Ö÷²¥´óÐã

Well the festival is winding down now - people are streaming out of Cherry Hinton on foot and on bicycle after four days and nights of great music, and we too are winding down. The last bits of music are being spliced into the programme ready for Wednesday's 3-hour highlights show and the laptops and are going back into the van.

High spots for me personally? Fisherman Friends getting several thousand people in the Stage 2 tent singing sea shanties; Kathy Mattea singing and smiling her way through a lovely set of great songs; Natalie Merchant singing tracks from her new album 'Leave Your Sleep' with one of the tightest bands I've ever heard; Fay Hield in the Club Tent singing great traditional songs in her fine, strong womanly voice and The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain plucking their way - tongue in cheek - through the Dambusters March and other classics.

As ever the Ö÷²¥´óÐã engineers did a world class job on the sound. They are such dedicated craftsmen and I never cease to be amazed at how they always go that extra mile to get the best sound possible. The people on the ground at Cambridge do a fantastic job too, everybody from the ladies who clean the backstage showers and toilets to the lads who rig the stage and bash the cables, do an amazing job; every year the festival seems to run like a well tempered musical instrument.

I love the fact that Cambridge is so family friendly too, with children all over the place: babies snoozing in little tents, toddlers blowing bubbles, small boys trying to work their diablos and little girls face-painted to look like tigers and frogs.

Another Cambridge festival and another great weekend. See you next year.

Ìý