To Ay Up:

*waves* Hi, Lizzie!

Are you sure you haven't simply had your nose put out of joint because Sidmouth was a roaring success despite no one having to read acres of your mindless drivel about it for weeks beforehand? Sadly, you are not the saviour and champion of Sidmouth. It survives and thrives without you. Personally, I think your rant is just sour grapes.

As someone who is constantly championing Show of Hands as the saviour of our youth (and of British culture), did they not bring enough young people into the festival and the town for your liking? Usually you're going on about how they bring thousands of young people into folk.

Jim Moray did play with Jackie, as it happens, at the Bedford late in the week. Very good they were, too.

You keep banging on about how the festival didn't book the Demons or Seth Lakeman. Lizzie, they can't have the same acts every year. People who are not obsessive about those acts would simply get bored. You haven't mentioned some of the youngsters, not so well established, who got a lot of positive feedback this year: Last Orders, or the Askew sisters, or Park Bench Social Club for instance. If you ventured away from the Ham at all (which I suspect you didn't) you'd have seen an incredible range of musicians, young and old, doing great stuff.

I don't know where you were all week, but I saw loads of youngsters enjoying themselves and being well catered for. Did you go down to any of the Shooting Rooots sessions in Jack's Bar? 30 or 40 kids at a time, under 18, playing folk music and having a brilliant time. There were also the LNEs at the Bulverton. Were you at the Whapweasel gig? No, I didn't think so. But hundreds of young people were.

I did a focus group on Friday with 18 - 30 year olds. They were all really happy with the range of events that targeted them (though they had some great ideas for how things could be even better). As has been explained to you before, a lot of young people in folk are not really concert-goers: they like ceilidhs, morris dancing and playing in sessions. If you're not seeing them in the concerts that you go to, maybe that's why.

You are a great one for criticising, Lizzie - why don't you do something about it? Volunteer. Do something positive. The festival needs the support of local people.