More Festival Fun

It did not take us long to get to the festival. As we drove back, we told the guys we had no booze, so they asked us if we wanted to join them. “You bet!” was our reply. Now we were on top of the world.

Driving onto the site, we were aware of the police out in force, still standing on the sidelines, watching and waiting for anyone to make a wrong move. We got out of the car, the redolence of a festival filled the air, with drugs and incense sticks. Me and Maggie always wore patchouli oil,
we were so hooked on the smell. Everyone seemed happy on that late afternoon.

Walking with the two guys, over to where some others were sat in a circle cross-legged, I felt the warmth of the late afternoon sun on me, it felt good to be alive. I could hear music playing, but didn't have a clue who was playing.

They asked us to join them and made a space in the circle, me and Maggie sat down. This guy next to me smiled, he was really good looking with long brown hair, I felt quite attracted to him but didn't
want to let him see my feelings, so turned to Maggie and asked her if she was okay, “Yeah!” she declared, “fine.” Then she got her cigarettes out, now I don't smoke, but when a joint started to be passed around the circle I didn't want to be rude, so I took a puff on it and inhaled, I nearly coughed my guts up as the saying goes, it was horrible. The guy next to me laughed, then said, “don't worry, it's no problem, I guess you don't smoke?”

Then he asked me if I drank wine? “Oh yes!” I said, “now you're talking.” He smiled again, stood up, and walked over to a tent, then came out with six bottles of wine. Coming and sitting back down
everyone clapped, then he took a swig from one of the bottles and passed it to me, then I passed it to Maggie, where upon it went around the circle, this continued till we'd finished three bottles.

Now I was starting to see things in a completely different way as you do! I kept looking at Maggie, she started giggling, which started me off. Hawkwind were playing so I got up and started to sway, freaking out, my hair flying around and covering my face, I was completely gone on the space sounds. I stared through a haze, as a guy with a painted face, came up and took my face in his hand and smiled, then he started to freak out with me, it felt like a dream, I didn't want to ever wake up.

The guy with the painted face wandered off, in search of pastures new when I felt a tap on my shoulder, it was Maggie, she said she was going for a walk with one of the guys, I said...”Okay! That's fine.”

She then said, “If I don't see you again tonight, I'll see you back at the car in the morning.”

“Right!” I said. I was so far gone, when this guy I'd been sat next too took my hand and asked me to go with him. I remember laughing and waving goodbye to Maggie, as she wandered out of view, with no care in the world. As the guy dragged me off I noticed all the people smiling...dancing...kissing, it was so beautiful.

We wandered off the site and across the road, to the woods on the other side, I felt wild and free, to be going with this guy, I'd only just met, it was a fantastic feeling, I never felt any fear in what I was doing at all. When I asked him naively,  "why are we going to the woods? I would rather watch Hawkwind."

He said...”I have a much better idea.”

He leant me up against a tree kissing me very passionately, I melted into his lips and his arms, then he proceeded to do other things, to which I replied, “definitely no!” I was getting slightly worried and
feared he would rape me, but all he said was, “Okay! No bother.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, as we went back to the festival to where the others were. As we sat down, he put his arm around me and told me he liked me. He asked me my name, I told him it was Jenny, then he told me his name, I'll call him Dave. He pulled me down onto the ground, so we were laying together and he kissed me again, he was so gentle and amazing.

As it got late we were still laying under the stars and I felt so happy, it was a feeling I can't explain, unless you were there to experience it. We drank ourselves into oblivion, but not quite. This guy led me to where he was sleeping, he took my jeans and top off, then we snuggled into his sleeping bag and slept under the stars, it was such a warm...balmy night.

**********

The next morning very early I awoke to the sounds of reggae blasting out over the speakers, it was so strange. Then I remembered last night, it was all coming back to me. I started to panic, I was worried at what might have happened to Maggie, “where was she...where did she spend the night? “
so many questions.

The guy next to me was just waking up as I got out of the sleeping bag. Realising I was topless, but to be honest not really caring at six in the morning, I started to get dressed, when I happened to be looking out over the site, I saw some girls I recognised, they turned out to be some girls, I knew from school, “what a small world!” I thought to myself.

Dave asked me if he could see me later, but I said...”sorry...we have to leave today.”

“That's a shame,” he declared, “I thought we'd have some fun.”

I would quite happily of stayed another day, but I knew Maggie would have to get home otherwise I'd never hear the last of it, from her mum. I made my way over to the stage, asking this guy, if he would put a message out for Maggie to meet me at the stage.

“Sure!” he said.

Waiting and watching, I then saw Maggie coming towards me, she was such a welcome sight, you wouldn't believe.

Finding out she was fine, she had spent the night in the big white drugs tent and fallen asleep.

I went back to Dave and told him that we would be leaving and thanked him for a great night, one I will never forget. He said he wouldn't forget either.

Making our way back to the car, Maggie asked if I'd got his address, I said...no it was just one of those things, but I often wonder what happened to that beautiful man who made my weekend so great.

As we drove home I was still hung over, Maggie said she reckoned they had laced the wine, that was why we got drunk so quick, she new a lot about these things, far more than I ever did.

I had to stop off at a motorway diner, because I was starting to see pink elephants before my eyes as I drove, I felt so weird and wished we'd told Maggie's mum we would be back on the Monday, but it was too late now.

We went into the toilets and it was only then that we got a true picture of what we looked like, dishevelled and looking like we'd just got out of bed, which actually we had.

I remember one young child, turning to her mother and saying, “Ugh...look at those women, they smell.” The mother was mortified, she said sorry.

We said, “don't worry, we probably do smell, we've been at the Windsor Free Festival.” She then smiled and left. Of course we stunk of patchouli which we'd been topping up.

When we got back to Maggie's, her mum was at the window looking furious, I couldn't understand it. I asked Maggie if she would be alright, she told me not to worry and that she would ring me some
time in the week.

After saying goodbye I drove home, only to find my mum very angry, apparently Maggie's mum had phoned our director at drama, and found out there was no drama weekend, then she had contacted my mum.

I told her, I only lied because it would have been the only way wecould have gone. But of course Mum and Dad were right, if anything had happened to us nobody would have know where we were, but then we were just young...free with fun on our minds.

************

I would like to thank Alun Anderson, for kindly
letting me show some photos of the 1973 Windsor
Free Festival, to which I'm very grateful.

I don't feel the reader would have got the
the flavour of the Festival, without these
photographs, that bring back so many
fantastic memories, even if they were
taken at the 1973 Festival.

Credit copyright alun.anderson@gmail.com

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/windsor-73-alun-anderson.html