Back to the music!

I only got to Sidmouth for the last three days as I spent the first weekend at the Wickham Festival in Hampshire (and what a wonderful Festival that was - Seth Lakeman, Shooglenifty, Spiers & Boden, Richard Thompson, Oysterband, Steeleye Span and so many more, all in a very safe and friendly setting, maybe more relaxed than Sidmouth where the late-night lager louts in the town centre can be intimidating).

Sidmouth has obviously changed from the Mrs. Casey days. Personally I miss the International Arena shows but the sessions scene seems to be thriving - The Bedford seemed even more packed than usual (if that's possible!) and some of the Ham concerts were very good indeed.

A few old regulars seemed to be missing from Sidmouth this year (I ran into some familiar faces at Wickham) but many others were in their usual places (Hello John B!) and I found the atmosphere in the bars and on the Prom to be as good as ever, in fact, I think many of the sessions are better now than they were in days gone by.

I'll always have a soft spot for Sidmouth - I've been attending for over 20 years - and while I fully intend to return to Wickham over the first weekend of August next year I'll probably then head straight along the coast to Sidmouth - it's only a couple of hours drive between the two and I'd rather enjoy two excellent Festivals instead of just one.

Congratulations to everyone involved in keeping Sidmouth going.

You've done a great job.

Ed