Mal

As reported many times on this board and elsewhere:

i) Steve Heap quit out of sheer frustration with the lack of support from the local council and traders coupled with the ever-increasing problems with licensing and health & safety issues and the fact he couldn't afford to take the financial risk of staging the Festival if weather or anything else hammered ticket sales

ii) Anyone with an ounce of decency should applaud the small group of enthusiastic amateurs who are struggling to keep folk music and dance alive in Sidmouth.

iii) Those amateur organisers still face the same problems as Steve Heap and his professional team faced

iv) The problems are worse as EDDC has cut its £60,000 funding to zero

v) The likely outcome after all the verbals on this board is that:

       (a) the song sessions in the bars and the seafront dance
       dance displays will be as good as ever (maybe better) but

       (b) there will be few if any 'big-name' concerts and no
       international events in the arena (I know, I know, there ARE
      some 'big-name' artistes booked to appear but the planned
      venue for their concerts is not yet licensed by EDDC and
      may never be so).

Come to Sidmouth anyway, the scenery is fab, there will be plenty of sessions and even if the Ham marquee gets cancelled and the 'big-name' artistes don't appear who cares? We'll all be too busy singing our hearts out in The Anchor and won't miss Show of Hands and the rest one little bit.