Wow! You folks on the other side of the pond sure do seem to have some great attitudes in how to handle the bloody losers! I am in awe of festival organizers, especailly since I am working as a sound person at my first. This si the Fox VAlley Folk Festival in Geneva IL, a festival where the performers clamour to perform and the attendees seem to be not only well behaved, but acquainted with the performers on a quite personal level, and therefore, actually police themselves! Complainers get told to shut their holes and either leave or behave! The only major problems seem to be alcohol on public property (Festival takes place in a municipal park, hence no spirits other than the one's that move you!) and the odd bastard who thinks the world is his cafeteria and needs to phnysically sample the wares! These are dealt with by the local constabulary! NO other problems to speak of. Oh, and the staff is strictly volunteer. This year there are over 125 volunteers. Attendance should be between 20 and 30,000 folk music lovers!

It seems that we all can learn tolerance and behavior from one another, so the invite to "ford the pond" and come here for a summer of tours of all kinds of festivals is always open! After all, I feel that there isa very common thread between us and the UK. God bless the British---if it weren't for you, we'd all be speaking a language we don't understand!

Best regards,
Norm "MadDawg" Siegel
Chicago, Ill.