Arrived home after a very good week at Sidmouth.

It was pretty amazing how it had risen from the dead. Mary Ellen Carter stuff - a labour of love by people who had refused to accept the seeming inevitable. Around the country over the years festivals have run themselves into the gound and died, and they don't come back. We say "what a shame" and we move on. (The only exception I can think of is Walton which was very nearly killed by the disruption caused when Princess Diana's death and funeral buggered things up, and got foprced back to life beacuse regulars refused to accept it was gone.)

Last year there was all the talk about taking a year off, and coming back all shiny and organised, but it was whistling in the dark. I think if it hadn't gone ahead this year whatever happened in future years it wouldn't have been the real Sidmouth.

But instead we bounced right back, and this was as good a Sidmouth as I can remember - and I can remember a lot of Sidmouths. At the feedback meeting on Friday someone likened it to a rose bush that's been pruned back hard, and will be all the better for it.

Not having a season ticket - I didn't like that. True, maybe it removed a bit of the pressure, and the feeling you ought to make the most of it - but for me the season ticket has never been about saving money, or getting my money's worth. If I didn't get my moneys worth and spent my time in free events, that was OK by me, because I knew that my money was helping to keep the whole show on the road, and the whoel show was what I really valued most of all.

But the main thing about the season is having the freedom to try anything. This year I tended to stick to the things I knew I'd like, and though I had a great time, I didn't have many of those moments of amazement I've had in the past, because of that very freedom to roam.

And in fact I probably spent a lot less on tickets than I normally would on a season ticket (even including the voluntary contributions in the tins) - and I'm pretty sure that's true of a lot of people, and it's the main reason why there is pretty well bound to be a season ticket of some kind next year.

The other thing I missed was the international presence, both because of the opportunity to see the English traditions dispalyed in the context of other traditions, and because it was such fun to walk around a corner and run into some monks from Tibet or farmers from Slovakia , or Bengali Dancers from Brixton, in the White Horse Cafe or the charity shops, or joining in the Social Dances. The native English folk traditions are great but they aren't the only folk traditions - even in England.

But I'm sure one way or another the things I missed this time will grow back in a healthy way. The main thing is, we've got Sidmouth back, and it's a kind of miracle.