On the gate

An interesting weekend, working as a volunteer steward at Charles Hazlewood’s excellent Orchestra in a Field festival at Glastonbury.

I was sent off to assist at orange gate - the artistes’ entrance.  It was quite an eye-opener. 

All were supposed to have tickets, but many turned up on the assumption that their claim as a performer or “friend of one of the organisers” would be sufficient to get in.  Even more interesting was the responses to being challenged, which varied from friendly and co-operative to downright rude and arrogant.   

The security people were excellent and left me thinking what a difficult job they had for probably little more than minimum wage.  They were also doing very long shifts, with periods of tedium interspersed with potentially challenging encounters. 

It was an interesting exhibition of power-play :  someone with fairly low status in society’s pecking order deciding whether to admit someone who clearly thought themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum. 

It didn’t particularly surprise me to observe that those who were conciliatory and reasonable got the best outcome, while the “don’t you know who I am?” approach frequently back-fired.

I came away with increased respect for the potentially tricky job the security people were doing.  They dealt with everyone in a friendly and positive manner, and with a bit of humour thrown in.  I don’t know what the entry qualifications are, but those that I saw all deserved an A* for people skills.    

Music and tears

“We all need to laugh more, cry more and sing more.”  The words of conductor Charles Hazlewood; and he wasn’t just referring to his performance at Strode Theatre in Somerset yesterday evening.  Or at least I don’t think so. 

It was a workshop of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with Wells Cathedral School brass ensemble.  It’s a fascinating piece and Charles Hazlewood’s interpretation and explanation added hugely to the enjoyment of the evening.  The brass ensemble were excellent, and especially the flugel horn player, who regrettably did not get singled out for applause at the end. 

What shone through was Charles’s passion for music as an integral part of life, rather than a snobbish art form.  He spoke of his experiences working in South Africa, where singing is as vital a human function as eating and sleeping.  We know exactly what he means, having spent a short time living among ordinary people in Zambia.

Why is singing often such a stilted and embarrassed experience in the UK?  Except – as Charles mentioned – on the football and rugby terraces where it’s unusual not to sing.  The value of singing in choirs is well-recognised in terms of well-being, and I really miss it when I am not able to make the weekly rehearsal of my own choir.

So well done to ambassadors like Charles Hazlewood and Gareth Malone for trying to spread the song.