Making our way into the depths of the woods, to the Sunrise Arena, we half expected to be assaulted by a Jack o' the Green, or some ancient, primal force of nature.
Just got on site for my second year at Latitude. In some ways, not much has changed -- there's the familiar stroll down through the woods, passed the coloured sheep and over the lake -- but the crowd seems a lot younger this year.
The directorial debut of photographer Anton Corbijn, who moved to the UK from Holland to shoot Joy Division in 1979, is a moving tribute to Ian Curtis, but suffers from Corbijn’s proximity to the material.
"She's not to blame!" sings one of Joss Stone's backing singers. Possibly she's exonerating her lead singer from the inclement weather, that's now reached torrential proportions. Looking at the waterlogged state of the fields round here, I suspect that it might not be the Mersey alone that you'll need a ferry to cross later this evening.
"You couldn't bury 'em, could ya..?" So says a genial Scally, somewhat glassy-eyed after an afternoon on the booze and on the scrounge for a cigarette.
OK, it's getting very exciting backstage. The biggest tour bus in the world has just hoved into view, and a suited chap, who looks like he probably knew the Krays back in the day, is purposefully standing in front of the door.