The UK's smallest BG festival?
Yep, at least in my experience. Smaller than the one in Scotland anyway.
As a result the atmosphere was totally relaxed and informal, like everyone knew everyone else. And if you didn't well you soon did - no crowds to hide in!
Takes place in the village of Steeple Morden - I got the train to Ashwell & Morden where I waited patiently by the station with suitcase & new guitar clutched under one arm until Festival Organizer John Pearman picked me up in his car. It's about 2½ miles from train to the camping grounds/village hall.
One of my friends from Sore Fingers, Cliff Lashmar (he of Champion-the-wonder-horse fame) very kindly offered me a bed in his tent for the night and a borrow of a guitar. Another kind soul (Steve) lent me a dobro for the duration. Just one shop this time (where I bought a Cindy cashdollar DVD I'd been looking for) and one tucker tent selling yummy grilled things!
Good camping grounds, reasonably sized Village Hall, nice surroundings, flat countryside "just like home in Sunny Uppsala" and the weather not too cold/wet.
Organiser John did a great job, organizing everything from food to scratch bands.

Jam's the thing
Much as usual the chief attraction is sitting around jamming. Which we did quite industriously at intervals throughout the day and then on late into the next morning.
Heard a lot of good musicians and refrained from the temptation to burst into song myself.
Lots & lots of banjos, several basses (including one that came over with Bill Haley's band!) the odd guitar and two dobros - me and Sore Fingers chum Mark. Mark is not only a whizz on the dobro & guitar but is now a qualified luthier. He had a very nice little guitar with him that he'd built himself (see picture).

Somewhat later in the afternoon I found a group of ukulele players sheltering from the cold wind and huddling under blankets to avoid the frostbite. Amongst who was Ros from Aus, so we performed some trad Aus folk songs "tie me Fourex down mate" for the erudition of the locals.

The Concert
You can't have a festival without a good concert can you.
We got the scratch bands doing straight stuff, then were treated to a EXTREMELY entertaining evening with a UK band called Coup De Grass. Lots & lots of laughs, amazing instrumental stuff (why can't I play the banjo like that?) and some good inventive music written by Keith Pearson himself.
The bass player (Phil Milner) bore an uncanny resemblance in both size & appearance to my chief Triathlon club rival Sören Winge. Not surpsingly it turned out that Phil has a Swedish ancestors and even speaks the language. Better than me probably!