For a variety of reasons, I missed out on Whitby completely this year (and consequently will be suffering withdrawal symptoms for the next twelve months). But if the events (official and fringe)were as good as those in previous years, then all those of you who were lucky enough to be there have no cause for complaint.

Whitby has many spaces where people can play, sing, dance, or just sit and listen. In those spaces, a vast array of different kinds of entertainment can be found. If the first venue you sample is full up, or is providing something that you don't enjoy, there will be others only a few yards away offering something else.

Of all the venues in Whitby, the Tap and Spile is my favourite. The beer is superb, the staff are cheerful and efficient, and the crack is marvellous. In the big bar at the back, the tunes and songs tend to be old favourites, delivered in a rough and rowdy manner. Anyone who wants to contribute can usually do so - provided they push forward determinedly, and then charge into something familiar that gets everybody joining in quickly. However, it's not the place for shrinking violets to make their debut, or for new and esoteric material to be premiered.

Lots of people enjoy these back-bar sessions hugely. So do I - but not all night and every night. I also enjoy the sessions in the T&S's front bar, where the idea is to create space for something a bit more fragile. There, people who lack confidence but have something to offer are encouraged to come forward. And something unfamliar (whether it be an obscure traditional song, or a newly created composition) will get a fair hearing - even if it doesn't have a simple chorus that everybody can join in.

To make this possible requires a structure of some kind, with a few dedicated people working to keep that structure in place. Otherwise, the session would quickly become a smaller-scale version of what goes on in the back bar. Over the years, the people who organise the front bar sessions have developed a system that seems to work pretty efficiently. And judging by the perpetual congestion in their room, it seems to satisfy a lot of punters. Many come back year after year (myself included).

If one or two casual droppers-in (including The Guest Who Dare Not Speak His Name)find this structure incomprehensible, or objectionable, then there are many, many other venues in Whitby where they can find something different.   The attitude of TGWDNSHN seems comparable to that of a bloke who turns up to a snooker tournament carrying a bag of golf clubs, and then complains because the organisers won't let him bash the balls in his own way. This is an attitude that seems even more perverse when there is a very good golf course only a few yards away.

So, my best wishes to the MC's, the regular singers, and all the staff at the Tap and Spile - keep up the good work. All being well I will see you again in 2005.

Wassail!