrendous conditions
2. programmes had sold out by the morning of day two. Surely FR must have known how many they would expect to sell - this must have meant that no day ticket holders at all on Sunday were able to buy one!

3. echoing others - if you increase the capacity, you have to increase the size of the tents. That's a no brainer.

I also, however, have a major gripe with the clientèle and some of their responses on this thread to...the clientèle!

The place is, as you all know, absolutely rammed with people called Felix, Harvey and Jemima, wearing deck shoes and up turned collars, pushing babies in buggies that cost more than most cars, and complaining that they don't know who any of the bands are (not hard when the only CD's in your collection are Coldplay and The Beautiful South). They are offensively inoffensive and cause no bother at all beyond talking loudly in posh accents during the quiet bits.

The idea that the acts this year (Florence, Vampire Weekend and B&S for goodness sake!) attracted an undesirable 'rabble' is absolute madness! Where do the people who complained about this live, and have they ever been to any other live arts events in their lives?!
God help them if FR had booked acts like The Twang, The Courteeners, Trivium, Giggs or Motorhead, or even more chart friendly mainstream acts like Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines. They'd never have left the comfort of their 4x4's!

I have never been to a major event with a more sedate atmosphere. It was far from flawless, but with 30,000 people it never would be - a few people need a reality check!

Well done FR - I for one very much enjoyed myself!

cuckoo

3) Showers. Only eight for the whole of family camping?

Family camping gets showers? Lucky you.

there are 30 showers for both men and women seperately,though they are communal.  There are usually massive queues for the womens showers on the saturday only.They can be found next to the welfare tent in the Village.
lucky everyone ( but mostly lucky guys ,who dont have to queue)

I agree with the broad sentiment that what people seem to be "outraged" by in terms of behaviour wasn't evident to me throughout the weekend. Lots of kids having their first go at a festival, but there was lots of that last year as well. I saw no aggressive or intimidating behaviour, but that might be about me being too insensitive to be intimidated??
It did seem crowded at times, but pretty much everyone was friendly and polite. Wouldn’t want the numbers to increase further though.
Food in arena generally excellent. decent water supply for those who want need drinking water should not be even  debatable.
£4 real fruit smoothies were the most wonderful thing ever, and worth queuing for. More outlets like this would be great.

Praises/Highlights
On a very personal note, at some point after the 2009 Edition it was asked on this board who we had particularly enjoyed and would like to see back. I suggested the The Mummers, who were wonderful. No idea if there was actually a connection between that and them opening God's Jukebox on Saturday, but I felt some personal pride that they played and were stunning again. You don't get that sort of involvement at most festivals I would guess.
Paul Heaton should have been up the bill, he is fantastic. I loved hearing Me and The Farmer in this setting. His whole set was wonderful.
The Word Arena seemed to work really well to me, no line of sight problems like a couple of years ago. The National were inspired headliners, and like many have said on here, their set was a treat to witness, lots of slow building energy.
I liked the idea of the signing tent too, though didn't actually get round to going there beyond checking out who people were queuing for.
Likewise the Obelisk arena is great insofar as you can pretty much turn up whenever and will be able to see what is playing. Spent a very pleasant Friday afternoon there listening to the first few acts.
The sound bleed between the two is surprisingly little in my experience, and the fact you can easily jump between the two to catch some of both acts when there is a clash outweighs this problem imo.
Sunrise gets the thumbs up too, discovered Tokyo Police Club there, and am a fan now, they rocked. Lovely setting, no problems whilst I was there, but if the awning came down, as I have read, needs something more robust for next year.
Poetry arena John Cooper Clarke, lovely finish to Sunday. Beesley Street Beesley Boulevard followed by Chicken Town, a delight, and he was just very witty throughout
Tom Jones Sunday lunchtime in a chair in the sun with a beer ( me not him ) listening to rousing blues/gospel was lovely beyond words, boy can he sing and that band play.
Terry Alderton- genius comedy, never heard of him before, brilliantly funny. Comedy arena was fine to get into for the most part. In fact all arenas were if you were prepared to wait for a change of act.

Suggestions
Don't f**k up the Thursday/Sunday headliner slot quite so gloriously as was done this year. Thursday evening was spoilt by not being able to see what had been advertised. Those martialling the entrance to the woods seemed ill prepared to deal with what must have been anticipated, i.e. reaching capacity. Surely putting TJ on the same stage as Nigel Kennedy would have been more sensible? Or announce Sunday properly.
Be prepared staff wise and otherwise for lots of people arriving on a Thursday.
Have a timetable up outside the Poetry Literature  and Theatre  tents, and staff at the latter organising and informing those who might want to go in.
Completely rethink the public area in Film and Music, it is no good to anyone if there are more than a dozen punters. I would suggest a clean floor, an expectation people will sit unless it is live music, and a good supply of those legless camping chairs with a proper back to them. cushions are ok for poetry and stuff.
More toilets, showers food outlets and drinking water must be doable relatively easily.

This remains a truly lovely festival in my opinion, I have enjoyed all three years have attended immensely. That capacity is being tested in a variety of ways should be addressed so as no to diminish what is so attractive about Latitude.

Oh and rethink the Lake Stage's raison d'etre. I felt no inclination to go there other than Nigel Kennedy. was that just me or more generally people's experience?