Edited at the request of Clarendson and Sid. Matter now resolved.

Sorry to hear about that clanderson, it must be an awful thing to happen to you. Hope you get your money back from the festival.

However..

Is Sid not capable of posting himself?

Do the rest of us not get a personal apology for the unpleasant incidents that happened in the main camping area with thiefs entering peoples tents when the habitants slept?

If he can guarantee that this individual mentioned above won't be welcome at the festival again, can he do the same for known thiefs?

I doubt it very much

Paul - I hate to sound like Rich (and note the wink indiciating your post is maybe not to be taken seriously) but this has been done to death!

Festival organisers etc have been working flat out for the last few months, and it's maybe natural they take a while to find the energy to get round to this kind of thing afterwards. Sid's a genuine guy, Clanderson - if you email him you'll get the full detail which is maybe not appropriate for a web forum such as this.

Come back next year, you'll enjoy it.

Is Sid not capable of posting himself?

Do the rest of us not get a personal apology for the unpleasant incidents that happened in the main camping area with thiefs entering peoples tents when the habitants slept?

If he can guarantee that this individual mentioned above won't be welcome at the festival again, can he do the same for known thiefs?

I doubt it very much

yawn...

can paul[tm] guarantee that future posts will be pro-active and supportive of the organisers, with the understanding that no festival organiser wants people to be upset and that they work their arses off to make sure everyone is happy?

i doubt it very much

in the mean time, tis a shame that things like this happen at festivals [i've never been to one, including my favourite friendly fest - the big green gathering, where it isn't an increasing problem - regardless of how the campsite is patrolled, or when the wristbands are exchanged] and it's good that those in the organisation are ensuring that they have an open channel to anyone upset...

i hope clanderson that yous know that festivals are a logistical nightmare at times, and that this incident [and paul-tm's sour comments] shouldn't tar your opinion of a well organised event, sadly attended by a handful of people there just to cause trouble...

and paul, you're probably meaning well, but the way you word things just sounds like you have a personal gripe with the wickerman organisers, you should have a gripe with the theives, they're the ones who are spoiling it...

I have been involved in organising festivals since 1980 and I can promise that there can be no accounting for people!

Organisers have to walk a tightrope between over management and under management of the crowds. Sometimes security can appear so strict that it is a nightmare while at others it is too lax. Wickerman has had it's problems just like all others but I can promise you that this year was only a short mark from perfect.

This might sound strange when you consider the thefts but there was too little active patrols in the evenings which can be sorted. BUT the important thing to remember is the actual numbers. If you can imagine a similar number of revelers in a city centre remaining there for the weekend - there would be many more "incidents" wouldn't there?

Clanderson, I feel for you. I don't understand how this could have happened as the Wickerman crowd are usually the type to pull together and get things sorted. We had a similar problem by us but it was all sorted amicably and the crowd causing the racket behaved themselves.

I am sure Sid is 100% sincere and it could have been that Rich mentioned it in passing and Sid replied asking him to sort it for him which is perfectly reasonable as I am sure Sid is exhausted and he may not post on the forum anyway.

Clanderson, please think about returning next year. Wickerman really is the highlight of my family's year and we always look forward to it. This is the only festival that we get that sort of feeling for.

Please note that I have nothing to do with the festival WickermanXXX is a handle I have used for a great many years. I am an ordinary punter!

"can paul[tm] guarantee that future posts will be pro-active and supportive of the organisers, with the understanding that no festival organiser wants people to be upset and that they work their arses off to make sure everyone is happy?"

Certainly not, obviously the festival must remain free from criticism and negative posts.. only lovely fluffy posts sucking up the forum admins arse are allowed it seems.

Anyway I have asked Ben to delete my account as I see it is obvious from some posts lately that if you dare criticise the way the festival (or the official forum) are run then you are a moaner and it isnt allowed

LOL

Is this serious? Surely not? How is the festival supposed to grow and develop if constructive, and even destructive, critisism is not allowed?

All forums I have seen take this approach have, ultimately, failed as they invite trolls and the likes...

"can paul[tm] guarantee that future posts will be pro-active and supportive of the organisers, with the understanding that no festival organiser wants people to be upset and that they work their arses off to make sure everyone is happy?"

Certainly not, obviously the festival must remain free from criticism and negative posts.. only lovely fluffy posts sucking up the forum admins arse are allowed it seems.

