Things went from bad to verse if you fluffed your lines during Brigg Music Festival poetry competition, recalls columnist Nigel Fisher

WE HAVE only seven years to go until Brigg celebrates its 100th music festival.

What is billed as the 93rd festival got under way earlier this week.

Those of us who were primary school children decades ago will remember with dread being entered for verse speaking classes and having to climb the steps on to the big stage at the old Corn Exchange to recite poems for the benefit of the adjudicator.

This was no occasion to fluff your lines. There was always competition between Glebe Road pupils and the children from Brigg Preparatory School and surrounding villages. How proud we were to gain a certificate and be photographed for likely inclusion in that week's e Lincolnshire Times.

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Much later, while working as a reporter, it was necessary to attend the all-winners' concert in the Corn Exchange. It took real dedication on a Saturday night in March, 30-plus years ago, to sit through all the performances without nipping out to the nearby Angel Hotel for liquid refreshment.

Sadly, the Lincs Times, the Angel Hotel and the Corn Exchange have all gone and only memories remain.

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