Thursday night and I'm off to the Latitude site to drop off Eldest and friends. Bucketing down, it was, as I waved them off across the slippery slidy drop-off field. Happy camping!

Saturday morning and I've got a day ticket and, unlike last year, the car to meself. Well, that was true until I used gocarshare to offer a lift, there and back, and duly gained another Ed as a front-seat passenger. Dad, he could be a serial killer, said the kids. If he was, he was perfectly charming as we talked of shared gigs, both music and comedy.

Wellies and raincoat on as we get wristbanded and agree to meet in about 12 hours time. Can only reach outer limits of comedy for Infinite Monkey Cage so grab coffee number one and hit the (dry) poetry tent for funny and full-of-life Superbard: ad-lib a compliment, he says. Squeezed into the cabaret for most of Sara Pascoe -- tall tales of school assemblies -- then over to the Lake Stage for the curiously named Dingus Khan, one of the local BBC Introducing bands. Couldn't help break into a smile as the massed guitarists and drummers did their stuff. "We started this set as Dingus Khan," says the front guy, "and two songs in we remain as Dingus Khan." Buzzy, tunes, and ambulance choreography too. Those Manningtree lads will go far.

Glimpse of rhymin' Luke Wright and over to the Obelisk for Baxter Dury who sips brandy and does most of Happy Soup, then a hot choc meet-up with Eldest. "Dad," she hypers, "I met Brian Cox!" As you do. I know, I'll grab a good place in the film & music tent if I arrive early. Several hundred other people have had the same idea before me as we queue for festival favourite Adam Buxton. We all somehow cram in for his latest BUG show -- not the hungry hippos! -- and the clothing layers are peeled off as the temperature rises. Blimmin' hot by the time that Bronhom appears and a relief to be back in the rain. Meantime:

• Django Django make some pleasing Beta Band-esque noises,
• drizzling as Richard Hawley croons and sits with his broken leg,
• SBTRKT doesn't hold my attention,
• then the mighty Elbow prove worthy headliners, Guy Gravy going Mercury with the crowd

Gone 11pm and it's a full house for Scroobius Pip. Couple of texts later and Ed & Ed 'ead off, heads full of tunes.

... and still missed Josie Long, Pat Nevin and Laura Marling.

Sunday night and I'm off to the Latitude site to pick up Middler and friends. Not raining for once. I go to one pick-up point, they find another. We'll remember when these were all fields.