I read on the front page of the Ross Gazette this week that the Unintentional Festival, which came to the rescue during the cancellation of the 2002 Ross International Festival and had, until this year, been going strong ever since, is finding fund raising for this year's event difficult. The 'Unintentional' may not be able to go ahead due to lack of financial support.

Also on the front page is another article, entitled 'New Company! New Festival!' about a group of International Festival supporters calling themselves, Ross Live' who have planned a programme of events for this year.

Why? The Unintentional festival was already established. Why did 'Ross Live' not just support that, instead of setting up another event as if the first didn't exist? Surely, as both are non profit organizations with the same objective, one bigger and better festival could have been arranged instead of two which, knowing Ross-on-Wye will probably now both suffer.

Oh, I think know why. I just looked at the planned programme for 'Ross Live' - The Unintentional is rock music and 'Ross Live' is opera, chamber and classical music plus one youth workshop. Reasons of musical snobbery on one side or the other, maybe?

All I can say is that I love music and that, although my personal taste is more generally inclined towards Purcell, Bach and Vivaldi than towards Buster Hymen or Sid Vicious I shall not be going out of my way to support 'Ross Live' above the Unintentional, even though Dido and Aeneas happens to be one of my favourite of Henry's works. I also love rock music and I shall definitely be attending the band stand for the less exclusive 'Unintentional' Finalé Weekend, if it is able to go ahead.

Just to show that I am not talking from my Aeneas or Dido by the way, and that Herry Purcell himself may have had preferences for a particular type of claret but was certainly not a musical snob, here are the words to one of his songs, recorded on the fantastic 'Chansons de Tavernes et de Chapelles' and sung as a canon, or round.

Once, twice, thrice, I Julia tried.
The scornful puss as oft denied:
And since I can no better thrive,
I'll cringe to ne'er a bitch alive;
So kiss my arse delightful sow,
Good claret is my mistress now.

I can't imagine that being sung in St. Mary's, so I guess it must be one of Henry's good old pub songs, for which he was renowned. Another couple of facts about Henry Purcell: he did not write Trumpet Voluntary and he died of cold, drunk on the doorstep of his home after not being allowed in after a night at the tavern. Next time you see that drunk staggering up Broad Street of a Saturday night, just think; while sober he may well have already composed the future 'Laudate Ceciliam' or 'Dark Side of the Moon' album in the privacy of his bedroom.

I can't stand 'Rap music' although my son loves it, neither do I like the radio station, 'Classic FM' (good music but the tacky DJs and adverts for mobile phones do my head in). Others do though and I respect that. Whether you love it or hate it, all music is an art form. There should be no snobbery about any of it as most is good in its own right and even the 'Crazy Frog' has his place (miles and miles away from me).

The idea of a festival is to support everybody in Ross-on-Wye and to give visitors a good reason to visit the town is it not? So why not join forces, get on with it and do just that?

AJW.