Glastonbury 2008

Jessica is the daughter of Arabella Spencer-Churchill, founder of Glastonbury Festival's circus and theatre areas. In her diary she remembers her mother and gives an insight into continuing her work.

Thursday 3 July

A couple of hundred people took part in the parade in memory of Bella on Sunday night. It started with fireworks at 10.45 and the wonderful fire show which featured the festival fire singers who are a mixture of performers who were already on site and students from Circo Media in Bristol which is where my father is a part time teacher.

Bella's friends and family held paper lanterns and created a path for the parade to pass through. The parade had lots of music; we had the Masters of the Kazooniverse who will be performing at the Glastonbury Children's Festival and Jaipur Kawa Brass Band. We also had a beautiful metal birdlike moveable structure and the fire singers also walked in the parade. The idea of the parade was impermanent of fire, which comes from a Buddhist idea which was appropriate as Bella was a Buddhist.

You wait four months for this wonderful weekend to happen and then it's all over so quickly. I think Bella would've been really proud of everyone. We started up in Fire Corner (in the Theatre Field) and headed down to the Circus Field where Eddie Egal was lifted by a crane while he was wearing his fire wings. Then we passed over the bridge where next year Bella's prayer wheels will be into East Holts, which is now called Bella's Field, and the procession ended at a small wooden stage in Let It Be where Rumpelstiltskin stood up and said a few words. After he left the stage, the stage became a bonfire and which had flares inside it.

It was meant to be just a quiet peaceful time for friends and family to talk and think about Bella. I asked Herbie Treehead to sing me the happy song which he also sang as the opening act as Bella's memorial benefit. It was beautiful - we had people crying left, right and centre.

The whole festival went really well. Having the sunshine makes everything easier. I enjoyed everything, I spent most of my time in the Circus and Theatre Field watching wonderful performances from all over the world; Here from Iceland, Ole and the Stephen Frost Impro Allstars were all fantastic.

I really, really enjoyed being part of the run up to the festival. I would like a career in event management and will be applying in October to an event management course in university.

Saturday 28 June

The festival started yesterday. When all the performers arrive, it's lovely to see familiar faces. The performers had rehersals and sound checks on Wednesday and Thursday. We always get a few 'walkabouts' who just can't wait to perform. They're only booked for Friday, Saturday and Sunday but you often see them roaming about the fields in their costumes on Thursday.

The performers at Glastonbury don't get paid a lot, because all the money goes to charity. We have 1,200 shows going on over the whole weekend with world class performers. They love coming here so much - it's the one event of the year they all come together. It's like a reunion of friends. My friend Amy Misbehaving (who performed at mum's memorial) was telling me about a conversation she had with her friend who's here as a punter. She asked Amy whether she would not like to work but Amy said no, it's all about performing as working is so much fun. If you're a performer, you want to work at Glastonbury; everyone wants to say they've performed here.

There were problems with the programme as there's a misleading headline leading people to believe Cirque Du Soleil are performing. Sadly this isn't true although we would love to have them to perform. To correct the programme, we have a troupe of 12 fancy dress volunteers handing out 100,000 leaflets throughout the site saying the top ten things to see.

I've been working all day, every day in the office. On Thursday I had a chance to get out of the office to construct the installation of the five prayer wheels in 'Let It Be'. Michael has just renamed this field Bella's Field so what was known as East Holts is now called Bella's Field.

On Friday night I had the chance to see Estelle on the Jazz Stage, my favourite stage. I was in the pits with three of my friends, it was a really good show and she performed really well. The only other person I'll be leaving the office to see will be Manu Chao.

Tuesday 24 June

I moved on site on Friday, we're all sleeping in our tents and caravans. It's a really good atmosphere and things are going very well. Everyone's making such an effort to make the festival work - there was a calm moment this morning, which hardly ever happens here.

The whole site is looking great. The tents are up, as are the flags. There are white flags circled around the "Let it 'B'" area, when the sun comes out, they catch the light and shine beautifully. All the secretaries and crew are here and most of the performers arrive on site Wednesday. There are many international acts performing this year. Eddie Egal, from Germany, has arrived already. He performed last year and was a great success. This year he has brought his 'Tower of Power'. The only way i can truly describe what he does is simple - he sets himself on fire. It's very impressive and is a must see.

We've now set-up the production office, with the wonderful photo of Bella, which we had on display at her memorial. It is very important for us to keep her presence felt. The organisation is just how she would have done it. We all still hear her in the back of our heads, telling us what to do and keeping us in line.

Christine Fewer, who had worked here with Bella since 1997, has stepped forward as area organiser and is doing amazingly well. Now that I've passed my driving test, I can be much more useful; I can do shopping runs and go to the post office etc. It is very liberating to be able to go on and off site freely, no longer reliant on lifts.

The public are on site from first thing tomorrow, it's an amazing thing to watch the fields fill with campers carrying their homes on their backs. I have only ever walked on site once, and I don't ever want to do it again. I have great sympathy for my friends when they move on site. Things will just keep getting busier from now on- I can not wait for the festival to begin.

