Charnwood 2001: Heaven is a half-pipe.

One of the things that struck me about it was the feeling that you could walk up to someone you didn't know and just stand and talk to them. You didn't have to keep in touch with them, ask their name, address or anything about them, theres just an unsaid sense of being relaxed between you. This happened a few times; on the infamous night when someone was airlifted out of the place, twice me and the gang were approached by complete strangers (teenagers) who wanted to swap gossip.

Once by a couple of dead mature lads, who didn't care what you looked like, but cared who you were and what you were like. Another time just outside the burger tent a girl came up to us on her own (no such thing as a loner, right?) and we swapped gossip over a bag of chips. And then parted. And I never saw her again, and probably never will.

I don't think it'll be easy for me to forget either one night outside the toilets... not like that... :)... when there were two long queues and the queue next to us, well, three girls, started singing "everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you..." and then me and the gang started to join in. We all just stood there singing. It seems a really small thing, but it means a lot for some reason. Another experience along the same lines; after the closing ceremony we briefly chatted to a scottish girl about how the thing was a bit of a let-down.

The activities in the day were OK, but nothing beat the nights. They were warm nights, you glammed yourself up in your tent, and walked to the club-tent, named Experience. Hundreds of people went there every night to dance until midnight. And then after midnight you wandered around and maybe got a burger and chips, chatted, listened to someones stereo, and the you'd go back to the tent in the early hours...

But the best night was the closing. Thousands and thousands of people came to a huge valley place where there was a central stage at the bottom. Loads of people were singing, smiling, torn between wanting to go home and sleep in a nice warm bed and have a bath, and staying with their new or old friends, minus people telling you what to do...

It was fantastic. There was a band on stage that sang songs by Stereophonics (You can have it all, if you want...) and Greenday (Good Riddance). Greendays song is one of my favourites ever. The lyrics rock.

And then we went to see another seperate rock band that did Stealers wheel, The Jam, Oasis, Travis, Coldplay, David Gray, Crowded House, and other equally grooved up bands. At half past two we retired to our tent after having a kebab.