Ralphie,

Sorry, but you seem to have misunderstood the point I was trying to make in my last post. I had no intention of dissing you in particular or sound engineers in general. I certainly couldn't do your job – balancing a 200 watt rig for an all-acoustic band at a village hall dance is my limit.

Even so, I know enough to recognise that when the sound is poor, it isn't necessarily the sound engineer's fault. Nevertheless, if the sound quality at any gig is unsatisfactory, I still have the right to mention this fact to the management.   After that, it's up to them to decide who is to blame.

As it happens, I can't recall any examples of poor sound quality at any Sidmouth events I've attended. What rang my alarm bell, however, was a recent interview with a member of a widely admired ceilidh band who said that when audience members told him "you're too loud" he replied "you're too old". That gentleman (and anyone else on the folk scent who thinks similarly) should have a word with Pete Townsend about hearing damage.

All I really wanted to say to you Ralphie was "cool it a bit". Righteous indignation can become an addictive drug. I have worked with (and under) people who were so hooked on it that they couldn't cope without a daily rant.   And if they couldn't find a legitimate excuse for one, they had to invent one. This was not pleasant for me – but in the long term, it did them a lot of harm too. Much better to keep your blood pressure down, and conserve your adrenaline for a serious crisis.

Wassail!