"It's not about the bands, it's not about the bands!" cry those who respond to the annual "controversy" over the state of Glastonbury's line-up. For today at least, they're right. We're officially in pre-line-up territory and the stages largely remain under construction. While there's still music, such as the wandering banjo player specialising in Doors cover versions, the real action is in the fields: Avalon, craft, Green futures, Cabaret... God, there's a lot of fields.
For many, Thursday yields a one-on-one with a palm reader or the opportunity to watch a woman scultping pieces of wood meticulously with a chainsaw while dangling a cigarette from her lips. For others, it's just an opportunity to walk around dry land without an obscene amount of people in their way.
But when you're at Glastonbury and the queues are moderate, the sun is out and the stench of the loos is only momentarily overwhelming, you can't help but feel something bad is about to happen. And it has, sort of.
What at first looked like the swell of a huge raincloud on the horizion turned out to be the result of a fire at a scrapyard just outside the site, leading to road closures around the perimeter of the festival. Traffic jam hell for those trying to get on site, but for the people who've already made it in, Glastonbury remains remarkably serene.