Weds 18 June

It is very daunting knowing that my mother Arabella won't be with us this year to make sure the festival weekend runs smoothly. Everyone from our site crew to secretaries and painters to performers are working their butts off to make sure this is the best year yet.

We have received most of our tickets from the main office, which are now going out to all our crew and performers. The weather has been smiling on us - so far! The site is looking beautiful and is getting busier by the day. I'm moving on-site Friday. It's a really exciting day when every one comes together. People I only see once a year, living together again in a field.

Our programme of performances has been timetabled, although we have had to make a few changes. Several acts have pulled out. We are now not booking any more performers, as it is too near the date of the festival. Instead, the ones we do have are now doing more shows. We are still looking for one more headline act. Last year we had Bill Bailey, who was amazingly funny and drew massive crowds, but sadly he is unavailable this year.

My father, Haggis McLeod, is an outstanding juggler and will be performing at the festival in the cabaret marquee. At this time of year, he swaps his juggling balls for the responsibilities of site manager. Apart from the three minutes a day when he performs with his juggling hats, he brushes performing to the side during the months leading up to the festival. He's been involved in the Theatre and Circus Fields since he met my mother in 1987. They met when Arabella booked him to work at the Glastonbury Children's Festival. He then went onto perform at Glastonbury, becoming more and more involved every year- he has now been site manager for the last few years.

The Tibetan prayer wheels have just arrived, care of the Enlightenment shop in Glastonbury. For 2009 they will be set in a new bridge, in memory of my mother, between Circus Field and East Holts. Michael intends to make this bridge using the local stone Blue Lias. For this year, the prayer wheels will be sandwiched between two halves of a large carved tree trunk situated in the area nicknamed 'Bella's Corner', which has now been titled 'Let it B'.

Weds 20 May

This is my second month in the office and I'm loving it. Things are truly coming together. Of the 1,500 shows put on over the three days of the festival, 70% are confirmed and timetabled.

There is an area created in memory of my mother, which, so far, has been nicknamed 'Bella's Corner', but we are looking for a more fitting name. I have suggested 'The Beautiful Hot Spot'. It can be found where the Circus Big Top was in previous years, as the Circus Big Top has been relocated, more appropriately, to the Circus Field.

There are six stages in our area: Blazing Saddle; The Astrolabe; Outside Circus; Circus Big Top; Cabaret and Sensation Seekers. Each stage has a different atmosphere, with different genres of performances.

This year we are having a wonderful show called Wired and Free performed by Fidget Feet, an aerial dance theatre company from Ireland. A fisherman rows across the clear night sky, when he is mesmerized by a singing mermaid. Suddenly, three female flying sea urchins swoop over the audience's heads, capturing the poor fisherman from his boat. What will become of him?'

In addition to Fidget Feet, many of the great shows from last year will be returning: blackSKYwhite; The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs; The Natural Theatre Company; Jonathan Kay; Ole and El Gleno Grande.

Weds 15 May

On the 22nd February 2008 The Children's World Charity held a Cabaret Night at the Glastonbury Town Hall.

All performers gave their time for free to raise money for their beloved friend, Arabella Churchill's charity. We raised a total of £8,000. This money came from a mixture of generous donations given at my mother's cremation on Christmas Eve, the Memorial Service at St. John's Church Glastonbury and the large amount or cheques received through the post, as well as all monies raised at the Benefit Cabaret Night.

The Cabaret Night would not have been able to take place without all the wonderful volunteers who gave their time organising and performing. I would like to give huge thanks to everyone involved. If you would like to know more about The Children's World Charity, please go to our website at www.childrensworldcharity.org

Tues 1 April

Arabella Spencer-Churchill, granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, was the founder of the Children's World Charity, and heavily involved in Glastonbury Festival from its inception. She died in December last year. Here, her daughter - Jess Churchill-McLeod - remembers her mother and tells how she continues her work at Glastonbury Festival.

I have always been a Glastonbury Festival child. I feel tightly linked to the festival as my mother, Arabella Churchill, worked for the festival as the Circus and Theatre Area Organiser. She had been involved for a very long time and I know she enjoyed it deeply. Sadly my mother died in December, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. She was wonderfully strong and a great influence to me. She will be deeply missed by myself and everyone who knew her across the globe.

Since I was old enough to need a ticket to the festival, my mum would give me a 24-hour workers' ticket. I would arrive on site early in the week of the festival and help with odd office or site jobs.

The Glastonbury Festival is a wonderful experience for all, but it is commonly known that once you have worked at the festival you won't want to go back to being just a punter.

I am currently a part-time secretary in the Theatre and Circus Office, which coincidently is in the attic of my family house in Glastonbury, working alongside my father, Haggis McLeod. We are creating a small area dedicated to the memory of Arabella. It will be an area for the public to be creative. So far we know the area will host a Daemon or Doppelganger clay figures workshop and exhibition as well as Hugh Jart, who captures the public's input and creativity onto huge canvas painting screens. The area will also host wonderful fire spectaculars.

We have now started booking performers. Around 40% of all acts for our area have now been booked. I really enjoy talking to the performers, many of whom I have known since I was a little girl.