Festival fatigues:THE WEATHER has peaked too early. By July 11th, when Oxegen kicks off the year's music festivals, the exhausted Irish summer will be taking a much-needed break on the Mediterranean. Or so hope the on-site merchandisers who want to sell you a €20 poncho or wellingtons that cost almost as much as an Electric Picnic ticket.
Best to foresee doom yourself and come prepared: shell out €35 for tartan waterproof boots ( www.funky-wellington-boots.co.uk). Or try www.filthyfox.co.ukfor cheap tents, boots and raincoats, as well as a festival survival kit for £9.99 (€12.50). It's a drink bottle packed with a rain poncho, silver thermal blanket, penknife, glow stick, towel, whistle, waterproof matches and karabiner (or fancy clip) with a built-in torch. What more could you want? Baby wipes and toilet paper, say experienced (and clean) festival hands.
Filthy Fox also has a waterproof mat for sitting on (€1.85 might be expensive for a piece of foam, but it's a small price to pay for keeping your pants dry for three days).
A halogen head torch (€12.50) will help guide a path through the tangle of tent ropes should you need to find the toilets in the wee hours, where women with an understandable fear of public-toilet seats may wish to use another festival device, a paper funnel called a urinelle (€2 for seven cones). See www.joe-bananas.comfor an intriguing diagram of how they're used.