For Argyll

Where the organisers had hoped for the best festival ever at Dustaffnage this year, it turned out to be the least successful to date. This is not good news for Argyll. One of the causes was outside anyone’s control - the poor weather. The second factor contributing to the postponement of the planned Friday-evening start to the event was avoidable. Poor organisation saw a state of unreadiness which, even without the intervention of the weather, would have crippled its start. The weather didn’t let up, though, producing a spasmodic festival taking time out to struggle with marquees that threatened to become hot air balloons at any moment. Saturday’s gig’s didn’t start until after lunchtime and on Sunday it was early evening. Audiences never got beyond a few hundred. Matt Thomas, the festival organiser, has since said he will not run another festival after seeing only 183 tickets sold through outlets in Oban and around 60% of reserved tickets lying unclaimed.