This was to have been a round table discussion with all interested parties . When it appeared that no interested parties other than from their side were being invited, George of Robin s Greenwood Gang contacted them as an intermediary and suggested some names from our side. People connected with travellers, free festivals or the Campaign were rejected, but George, Rollo of the Glastonbury Druids and ex-mayor Tim Abbott went to the meeting, which eventually took place in November. The Chief Constable turned up, giving the meeting some credibility as he is the one who actually makes the decisions in Wiltshire. The core of the problem was not tackled, as areas of the past were ruled out of order for discussion, but it appears that some of the rabid hostility to Solstice events is slowly calming down.
Councillors seem to be mainly concerned with finding a way of saving money on police operations.
Some are under the impression that allowing a fenced, Reading style commercial festival miles away would make the problem disappear, with the police being paid from the protection rackets they run at these events. They do seem to be more ready to start accepting access to the Stones for celebrations, but are reluctant to look at realistic ways of managing this without repeating the mistakes of 88. There has to be somewhere to go for people who are not members of well defined groups, have heard the Stones are going to be to some extent open, and want to come, celebrate the Solstice, and maybe take part in a ceremony in the Stones. And this somewhere has to be generally acceptable or people will just find another for themselves. Very few want to return to the 1984 festival where it left off, with problems that needed tackling.