Hi Gadge,

I do see what you mean about the Mudcat. Many people have the same opinion, I know. I suppose it's a matter of each to his own. It does attract a lot of trolls, but I think that's largely because it's been going so long and so many people know about it.
Inveterate Mudcatters are like smokers and drinkers - we know it's bad for us, but we keep on doing it.
For what it's worth, one of the last things I did on the thread in question was to leap to your defence after a bit of  typical Mudcat-type criticism. I honestly didn't realise until recently that you weren't actually part of MFAB's organisation. My fault for jumping to conclusions. Liz Rosenfield and 'Mo The Caller' also hastened to  defend you too, which is nice.
Thanks for the explanation about the forum which, again, I wasn't aware of. I was imagining, in my ignorance, that the MFAB committee  were deliberately ignoring it and missing a great chance to promote the festival. I suppose that all this misunderstanding has to be regarded as a major 'communications breakdown' , largely caused by my (slightly manic)  over-enthusiasm in trying to help with publicising the festival in its twentieth year.
Whatever, I thank you for your patience and forbearance.

Gadge,

Thanks for that but, if you have no interest in posting information to the Mudcat site, how are we to get the desired information to the people who are asking, given that I am not allowed to cut and paste said information for 'copyright' reasons?
Don't worry - I'll take the trouble to do it myself without 'infringing your copyright'
As for why Mudcat people 'won't use this forum' I have to say I haven't a clue. I've certainly posted the link often enough.
Perhaps they've followed that link and realised that, apart from myself and Mr Happy, no one can be bothered posting to this site, so their views won't be listened to?
But I'm firmly of the opinion that you, and MFAB, are missing a great opportunity by not engaging with the Mudcat Cafe site. The people who post there are the very people that
MFAB is (or should be) trying to reach.
What you should be asking is: Why won't anyone else use this forum? Why, above all, won't the MFAB committee use this forum, despite Tim Turner's stated good intentions?
The lack of activity on this site is not your fault. I recognise that. But it sure as hell ain't my fault -your problem is with the  MFAB committee. By staying away from  their 'own' forum they've missed a golden opportunity to connect with the people they are hoping to reach.
This is my last posting to the MFAB site. I have done my best to help to promote the Folk and Boat Festival, and I sincerely hope that this has been appreciated. Far from being a 'provocateur' I have done my best to help the festival. If this has been misconstrued, then I'm very sorry, Bye,

Several people on Mudcat have started to ask about Car Parking and Camping. I'm wondering if anyone from the festival committee can help out by going to

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=129741&messages=22#2914730

Thanks,

Dave Roberts

Discussion of MFAB 2010 continues on Mudcat. And, no, it's not in the least provocative - just entertaining, helpful and friendly in the old MFAB tradition.

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=129741&messages=19

Saturday afternoon at the Boar's Head features Dom Collins from 2pm until 3pm. Then Open Mike from 5pm onwards.

'Welsome' is poet-speak for 'welcome', btw

Hi there,

The Salt Town Poets will be hosting TWO Open Mic Sessions at the Boar's Head in June. One on Wednesday 16th at 9pm, which will serve as part of the Festival warmup, and one on Saturday 19th at 5pm.

All are welsome to either or both sessions. If you'd like to pre-book a spot at either or both sessions, please let me know here, or e-mail me on salttownpoets@aol.com.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Dave Roberts
Salt Town Poets

I look forward to seeing details of the official festival fringe soon.

Hi Tim,

Thank you for your reply.
My apologies to Gadge who, I hadn't realised, is only responsible for running the MFAB website (and doing a fine job of it), rather than being a member of the committee.
Tim, I realise the problems that the organisers of MFAB have (I should do, having been one of those organisers for quite a bit of the life of the festival and starting at the very beginning).
As you'll have realised, my concern was with  lack of information about the fringe. People were asking me about it, and I was unable to find any information to give to them. As pointed out in my original post, the Middlewich fringe is in a very unusual, if not unique, position in that it is run by the festival committee, a situation which gives the committee the option to decide to leave it to fend for itself if it so decides. And there has been speculation that this might have happened this year. I'm glad, needless to say, that the speculation has proved groundless.
I must  stand corrected over last year's Winter Warmer. The information I had was given (and received) in good faith.
The Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival, I firmly believe, is the best thing to have happened to this town in the last thirty years. It has put the town on the map, more so than any other event (and there are, now, quite a few throughout the year), so I hope you'll forgive me if I get a little defensive about it.
I wish you all the very best for a brilliant 20th anniversary festival.

Gadge,

Thanks for that. No, I wasn't trying to be a 'provocateur' as you put it. If I was making mischief I'd be a bit foolish to  put a link to my mischief making Mudcat postings on this forum.
Let me explain.
Year after year, despite the fact that I have not been on the festival committee for many years now, people ask me for information on the festival and, in particular, the fringe.
I'm fully aware of the difficulties of getting fringe information out until very close to festival time. But you may or may not know that the Middlewich Festival fringe is possibly unique in that it is run by the festival committee and not on an ad hoc basis by others not connected with the main festival.
This policy is, and always has been. liable to change by the committee, which could at any time decide that they do not have 'enough manpower' to put on fringe events as well as main stage events.
That, after all, is what we are told  happened with the 2009 'Winter Warmer' which was, according to the information I have, cancelled for that very reason.
All that was required from the festival committee was a simple statement  to the effect that they were, indeed, going to put on fringe events this year and people would have gone away rejoicing.
But such a statement was not forthcoming and the only information I was able to obtain was from people at fringe venues who reported that they had not been approached by anyone from MFAB.
Similarly, if the festival had announced that it was unable to spare resources for the fringe, then Mr Happy and people like him would have been happy to step into the breach.
Again, no such announcement was made.
And that's all there is to it.
If I could give you just one piece of advice to pass on to the festival organisers it would be this: read your own forum.
I apologise for infringing your copyright by cutting and  pasting what read like the text of a press release on  Mudcat. I was trying to be helpful. Rest assured it won't happen again.
As for posting links to this website, I did that and was told by everyone that they were following the links  and finding nothing but woefully outdated information - a situation which only changed very recently. So I won't be doing that again, either.
But thanks once again for your own input.

Well, judging from the response so far, I'd say that's a no, Mr H.

To continue what has, so far, been a solo spot on this forum, can I ask what special events are being mounted to celebrate the anniversary of the festival? Are any of the bands from the last 20 years being invited back, as promised?
And what is happening on the fringe this year?

Looks good.

This thread on the Mudcat forum may be orf interest:

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=127333&messages=10#2855636

Any news yet of the line-up for 2010? Will there be favourite artists from the past, as promised, to celebrate 20 years of the festival?
What about the festival fringe? What venues will be used?
Will there be a return to using a marquee for the main stage, as I have read in some listings for the festival?