I'm with James H in regretting the loss of the Shooting Roots/ Dance House part of the old Sidmouth, which seemed to be what was attracting so many younger people and getting them dancing/ playing/ singing - in other words, becoming our future. I can see that the 2005 festival will be very good for the older crowd of regulars and I'm sure will be fine for some years to come, but it's not now really that different from many other festival bills around the country other than the location. The costs of travelling all the way to the SW and expensive local accomodation do now deter many people like me who are realising they can get much the same thing nearer to home. It's a nice bill, but the festival doesn't look unique any more and I think early-teens might be a bit bored for the whole week. So I'm sorry, I'm not coming this year.

Still, with the announcement about New Boots! at Bracknell in 2006, that'll provide something good for the young Shooting Roots/LNE people from next year, so maybe two good festivals have come out of one which can't be a bad thing :-)