Yesterday, I came back from a Festival. I came back muddy, and tired, and happy, and tired, and really, really amazed.I had just been on a 3 day sociological experiment. It was mental.
First, I saw Noah and the Whale perform live, and I fell in love - like I do, pretty much every other day. They were mind-blowing. They deserve a whole post, but it will have to be later.
Because, actually, first I saw a million people, average age 20 I'd say, perform live coolness. Apparently, there were only 55,000 of us there but it did feel like a million, not that I have been exposed to a crowd of a million individuals before, but that's how I had imagined it would be. 55,000 people is A LOT of people. Especially when you need the loo, but that's another post entirely (if I dare, one day. You, who have invented the portaloo, should have been off gardening on that day, or crochet knitting. It was a bad idea. I'm just saying).
So all these people in their early 20s made me feel old at times, and reminded me I was a stranger to their country. There was no such thing as Festivals in France when I was 18 - mind you, I am not that old - but my parents never thought of sending me and 15 of my mates camping on the other side of the country in a giant field where I would be wearing flowers in my hair and short short jean shorts, smoking all sorts of cigarettes and drinking cider from Carling paper cups. I would have loved it, I swear, if only I had been 5% as cool then as they all looked to me this week end.
On Sunday evening, we had this discussion with my friends about that one girl - 18 probably - who was coolness embodied. Blonde, curly frizzy hair, golden skin, lagoon blue eyes, looking like a refreshing 80's rock star. She seemed magnetic, even we couldn't take our eyes off her, watching the ballet of her (no less good looking) friends rolling around her. And then we wondered, how did that happen? When did those kids become so cool? We haven't quite had the same youth, have we?
It appears to me that this Festival was a lot about coolness, and a bit about music too. All the articles I had read in the magazines about Festival outfits suddenly made sense. That was it, I was there, I was part of it... (only 8 years too late). I made good use of my Hunter wellies, my worn out jeans, my festival hat and crazy sunglasses, I looked the part: I pretended I was one of them, and no one pointed out I was a fraud - so maybe I wasn't. I had an awesome time, but I kept wondering: what would it be like, if I was 18? How different? As well as trying Festival last week end, without a doubt I also tried envy.
I spent 3 whole days studying my little models and I loved it. I loved the fashion awareness, the daring color combos - free adaptations from the Jack Wills and Abercrombie catalogues, I loved the boys' hair dos and their stripy long sleeve t-shirts, the uniformity (conformity?!) of the outfits that made them look like they belonged together, I absolutely loved the "I don't care what I look like right now, because I know I look good" spirit. Being careless (in appearance) looked refreshing, but it can't believe is wasn't exhausting.
It was all new to me, very confusing but exhilarating. I want to be there again, but I am not sure if I can cope. And the camping, God no, please, I certainly cannot do that anymore (did I mention I manage to not camp during that Festival? All 3 night of it, sleeping in my own bed. Privileges of being an islander).
Pink was absolutely amazing, by the way. But she had no flowers in her hair, and I bet she was thinking too: how much fun would I have right now, if I was 18 and one of them?
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