91Èȱ¬

I have a confession to make.

I've been covering T in the Park for more than a decade. I've been backstage, frontstage, on the stage. I've been there when they've been building the stage, and in the days when you didn't need a road map to find the staff car park. But I've never experienced what many people regard as the central experience of T in the Park - camping.

This week, I took matters - and my sleeping bag - into my own hands and joined the 20,000 people who set up camp there more than 24 hours before a band even takes to the stage.

By half past five, the campsite is heaving, mostly young people, lugging crates of lager up the hill behind them, but there's a good scattering of veteran concert goers. The atmosphere is high spirited, and noisy but not intimidating. Many of the groups know each other and have already set up camps within camps.

There's an obviously increased security presence, following last year's stabbing of a fan in the campsite. Fans seem pragmatic.

"It could have happened in any city on a Saturday night," says Dave, who's here with his daughter and her boyfriend.

"But because there are so many paramedics on hand, they were able to react very quickly. I think that's what makes the difference."

Chief Supt Craig Suttie of Tayside Police agrees. "Compared to a lot of Scottish towns on a Saturday night, this has a low crime rate. Last year's incident was a terrible one, but hopefully an isolated one. This year, it's about reassuring people, letting them know we're all around."

Police officers patrolling the site are part of a 2,500 strong team which includes everyone from stewards to welfare officers. Above them, the area is monitored by cameras - including the infra-red ones on the hot air balloon "blimp".

The strategy seems to be to avert problems before they happen.
A drunken boy, roaming the site isn't arrested. He's escorted back to his tent, given water and urged to sleep it off.

It's a relatively quiet start - the real challenge comes when the remaining 45,000 campers arrive, augmented on the day by a further 20,000 non campers.

Speaking of non campers - my night under canvas at T was noisy, cold but uneventful. The cameraderie of the campsite began to wear off around 2am, as did my usual love of the music of Johnny Cash - just not played in the wee small hours.

And reader, I cheated. My tent - a teepee large enough to accomodate a family of five - was already up when i got there, the air bed full of air, and a proper shower and toilet block just a hundred yards away.

After 10 years of waiting, some experiences just can't be rushed.