Great news this week as my tickets have arrived for my seventh Isle of Wight Festival!

Slumming it at the Isle of Wight!

My mate Jez and I have made this an annual ritual to the Island which in some ways is stuck in a different time.

But for one weekend in June each year thousands flock to see famous and not-so-famous groups ply their trade. We reckon to see around 35-40 bands which have famously included: Bowie, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Police and REM.

There have also been some suprises – Newton Faulkner doing an acoustic of Bohemian Rhapsody – accompanied by 60,000 people in his choir. And Snow Patrol playing their biggest ever set – when they were virtual unknowns. The Magic Numbers were also brilliant – they too were pretty much unknown.

But this year will be a bit of a trip down memory lane – with Spandau Ballet, Suzi Quattro, Shakespeare Sister, The Alarm, Blondie, Suzanne Vega, The Members and Squeeze all playing!

Jay-z, The Strokes and Paul McCartney are headline acts. But I am looking forward to seeing Bombay Bicycle Club, Vampire Weekend, Biffy Clyro and The Editors most.

We do this trip properly – tents and disposable bbq’s (not very green I know). We tend to take beer but not too much food. There’s plenty of burger vans – for a healthy diet.

The toilets are legendary. To be avoided if at all possible! But as Festival First members we do get a shower block – although it’s not 5*.

We have vowed that if it ever ‘Glastonbury‘ rains we will call it a day, but we have only had around 10 minutes of rain in all seven years! Will this year be the year…