Most of my fellow teachers are also performing on the small stages at Glasto and obviously our teaching shifts are created around their gig timings. We can all also put in a bid to see our favourite act, which is respected if possible. Mine was for Abel Selaocoe at mid-day today and the advantage of getting the morning off was that I also got to see Selecter. On the Pyramid Stage, no less, though the crowd was small. Selecter were young and exciting when I was young and not terribly exciting, but I managed to persuade at least one of the next generation to come along with me. Kudos to Pauline Black for her impassioned support of NHS workers here and everywhere.

I tried my hardest to tell all the string players that bunking off for Abel was part of their CPD, but I was accompanied only by one beatboxer and one cellist while Ben, in charge of strings, promised to catch us up after he'd just... Ben is constantly busy and knows every fifth person at Glastonbury, so is very hard to pin down, despite being constantly willing and interested.

Abel Selaocoe plays with very many varied musicians and it was just great to hear him live with the Bantu Ensemble. The first two times I heard him perform (Oxford Chamber Music Festival and WOMAD) he was nothing like as well known and was a little in awe of where he was. Now he is a seasoned international musician and although he is still enormously engaging, his huge professional experience creates a little more distance. I guess I was very lucky to be at a couple of his wide-eyed performances.

The percussionist was the one I heard with him at the South Bank in March (just searched: Bernhard Schimpelsberger), and I felt a bit judgemental about the guy next to me at the railing shouting to catch his attention before they started and during some of the applause. He told me towards the end that he worked in music. I didn't register his role but when Ben joined me for the penultimate piece, he instantly picked up that he needed to talk to this guy next to me, and they chatted animatedly after the gig was over. Antennae.

Since our teaching marquee will be taken down in the morning, we had to pack up as many of the instruments and decorations as we could after this afternoon's teaching session. Then out! Out to celebrate having done what we came to do and to listen to as much music as we could get our ears on. We all decided to go mainstream(ish) and see The Prodigy on the Other Stage. A high-energy gig. Really good fun - apart from the people letting off fireworks - in a packed, hot arena with lots of dry grass... I was told it was in honour of Keith Flint and Firestarter but I was very unsettled.

Town of Cats at Croissant Neuf
Rodney Branigan at Toad Hall

After which the night was still young for my fellow teachers who were off to the SE corner to dance till dawn. For me it was bedtime.

Extras: Selecter, Abel Selaocoe during the warm up, The Prodigy's lasers