This memo appeared on the Cropredy thread.

"Fairport should get in touch with Steve Heap, Sidmouth with Chris Pegg."

By chance, I listened to the recent R4 programme discussing Fairport Convention and their following over generations at Cropredy. The relevant features of the festival seem to be that the whole community locally grew up with it and feel it is 'theirs' - something that Sidmouth may never manage to achieve because of where it is and who lives hereabouts.

I was struck however by the fact that the Cropredy festival is now in doubt primarily because one person is 'moving on'. Festivals cannot (or should not) be organised to be so dependent on either one person or a few people. That being said, unless there was an autocrat like Steve Heap in charge of something as large and complex as Sidmouth, nothing would get done. Problem is, when the autocrat leaves or is run over by a bus, what then?