It’s 11am at Worthy Farm and before the ladies of Somerset Women’s Institute open their doors to the Glastonbury masses, they have an important ritual to perform. Clutching a song sheet, as they stand together behind a table heaving with cakes, they break into a heartfelt rendition of Jerusalem, the anthem of the WI.
The five women, aged 32 to 77, brim with tears as they sing, and passersby poke their heads through the tent door to join in. “I get goosebumps every time”, says Vicci Langham, 33. “Now we’re ready to serve some cakes.”
In another addition to the diverse landscape of Glastonbury, which this year will host everyone from Kanye West to the Dalai Lama, 2015 also marks the first time the Women’s Institute has had its own stall at Glastonbury – coinciding with their100th anniversary this year.
Indeed, while none of the acts officially kick off until Friday, almost all of the 135,000 festivalgoers who arrived on site by Thursday morning were not short of activities to fill their time. Embracing the good weather, which saw blue skies and temperatures reaching highs of 21C, dozens turned out for power-ballad yoga at 10am, in the Greenpeace field.
“Have an open mind, have an open crotch. You might have come with someone, but you could leave with someone else,” yoga instructor Kitty Shark-Ra shouts over the sounds of Jennifer Rush’s the power of love, as the eclectic crowd leaned into downward-facing dog.
Louise, who is among the lycra-clad crowds, says: “It’s really emotional. My favourite power ballad is Purple Rain. I feel at one with my chakras. We were sending our chakras across the universe.”
The early enthusiasm for dancing carried on into the afternoon in the theatre field, when a man dressed in spandex led a 150-strong crowd in a Lionel Ritchie flashmob, as they all performed a pre-rehearsed routine to Dancing on the Ceiling, in the sunshine.
Thursday also saw several high-profile additions to the bill, including the first Glastonbury appearance by the Dalai Lama, on Sunday, and Charlotte Church will be introducing Pussy Riot on Friday afternoon. The good weather is also not set to last, with the Met office predicting light showers on Friday and Saturday, and heavier rain on Sunday.
Yet, while a sunkissed calm reigned across the 900 acres of fields on Thursday, it would not have been Glastonbury without some early controversy running alongside.
Despite a promised crackdown on legal highs this year – with Liz Eliot of Glastonbury’s Green Fields saying earlier this year that King’s Meadow, in the Green Fields, “has lost its way” – on Wednesday night, dozens of revellers were pictured openly inhaling what appeared to be nitrous oxide from balloons, with the requisite moralising from some media.
The festival and police would offer no comment but did confirm that by 10am on Thursday there had only been 11 arrests, down from last year, mainly in connection with thefts from tents and some drug offences.
Back in the WI marquee, the controversy felt miles away, as dozens of bleary-eyed punters sought solace from hangovers in a flapjack or an eccles cake, underneath handmade bunting.
In order to cope with demand for their baked goods, a callout for cake was sent to all the WIs across Somerset. As a result, over 5,000 cakes of all varieties from lemon drizzle to fruit cake, and victoria sponges – with vegan and gluten free options – have been baked by the women across the county to sell at Glastonbury for £2.50 a slice, all served on proper china crockery.
The woman leading the operation is Margaret Bigg, who, at 77, has been a member of the WI for 40 years and is the Somerset WI county chair. This year is her first at Glastonbury, as well as her first time camping, and she says she’s overwhelmed by the popularity of their stall.
“The people who have come in already, sitting down with a mug of tea and a slice of cake on a china plate, have all been saying ‘oh my god this is the best thing, this has made my festival already’,” she says, adding that they had already been asked to make two birthday cakes and even a wedding cake for celebrations being held at the festival this year. “I really want to go and see Lulu and The Who but I don’t think I’ll have time.”
Katie Newell, 43, who brought the idea for a WI stall to Michael Eavis originally, said that while the women were on the baking and serving frontline, they have recruited their husbands to help behind the scenes. “We’ve got husbands driving around the county collecting cakes from various pickup spots across Somerset, god love’em,” says Newell.
“So they are running a military operation from home and each morning one of them comes in with a delivery, so we have fresh cakes every day.”
One of the first customers through the door is Tom Palmer, 25, from Birmingham who is instantly enamoured. Speaking through a mouthful of fruitcake as his “second breakfast”, he says: “Shade, cake, a cup of tea … what’s not to like?”
