Music festivals are quite common in the UK with many taking places during the summer. You don’t have to be a fan of one to notice the excitement and buzz it creates among people. When the ticket goes live for a major festival like Glastonbury, a significant number of people swarm the booking site to purchase a couple of tickets before they are sold out. Or, resold at exorbitant prices. The Glastonbury festival website has crashed a few times in the past due to overcapacity. The demand for the tickets is a great indication of the number of people expected during this event and the expected queue outside the public convenience area if there are limited portable units.
Is it normal to expect a long queue during a festival event? Or, is it safe to say it depends on a variety of factors and what we consider normal? We’ve previously touched on some common causes for long festival toilet queues. How do you mentally deal with the long toilet queue whilst maintaining a positive attitude? It could be quite a challenge if you are seriously pressed and you are confronted with a slow-moving queue.
Tips for dealing with a long toilet queue
1) Ponder on your best festival memories thus far: We are hoping you’ve had a few good or great moments. It could be when your favourite act took the centre stage or when your camping neighbour shared their most funny and embarrassing story ever. Maybe, it could be a selfie you took with one of the most promising musical stars. In all, you want to think about those moments and remain there whilst waiting to use the facility. It will help defer the discomfort from nature’s call.
2) Start a light conversation with someone on the queue: Conversations have to be mutual to be effective. Simple gestures such as a smile, compliment or hello are a great way to initiate a chat with people. You are pressed and waiting in a long queue to handle your business? One of the great ways to prevent the long wait from feeling like an eternity is to draw upon your social skills to distract your mind from the wait and reduce the pressure on your bowels or bladder.
3) Focus on the most available distraction around: There is always a form of distraction when people are gathered either in a queue scenario or spectating environment. You’ve got to look around to find someone in a fancy dress, joking around or conversing with mates in a loud and dramatic manner. If none of these exists, you can put your mathematical interest into action by counting the number of portable toilets available or people in each queue. This is a great way to put your mind into a distracted but effective use.
4) Read a book, newspaper or leaflet: I understand reading is one of the very last things you’d want to do when pressed. But you could pretend or force your brain to try to comprehend some information via reading. This could be a distraction from regularly checking your wristwatch to ascertaining how long you’ve been waiting in the queue.
The above are simple steps to help you deal with the toilet queue wait time.
