I just tried to post this but it disappeared - twice - what is going on with this site today???

I cannot understand Mr Happy's grumpiness. He ought to be specific...

Myself, I found the festival almost exclusively a positive experience. The only exception was the Sat evening at the Wickham, where in none of the three rooms could be found a viable singaround (all for different reasons).

But hey, let's concentrate on the positives - the guest-list alone puts many a more overtly prestigious (or bigger) festival to shame, and the ancillary activities and events are all well managed. The festival scores too by not producing a carbon-copy of last year's bill and maintaining an enviable freshness in that guest-list (so many festivals fall at that particular hurdle).

There was a great buzz about the town, and everyone involved was friendly and helpful. Like the now-sadly-defunct Saddleworth festival, Cleckheaton is proving a very hard to follow. Congrats to the whole team!

Me, I'm looking forward to next year's Cleckheaton already, and the dates are in my diary!