The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
We should not admit defeat over T in Park
Sir, – I am writing in response to the letter from Alister Allan of Perth headed Time to ban T in the Park (July 20).
I find myself getting very depressed and irritated by all of the negative comments aimed at the event and do wonder whether Mr Allan and many of the other critics have actually attended the festival.
I am in my fifties and have enjoyed TITP every year for the last 17 years.
Since the first event in 1994, TITP has provided an amazing experience for hundreds of thousands of people.
For many young people, the festival has been something akin to a rite of passage and has given them memories which they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
TITP has also been voted best festival of the year on numerous occasions. Balado was a fantastic venue and the move away from there was a great shame.
Strathallan has the potential to match Balado as a venue and I am in no doubt Geoff Ellis and his team will overcome the teething problems at this new home.
They are also due a break in weather conditions which have been extremely unkind to them in each of the last two years.
We have a worldclass music festival and one we should be very proud of. We should be looking to improve this and to use this to highlight Scotland’s musical heritage, our stunning countryside and our hospitality.
With typical Scottish mentality, however, we concentrate on the negatives and look for ways to knock it down rather than build it up.
I do not wish to look at TITP through rose-tinted spectacles and ignore or make light of the problems regarding drug use, crime or environmental issues.
As a nation we need to ask ourselves why England can overcome these issues and run successful festivals at Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading and Isle of Wight.
It would be a damning indictment of our nation if we had to admit defeat and accept that Scotland could not manage a festival and that we had to ban it.
Stephen Simpson. Grange Gardens, Monifieth.