WOMAD

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  I thought it was a bad decision to get rid of the 10p deposit on plastic glasses - it seemed to me there was a lot more mess than in previous years, with plastic mugs crunching underfoot particularly in the Siam Tent.

  Also, I bet a lot of kids were disappointed to find that their hoped-for pocket-money top-up wasn't available & a lot of parents suddenly found themselves having to devote more time to entertaining their children than relaxing and seeing the bands.

  I've always found the dedication of the gangs of children to collecting mugs a heartening sight - learning self-reliance and independence in a safe arena and protecting the environment at the same time.

  Does anyone know why the system was dropped? Was it because of complaints about people being pestered for their mugs? Is it just me who thinks it was a very good arrangement that should have been left alone?

  And most crucial of all - is the change in any way linked to the big hike in beer prices this year? Was the cost of hiring more litter-pickers passed on to the punters through the price of a pint? (I don't remember it being £4 a pint last year, though I can't remember how much it was - anyone know?)

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 12:23pm by MonyVibescu

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  I thought that the amount of litter on the arena and in the campsites was at an (almost) acceptible level, much less than in previous years. I would rather see our young paying attention to the boss sounds and artistry on offer than be bin-men (& women) in training.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 12:46pm by ƥɧ

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  why change a system that was win-win..children enjoyed collecting plastic glasses then distributing their wealth and the site was cleaner?
  I found the site- especially in the Siam was belwo Womad standard for cleanliness..plates and yes, scrunched under foot plastic glasses!please re-think

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 12:54pm by Jambo Yoti

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  I agree - all credit to the litter collectors who were doing a good job, but the lack of deposits must have made a lot more work for them.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 1:14pm by Monxton

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  I was sad to not see the children scouting around for the beer glasses, it was heartening to see them being enterprising at such an early age. What a pity that this great practice has been stopped.
  Dear Womad, please listen and bring back the 10p deposit on the glasses so the kids can keep up their good pocket-money raising work.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 1:40pm by Jackkster

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  Forget the glasses! Could we have £3.40 a pint back please? 60p is a big increase and meant that my first pint on Thursday was also my last

  Oops! I said I wasn't going to whinge.....sorry.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 2:48pm by Shellovski

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  Bring back the deposit. It keeps the kids occupied and the litter down. If it wasn't for the top job done by the litter pickers the site would have ended up looking like the landfill moonscape of Reading days.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 2:49pm by Kora Kora

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  @PH The weak ales were £3.40 (+10p) last year and the stronger ales were £3.70 (+10p). As stated previously, those prices are too much for me...in fact DOUBLE what I pay up here in my local ale house.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 2:54pm by Shellovski

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  Like all aspects of Womad it's becoming money mad; 50% mark up on programmes for example.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 4:00pm by Balafon

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  My youngest two (and their three friends of a similar age, who were coming for the first time) were all disappointed about the change to the beer glass arrangements.

  One would have thought that the beer would have been 10p a pint cheaper as the deposit wasn't being charged on the plastic beaker, so the grown-ups were a bit miffed to find that the beer prices weren't 10p cheaper, but had instead been considerably hiked-up from last year.

  I'm sure Bath Ales love the franchise (and Gem is a decent session ale for whiling away the hours in the afternoon) but perhaps it's time to consider a few local micro-brewers who might be interested in forming a collective to showcase their ales at a range of reasonable prices.

  Posted on 31-Jul-2012 5:16pm by Ed_

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