So - What of the opening weekend at Broadstairs? (Alas, back to work now)

Apart from the dancing, there still seems a very distinct polarisation between players and singers. So much so that I, as a singer who prefers to accompany himself, usually on guitar, felt quite unwelcome a lot of the time.

The official singarounds (what I want) were rammed - albeit some excellnt voices noted. I was lucky enough to be called early to sing at two (shame no room to get the guitar out), but I suspect I would not have got another turn - more singers than time permitted. Absence of one on the Friday night seems odd. This indicates a need for more sinagrounds.

I'm not sure that at an English festival a sinaground concentrating on American religious chorus songs is quite what I would have had in mind - given the scarcity of the resource...

The buses from the campsite to the town were always at the other end of the route......

Being asked by an official to talk more quietly on the B campsite at 1 am Sat morning (Fri night) seemed a bit odd - we hadn't even got the instruments out. My late wife would have said things about it being a folk festival and folking was to be expected.

Layout of and entrances to campsites needed more thought. More loopaper would have been good.

There seemed a major lack of English Trad Folk in the pubs booked into bands (or is it the other way round). Can Blue Men really sing the Whites?

However, maximum respect to John Barden for starting an unscheduled mixed session in the Whore and Wank (sorry, Tart and Frig It - sorry again, Tartan Frigate) on Sun PM - exactly the right sort of thing. Even a turn from a magnificent Rapper side. Double points for Morris the Musician who had worked all lunchtime and still put in a couple in the session.   High point of the weekend for me.