Reflections of a Festival organiser

It's just over a week since we finally took down the marquees from The Bridge and the Lord Combermere in the pouring rain, along with the banners and signs, and Blues Alley returned to Vicarage Lane and the village slowly rolled back into a subdued life.

The whirlwind of five days had passed since the Duffey Boys' gig kicked off the previous Thursday night at the Lord Combermere. Alistair McKenzie joined the second half set, having played up the road at the Bridge with D&G, to deliver, what was for me, one of the best Duffey Boys gigs for a while.

That for me was the start for a great weekend, great music, the weather was the best for a long time, and the festival lived up to its friendly title.

A highlight on a personal basis was seeing Paul and Clare Moran walk into the kitchen at Hoc's Fat Pigeon on the Sunday. Relief, I think, that they had turned up! It was one of those moments, seeing Paul later in the day stood next to the sound desk at the Combermere, that gave a flash back to the early festivals he was involved with.

One of the founders of the festival, along with Clare, Kim Maddocks, John Lawrence, Lorraine Kirkpatrick, Annabel Thornton and the evergreen Ralph Warburton, it was great that they joined us for this, the tenth festival.

Musical highlights are many, and still I can reflect on them – the Cajo Funk set in Blues Alley was one of the best moments, as was seeing the show put on in the Bridge by Jason Johnston and Roydan Styles.

The Reads still provide the chill-out zone as only they can, and seeing new bands and artists taking to the stage will never be a chore. The variety of music has to be one of the best points of this festival – classical, jazz, rock, folk, it's all there and in all flavours. Long may that continue.

ReflectIt's taken a week to reflect, as it often takes time to soak it all in, during what is a very busy period. Hopefully the village has done well on all levels, most of all in enjoyment and satisfaction that visitors find this little place of ours a welcome oasis on their travels.

I enjoy the whole event, working with some great friends to put on a great party, and seeing people wholeheartedly enjoying themselves; that's the main thing for me. It was good.

The b&w photo is by Sophie Mazingarbe. Sophie exhibited many of her musically themed photos throughout the festival weekend, upstairs at Hoc's Fat Pigeon. Our thanks to Sophie for sending us this photograph of two of the great supporters of the Audlem Festival, Jim Kirkpatrick and Carl Brunsdon.

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