AS the owner of a modest bed and breakfast in York I can assure Dr K Davis he is wildly wrong regarding the audience attracted by the York Early Music Christmas Festival ('Christmas music, but only for the well-heeled' Letters, December 13).
Over the years we have enjoyed guests' company from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US - all of whom have organised their British holidays to include Early Musical Festival concerts.
They are not the "affluent middle class" Dr Davis appears to resent, but a broad range of people drawn to York by a love of this music.
They have the intelligence to seek out the sort of accommodation to suit their pocket and chose accordingly, which, perhaps, Dr Davis finds too much trouble.
I can assure him the audience is a far broader spectrum of ages and socio-economic groups than he would find at the average pop or "mainstream" classical concert. And if you look at the cost of tickets for concerts by rock groups or a classical orchestra, the EMF is a bargain.
As usual, the Christmas Festival activities I attended were excellent. Enjoy the music Dr Davis - even if you do think it "highbrow" - and stop worrying about your reputation.
Graham Fisher,
The Heathers Guest House,
Shipton Road,
Clifton Without, York.
Updated: 10:29 Friday, December 28, 2001
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