Sent Home(coming) without pay

The slightly provocatively bylined "Scotland's music festival" that was to have been Homecoming is off. And not simply because of T In The Park saying "I'm sorry, what?"

No, money is at the heart of the cancellation, as so often is the case:

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

It is with great regret that organisers of the Homecoming festival have announced that this year’s event has been cancelled.

This is due to new demands from the council requesting 50% of the profits and a £60,000 bond on the land.

All ticket holders will be entitled to a full refund, and arrangements are currently being made to organise new venues and dates for some of the artists that were scheduled to perform at Homecoming 09.

More details will be revealed as soon as possible.

The website still claims that "tickets are selling fast", which suggests there must be a surprising number of people who pursue refunds for fun and entertainment value alone.

The council would be North Ayrshire, who somehow neglected to mention these demands when announcing the licence for the event.

The festival was to be part of the big Homecoming Year being held in Scotland throughout 2009, which is in no way an attempt to persuade American tourists to visit by telling them that they're probably just as entitled to wear tartan as anybody else.