... seems you've proved my point... i never said anything about not criticising... i simply said that posts should be pro-active and supportive of the organisers trying to make the best of a damn hard job... "you did well fellaghs, shame a few idiots slipped through the net, lets see what we can do about that for next time" or something like that... few if any of your comments i've read here of late have done that...

i'm not asking you to be fluffy... just you post above was completely irrelevant to rich's thread and was just intended to cast scorn and offered zero help to anyone...

if anything, the majority of your posts make me feel like the wickerman isn't the place to go... when in fact i know from 5 years experience, it is...

yes sorry zakt it was meant as a sarcastic post..

wickermanxxx and ingie-martin - I think Paul's earlier response suggests he wasn't being serious?! Let's all calm down and love each other.

Unfortunately these types of incidents are not just at festivals. You could move into a new house and find out you live next door to "THE NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL".

Most of the people who go to the wickerman are decent folk out to have fun and who will respond to an explanation that their behavior is not acceptable even for a festival then curtail it a bit.

Feel bad that clanderson felt the need to leave as don't know the cicumstances. Hope that if things were so bad they do get some sort of recompense.

Personally after 6yrs of attendance have had nothing but good times. A big up to the organisers and the farm owner for allowing us all to party in such a beautiful place.

Hate to hear of bad things happening but life these days is like that and I agree it is not the organisers fault. But the few bad people who are everywhere in life.

Zakt, my concern was due to the fact I have seen many forums suffer over the years when confusion sets in. I always have my tongue permanently lodged in my cheek

Often folk who are a bit of a nuisance don't realise how disruptive they are and I have even seen some not realise that they should have really have been in the main camping area and vice versa. I had a small problem this year on the Thursday night but I asked the group politely the next day to keep it down late on and they did but I got no sleep the night before. I am certain that if I had approached the situation with the wrong attitude things would have escalated quickly.

Security have a difficult job in asking people to keep things low key in certain areas but they seemed to have got the balance right on that score this year. However there are always a few folk who can not be reasoned with but thankfully I have never met any at Wickerman

The folk who have been going to the festival since it started are some of the nicest people I have ever met anywhere. Last year I was fortunate enough to meet a gang who were there at the very first but I did not spy them this year - but I did meet others, such as Dalkiethalan. I do hope that clanderson comes back next year and sees how great Wickerman really is. I've been to loads of festivals over the years and I can honestly say that the crowd at Wickerman really are the very best of the best!

yes sorry zakt it was meant as a sarcastic post..

wickermanxxx and ingie-martin - I think Paul's earlier response suggests he wasn't being serious?! Let's all calm down and love each other.

- i wasn't suggesting not loving each other, quite the contrary... i was indicating that he should chill out himself...

anyway, paul's later comment where he says he's asked to be deleted because he's not allowed to be negative seemed to me to undermine any sarcastic tone he may have intended...

and besides, sarcasm should come across as humourous, rather than making out someone's distress with an individual to be a problem of the wickerman organisatioal skills... which as wmxxx says - and i concur, seem to be second to none...

as a wickerman virgin and a skiddle virgin..i've watched this thread and other threads with interest. my wickerman experience was one of peace, lurve and happiness(apart from a knob in my own camp). havin observed the threads i can only see pauls threads as negative, even your who do you want to see next year was framed within see if they listen. while we all have a right to view our opinions..the way we frame them instigates change. im sorry paul but to me you sound like a failed or wannabe festival organiser who is more than willing to dish out criticism but unable to accept it. if you feel you need to take your ball home..then take it home. wickerman was a safe place to be...my children were far safer there than on the patches where i work. when all comes to all..it looks like safety was affected by a one man spree in one field...if you havent got anything constructive to say, dont say anything at all..or hit the delete button..harsh...but true

I've also had a spat with Paul in the past all be it very minor.

I have to say tho' is that your posts on here are getting a tad tiresome, why is it you had to add your tuppenceworth on this thread in the first place?

... anyway... we hope all the best for clanderson's feeling about everything and hope that gets sorted to everyone's heppiness, and all the best and mighty thanks to the organisers too, for doing what they'd calculated to be the best plan at the time, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't... time, reflection and ponderance will tell...but we know they want the same as us, a damn fine festival... which it has been every year...

and word up on the group hug

no-one is here to break something or p anyone off, just [sometimes frantic] concern for an event we all love and want to continue to love... hence we can get edgy at times eh...