
'I'd never heard of the Glastonbury Festival'
A woman who moved to the village neighbouring the Glastonbury Festival having never heard of the event said she was "blown away" by it.Annette Smith moved to Pilton from Ireland with no knowledge of the festival.She said music festivals were not her scene, "with the alcohol and everything"."I used to walk my dog on the land every day, and then this festival turned up. I didn't have any clue, I never saw it before on television or anything," she said.
"When I went down there the first time, I was blown away."Ms Smith said she "adores" Pilton and its residents."We're a tight community, everyone knows what you've had for breakfast. We won't be eaten by wolves because we look after each other," she said."Until you're in the festival, you don't understand how vastly big this is. The first year I was covered in blisters because all I did for the first one was walk around."My thing is to go and people watch. People leave the norm behind and just want to relax and enjoy fun. We need more of these environments, the way the world is right now."I think the music is only a small part of the Glastonbury experience."
Fellow Pilton residents, Colin and Mel Lewis, moved to the village two years ago, on the week the festival was being held.Mr Lewis was born in Somerset and decided to move back after retirement."We were quite prepared for it," he said. "We knew about it, we didn't know the extent of it. Until you see it and see how big it is."We like music, but just the idea of the crowds. We have nothing against it, it's good for the village."We fell asleep to Guns and Roses, because it was so hot that week we had the bedroom window open.""Once we got over the festival, it was nice and peaceful," he added.
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