Don't look back into the Sun now you know that the time has come. - The Libertines.

The last Monday in March is a very special day to my people, one which is eagerly anticipated and prognosticated over, and has the potential to induce absolute ecstasy in some, while causing others to tumble into a spiral of desperation and distress.  Yes, for the past few years, I have worshipped at the alter of all that is Reading Festival, with the excitement kicking off on this fateful day; one which is fairly insignificant to the non-festival-goer, but to us means initial line-up announcements and that inevitable (and highly stressful) scramble for tickets.

Despite having decided that I was not going to 'do' Reading this year for a variety of reasons - a conclusion which forces me to face up to the possibility that I may actually be growing up?! - I still had that familiar feeling of excitement in the pit of  my stomach for most of yesterday and an overwhelming urge to check out the line-up as it was released.  I'll even admit to some wistful pangs of sadness as I witnessed others manically trying to get their hands on those elusive tickets (although the prospect of spending a month travelling round Europe with two of my very best friends instead of a mere weekend frolicking in festival-land more than compensates for any nostalgic regret!)

As for the line-up - there were no real surprises, it's pretty much what we've all come to expect from this festival and, if I'm quite honest, one of the main reasons behind my choice to do something different this summer was that they tend to recycle the same bands year after year.  Of course, there are several bands in the mix that I would absolutely love to see, but so many of them have appeared previously that I'm not entirely sure I could have justified spending the money to see the same acts all over again.

Having said this, there are two bands listed so far that I am slightly gutted to be missing out on - I absolutely loved the Libertines in their heyday and never got to see them live; while I keep telling myself that it would never be the same this time round, I can't help but wish that I could be there for it.  On the flip side, I saw Blink 182 when I was about thirteen years old and still see it as one of the defining moments of my adolescence; the chance to see them again would bring back so many memories - I got unbelievably excited by the rumours that they would headline last year and cannot believe they've come to fruition in the first year that I won't be in attendance!