Had a blast at the Electric Picnic. Musical highlights: Bjork was really exciting, her encore in particular was stunning, an electrifying punk number. Jarvis Cocker was great fun, ending with a fab cover of Thin Lizzy’s The Boys are Back in Town. The Undertones were a delight, attracting a huge crowd. Polyphonic Spree sounded great but I had to leave them to catch Erasure. Andy Bell has transmogrified over time into a paunchy, feistly little queen in stretch lycra, but it only made him more endearing, his voice is as commanding as ever. The last 20 minutes of their set, with classic after classic pop tune, I won’t forget in a hurry, and they were ecstatically received. Vince Clarke is a genius. The Dublin Gospel Choir started Sunday off with gusto.

My favourite venue was the Chill Stage in the Body and Spirit zone, and dropping by there was always worthwhile. I found myself relaxing (pill-free) in a very pleasant way there, and the sheer good-naturedness of the crowds made it quite dream-like. Special mention to Jenny Lindfors and Adrian Crowley, who were great.

The care and attention that went into the design and planning of this festival is mind-boggling. In three days it is simply not possible to discover everything. From trippy little rave spaces in the forest, to a chill-out bonfire area with flame throwers thrown in for the heck of it, everywhere you looked there was a piece of sculpture or a light display or something to make the senses purr. The quality and variety of the food was first-class. The Silent Disco was great fun, the dance music in BodyTonic was the best I’ve heard in years. It was a highly creative playground for adults, and I didn’t hear one cross word, or get a whiff of one bad attitude. Everywhere, staff were cheery and helpful.

The weather wasn’t great, but it wasn’t awful either. Saturday was a brilliant day for me, one of the best I’ve had in ages, but we left Sunday evening so I missed Soul 2 Soul, sadly. And we left just as the car parks were settling into becoming mudtraps, so I imagine it wasn’t fun late last night trying to leave.

Downsides? The toilets, obviously, not nearly enough, queues far too long, and not maintained often enough. I don’t understand why the portacabins aren’t plumbed for water as they are designed to be. But that’s part of the camping experience, I expect that. What was definitely frustrating was the fact that the mobile phone companies gravely underestimated the network infrastructure necessary, and for most of the weekend it was impossible to send texts or get through to people, at least on O2. As I didn’t experience such problems last year, I don’t know how they got it so wrong this year. I missed out on meeting several friends this time around for this reason.

But those are the only complaints I have. Was it worth €220? Undoubtedly. A superbly well-run and playful space organised by maestros of imagination and planning, the organisers POD and Aiken deserve to become the dominant players in concert management in this country. Compare these three blissful days with the three hours of chaotic mismanagement by MCD of the Barbra Streisand concert, for the same amount of money, and it should, surely, be a no-brainer for any performer to know which company to choose when playing Ireland from now on.