Glastonbury/ Day 3

I didn't expect Glastonbury to have a particularly different vibe just because it was Sunday but I guess some things truly are universal.

This morning, the Minx and I made our way down into site and then went our separate ways: I went to watch The Smyths, while she went to meet up with friends by the Pyramid stage to watch the English National Ballet. The Smyths were good - despite my misgivings about tribute bands - although the drummer was a bit too much like studio Mike Joyce as opposed to live Mike Joyce.

I watched three or four tracks, realised I was bored, and headed over to the Pyramid Stage to meet up with the Minx. I'd assumed that I'd missed the ballet but, in fact, I arrived just as it was starting. The music was arresting and I stopped to watch the dancing on the huge screens either side of the stage. I'm not great with modern dance - it's either too literal ("I'm a tree!") or too abstract - but I found myself absolutely mesmerised by the whole performance.

After that, I found the Minx and friends, did a quick cider run, and then we sat and chatted while the rather marvellous Caro Emerald played in the background. The sun was out, the ground was surprisingly dry, and it was all rather blissful.

Today was Dolly Day but first up we went to see Public Service Broadcasting on the West Holts Stage. Along with Junip - although for completely different reasons - they are right up there in my very favourite live bands: forget Metallica, PSB were the best guitar band for me: rifftastic :-) Plus, the drumming is absolutely amazing.

The Minx had left halfway through the set to go and see Dolly so afterwards I texted her to arrange meeting up but she said the Pyramid Field was absolutely packed and that I shouldn't bother. Getting another pint of cider and having a read on the surprisingly dry grass seemed like a good alternative but as I sat there, they announced the next band: Lee Thompson's Ska Orchestra.

Now, when I was 12, I was a *huge* Madness fan and Lee Thompson was their saxophonist, so I found myself suddenly rather excited by this pleasant surprise. He came on stage with a full band: drummer (the youngest in the orchestra by about 30 years), two guitarists, a three man horn section, a pianist, an organist, a dancer/caller and, oh yes, Mark Bedford, the bassist from Madness. My God, they made a glorious sound. All great musicians and, as a band, tight as anything,

And that was kind of it, really. On teh way back up to the tipi we watched bit of Bombay Bicycle Club and, once, we were back 'home' we listened to James Blake playing the nearby Park Stage. We actually went down for the last couple of songs he played because we'd heard a rumour that Prince was going to play but we received a couple of substantial clues to the contrary when a) they started dismantling the sound desk and b) a man came on stage and announced that "contrary to the rumours going around, Prince won't be playing".

To finish off our weekend, the Minx suggested we walk up to the Glastonbury sign, which we did and took some photos. That done, we started to head back down to the tipi but we heard some music coming from the Crow's Nest, the most elevated bar at Glastonbury (I think). Apparently, no listings are produced for the Crow's Nest but all sorts of people play there. We came across a band playing a sort of spoken word/hiphop hybrid, led by a really compelling young woman. It turned out to be Kate Tempest. It was a great finish to the festival, standing in this tiny space, not much bigger than a living room, enjoying this intimate yet raucous gig.