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I first went to Glastonbury in 1992. Why it took me nigh on 25 years to get there I don't know. It was hot, the Orb stole the show and Flowered Up did a version of Weekender that seemed to last an entire afternoon. But in a good way.

I forget how many times I've been to Pilton since those heady days of Fraggle but this will be my second year working here for 6Music. It makes for a different Glastonbury and not just because it is for me, quite rightly, a sober one.

I see it as part of my job to experience as much of the festival as possible. So, when I'm not presenting a show I'll be yomping across fields in a pair of shocking shades (hopefully) and a hastily bought hat (definitely). I'll be looking to see as many bands as possible but I'll also regularly visit the Green Fields, the Fields of Avalon, Shangri La, The Cabaret Field, Circus Field and wherever else I can get to.

With a notebook in my army trousers and probably having borrowed a pen I'll jot down as much as I can for use on air at a later point of the weekend. It could be anything from a band I've never heard of playing in a tent with no name to performers celebrating National No Smile Day to a chance encounter with a man with a ferret.

Admittedly this method of field reporting relies on my powers of description and increasingly poor handwriting but radio allows you to do this. Glastonbury is huge. Capturing it all on TV would require several thousand co-ordinated camcorders. With radio you can see something somewhere tucked away and then be talking about it on air minutes later. Provided you can find your way back to the studio

It's a tight space the Glastonbury 6Music studio and it takes a knack to open the door - much like an old shed - but it's slap bang in the middle of things and it works a treat. There's something special about being out of the comfort zone, not quite knowing what is going to happen next or indeed what button to press. I tell myself it's special anyway in an effort to keep calm.

And, over the weekend the studio plays host to a huge variety of musical guests. Some of them will also be part of the wider Ö÷²¥´óÐã coverage but many, many more will only feature on 6music. In that sense it's a constantly revolving door. Albeit one that needs a bit of a shove.

Gideon Coe presents live from Glastonbury thoughout the weekend. Follow his adventures on Twitter .

Related Links
Gideon Coe on 6 Music - tune in Monday to Thursday from 9pm

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Bringing Glastonbury to Television

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