Sir, - I read with interest the article in The Herald on the Battle of the Bands, which was part of the Festival of Farnham 2000, but noted that the winners and runners-up came from miles away. Surely the Battle of the Bands should be a local affair, as it was the "Farnham Festival".

I know that locally we have many talented bands such as Hundred Reasons, Zero Cipher, Audit and ID to name but a few.

As the attendance for this event proved, there is a lot of interest in this kind of event - so perhaps giving priority to local bands would be a thought for the future - using the Maltings as the venue - but at a reasonable cost.

Certainly not the £300 venue of the Malt Room and Tannery (incl security costs) the hire of the pa system and lighting - 15 per cent out of ticket sales, which really puts it out of the reach of our town's local talent.

Such a shame, when I know of all the talent that exists here with our own young people.

Gail Wattingham

Greenfield Road, Farnham