THE ROCK THAT HANDS OUT ROLLS

Reading rock festival-goers were welcomed with open arms by a local church, offering lunches, toilets, mobile phone charging and a spot of shade from the sun. Caversham Baptist Church, close to the festival grounds, estimated that a thousand music fans took up its offers of hospitality. Church members, from teenagers to 60-somethings, rolled up their sleeves for what has become a regular fixture in the church’s outreach

Source: Baptist Times (30/8)

Seven weeks ago the rock festival camping site was completely flooded and it seemed most unlikely that the festival could be held but, a few weeks and a lot of drainage later, a record number of fans were camping on the still damp ground. I think it was somethig like 80.000 who came this year and an extra camp site was set up on the opposite side of the River Thames at Mapledurham, with an enterprising local boat owner providing a fleet of ferries to take fans across to the official camp site. There was great rejoicing that the sun shone for the whole weekend so that the fans were spared the mud bath that has characterised the rock festival in recent years.