All I wanted was to find out more about Weymouth Folk Festival and I find myself in the midst of really heated debate! Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's made very interesting and enlightening reading.

Now I may be being a bit cynical, but there does seem to be a bit of personal stuff coming in here - a dig or three at "the Committee" -whoever they are.

That said, Weymouth & Portland bc do seem to be rather overzealous in their approach to PEL, but isn't the approach to entertainments licensing supposed to be changing with the new legislation? Perhaps I'm being naive though in thinking that the festival is perhaps the best way of persuading them that folkie stuff is not a minority interest and that people from all over the country care passionately about it. Maybe a peaceful protest at the festival would be more effective than the implicit boycott Peter Chegwyn's letter suggests.

I really enjoyed the festival last year (warm, friendly and welcoming to newcomers from upcountry like myself) with a lot of excellent local performers and my family and I are looking forward to this year's.....It would be a real shame if there was no festival.