Fantastic. The atmosphere was tremendous. It's a fact that you need to get to many venues half an hour before your chosen event starts, but that's because the venues are all on a human scale - no huge stages with masses of amplification.

I spent most of my time in the Con Club with visits to the Rifle Club, the Rugby Club, the Spa, the Met and the Stakesby. The choice of beers was particularly good in the Rifle Club and I thought beer everywhere was on average cheaper than the £2.70 a pint I'm accustomed to paying at home in Lewes.

I've never had better fish & chips than at the Silver Street Fisheries. Alexander's were also pretty good and you can always sit down inside. There were cheap and cheerful filled rolls at the Festival cafe and the Con Club (£2.50-ish).

I believe that the date of the regatta is determined by the tide, so there isn't scope for moving it away from the Festival weekend when the two coincide unless someone is able to open negotiations with whoever is responsible for the phases of the moon. This has the administrative nuisance that human sacrifice might be required, but if anyone would like to compile a list of candidates now is a good time to start.

Valmai Goodyear
Spare Parts Concertina Band