Looking back at Greenbelt 09, mechanics.

Greenbelt 2009 AS 1555, originally uploaded by Greenbelt Festival Official Pictures.

I got an email yesterday reminding me I’d not written on my blog about my experiences of Greenbelt this year.

It’s me chatting as part of a panel discussion coordinated by the lovely people at Shipoffools.com

It was a real honour to be asked to join two other wonderful panelists trying to talk honestly/funnily about some of the difficult bits in the Bible. It wasn’t easy.

From this picture you wouldn’t think I was slowly coming down with festivalistis, was quite badly sunburned & had been on my feet most of the weekend beavering away with the Literature programme. I was tired, I was all talked out but put a mic in my hand and I’ll happily share my thoughts with whoever will turn up and look like I’m enjoying it. (You can see that my mouth is going but the eyes show I’m not quite sure where it’ll end up)

I must confess I was really scared in the run up to the festival. Anxiety dreams scared. Wake up screaming scared. I know that probably sounds a little over the top but it’s what I felt, it was authentic to the moment I found myself in and bears little relationship to the relaxed looking, chatty guy bathed in pink light at the top of this post.

I walked a lot of steps during the festival- I did a massive (for me) 81,492 steps during my time at the festival which averages out at 11,641 steps a day. Yikes!

I met lots of really switched on and interesting people. I kept being overwhelmed by the willingness for punters to stop and chat to me about the literature programme, gather their responses to this year and their brains ticking over to next year.

I’ve learned all the little things I need to be sure to remember for next year.
Stuff like: if we’ve got a projector, make sure there’s a laptop or that everyone knows to bring their own rather than just bringing a data stick. Making sure I’ve got every phone number possible for contributors in my phone and the phone is charged to the max.

That sort of thing.

Will blog content later.