It’s a field day – and why not? I have a new supergroup myself and I’m keen to see what’s on the market.I’m working for the BBC World Service and I have a roving brief. The Beeb have their own compound backstage, and the food in BBC catering is rather better than the stuff you get when you perform. There is a good atmosphere in the canteen, a lot of people who love music. It’s refreshing to see things from this side of the fence.Goldfrapp were awesome, a big success My mum wanted to see Oasis so we all had a look.

She didn’t think they were as good as they used to be.Part of the deal with my parents was that they got the camper van. It was a hard bargain, but fair enough in exchange for childcare It was dark and there was a tent to put up. Camping technology has advanced since I last spent the night under canvas. The Union tent from Millets looked totally brilliant; you could wear it to Wimbledon, and it is a good piece of engineering, too. To use the technical term, it is a “flysheet superstructure suspension tent” We had it up in only two goes The best thing was the auto-inflating mattress Four of the big round batteries and away you go Blows itself up in two minutes. We tried zipping the sleeping bags together, but they’re wearing them tight this season Still, all the torches and lamps you can get are brilliant.

There is a head torch and a collapsible lantern, which everyone should own.I fell asleep reading with the head torch on and woke up to the sound of rain on canvas. I’d forgotten how cosy it is in a tent when it’s raining.Day 3 – A country house retreatMy mum, Kelly, made bacon sarnies. The smell of bacon frying on a camp site is one of the great features of the universe. Claire’s gang of friends turned up, soaking, to use the facilities There was no question it was Barbour jacket time. The Barbour jacket is without doubt the finest piece of clothing I have ever owned. It’s up there with the smell of bacon frying.I must admit I’ve never been a particular fan of Glastonbury.

As a performer, there are festivals in Europe with better facilities, better systems for coping with rainfall, that pay better. The punters love Glastonbury, though, and that’s quite infectious. I wandered around with a microphone and a producer for a bit, on the trail of the unusual on behalf of the BBC.There was a giant scorpion sculpture that you couldn’t miss – as big as a bus, suspended from a frame carved out of larch For sale. We tracked down its designer, and he was cool – cooler than the main stage headliner Paul McCartney, even.There was a kind of Sergeant Pepper vibe about the band playing in the croissant-shaped tent [Croissant Neuf], the Biggles Wartime Band, singing about their auntie, with big moustaches and tubas. There’s just loads of far-out stuff going on – it’s exciting You feel you could meet lots of good people here Everyone is talking about chai tea, so we tried some The chai tea guy is a born salesman/performer He loves it. Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves – he’s selling a dream of fresh organic love and will probably be bigger than Starbucks in five years’ time Good luck to him The best thing we found was the sound massage tent. A softly spoken luminary called Martin bonged a gong and adjusted my subtler energies as I wallowed in sound.