Was in town this weekend and it didn't seem like Whit without the festival going on. Basically, what happened is that the main venue, the Winter Gardens, had been sold a few years ago by the Council - obviously prefering short term financial gain to long term asset investment - to a get rich quick merchant who subsequently had it knocked down to be replaced by flats. This meant that last year there was no festival either, so I guess the people who have come there regularly over the years found something else to do and in 2008 have gone back to wherever they went last year again. Very sad. This years intended venue of the Memorial Hall - an oversize scout hut run by the British Legion that is currently the only suitable sized venue left - cannot have inspired many, either. The real kick in the teeth is that the deal to build the flats on the Winter Gardens site has fallen through and the town has been left with an eyesore building site facing the promenade, which is, to my way of thinking, no more than the greedy Council deserve - but I feel that the festival has, sadly, gone for good.
Mike
