Oops. Sorry for being partly critical. I confined my comments to those in the published programme (i.e. part of the festival) and not the guys and gals in singarounds. There is much, as I said, that is good about the festival but there are some things that are really, really, awful. I really am bored to death of people doing mid-atlantic "Isle of Soap on a Rope" gloop and naff Lanky knockabout. Some of these performers could be excellent if they changed their material. Why are we Lancastrians so keen to put up with this 1970's end-of-pier variety show drivel? It is a tradition - but so were Val Doonican and The Krankies, and thankfully they aren't booked at folk festivals. I would like my culture presented in a better light, if possible. There is very varied material indigenous to the North West if people could be bothered to dig it out. There isn't any excuse for singing the same 5 pop songs ad nauseam - especially when linked with the same tired anecdotes. It has as much to do with folk as karaoke.

One of the things that strikes me about the Fylde audience is that it is pretty much like that of many folk clubs - moribund - rather than other folk festivals. Most other festivals I go to have a far higher proportion of younger people (i.e. under 60) in the audience than Fylde. We all know that folk clubs are ageing, on the whole, but this is not my perception of folk festivals. Fylde does do its best to run competitions and workshops for youngsters but the main programme is obviously deeply unattractive to wouldbe festival goers in the their 20's, 30's and 40's. It doesn't have to get hip - but it does need to get interesting. There are many more younger people at the far smaller National Festival, for example, which presents a greater proportion of trad acts.

Every festival has years when its headline programming is not to everyone's taste. There were some acts that I found wonderful this year (Niamh Parsons, Sara & Kieron) and others that I couldn't care less whether I ever see again (John Wright, Cathryn Craig). In a successful festival, though, the personal appeal of the headline acts is only incidental. The "glue" that holds together a successful artistic programme is the local and lesser-known acts. Unfortunately, this is the area where Fylde has become very weak. Stalwarts of the local clubs are presented - year in, year out - as programmed events and yet can't be bothered to expend any effort in rising to the occasion by learning the odd new song or rediscovering aspects of their tradition. I am glad Alan Bell offers them the opportunity to shine in front of a wider audience but deeply disappointed that they waste the break he has given them. Perhaps he should use the same principle he seems to use with the headline acts i.e. you don't get a booking two years together? If they had a year off they could at least get the songbooks out. Perhaps a couple of the North West festivals could get together to "swap" some of their local acts for a year?

Folk is like anything else: it needs to have a point if people are to carry on buying tickets. As I said, I'm voting with my feet next year and will give Fylde another chance in a few years.