there are some who are in it for the money, masquerading as Folkies "from their youth". In fact I checked-out their history last weekend and the best I got from those close enough to verify was: "well, not folk clubs, but they went to concerts, like the Beatles"!

Not that I should single out any festival in Shropshire on a Bank Holiday but if you compere them with (say) an organiser of a "village" festival on the same days you see an equally astute businessman who was a Morris dancer, took over the running from his father and groomed his son to continue. It is all about integrity, Steve Heap has it and is nice with it, and others are just in it for the money, and are not always nice people, and it shows.

I think we should be issuing fulsome praise to those involved in organising Sidmouth. Something that size with such a variety of events must make money, enough to not make a loss and enough to cover extremes and eventualities. Global weirding being one of them. They claim to not employ people. Companies maybe, but there is a lot of work for little reward, and my thanks barely begins to reward them.