The photograph above is one of my own (you can see more of my Wickerman photo's at http://www.virtualscotland.co.uk/scottish_gallery/wickerman-09/index.htm) showing the huge wickerman in the style of Robert Burns. Each year a different wickerman is created to be burned at midnight on the last night of the Wickerman Festival (Saturday). This year (2009) the burning of the wickerman also included a splendid display of fireworks which made the whole thing that little bit more dramatic. In previous years there has been fire jugglers, pipers and the likes. Personally I missed the pipers as they tend to add atmosphere but I understand that they are not to everyones taste!

The Wickerman Festival (http://www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk/) is an arts & music festival but it can also be described as a film festival but it really only has to do with one film - the Wicker Man. Now this is the 1973 movie and NOT the 2006 Hollywood remake (which virtually everyone accepts is a very poor immitation).

The Wickerman Festival 2009 was headlined by the Human League (Friday) and the Zutons (Saturday). Now these bands have appeared at many other UK music festivals in recent years but I doubt that any can be compared to Wickerman.

Yes, Wickerman has a broad range of music genres represented with a main stage, a fair few marquees, a fairground and the usual selection of market stalls BUT this is a festival with a difference. The first difference is that the music is a happy blend of the old and the new with bands from the 1970s or 1980s sitting nicely alongside the latest breaking acts and up and coming small bands of the future. I suppose the selection mirrors most of our mp3 players as most youngsters eagerly download from a wide range of genres and time periods.

Besides the main stage my family likes to spend plenty of time in the Scooter Tent. Now it is important to note that I mention "family" here as the Wickerman Festival is the most family friendly music festival I have ever been to and each year there seems to be more and more children and toddlers in attendance. The crowd that attend are the friendliest bunch you are ever likely to meet and small children are safe to run around knowing that plenty of people are keeping an eye on their safety. Anyway back to the Scooter Tent, this is where you will see and hear old and new punk, ska etc. This year, 2009, we saw the superb Kid British alongside the greatest (and funnest/funniest) punk bands ever - the Dickies. Other stand out acts included the UK Subs and Bad Manners.

There are plenty of other tents/marquees including the Solas tent (for new acts) and Acoustic Village. One area we always spend the early hours of the morning in is the dance area. This year the Bass Camp was military themed with a cool tank and other stuff - 3 tents of cool dance sounds until 5am.

On the main stage there were plenty of stand out bands, possibly too many to list here but our favourites included the Dangleberries, Idlewild, The Magic Numbers and Dreadzone. I wish to also mention Zion Train if only to mention that I nearly experienced "brown noise" due to the powerful, and crystal clear, sound system and the bass heavy dub reggae being blasted out as I walked directly infront. Of course the two headliners were superb but I think, on balance, I have to say that it was Dreadzone that I shall remember most.

Please take the time to vote for which you think is best - the old original psychedelic masterpiece or the Hollywood effort (er yest I am slightly biased!).

If I get the time I will try to add a little more but I shall be concentrating on uploading more of my Wickerman photo's - I will try to add a couple more here too.