WHEN it comes to staging a festival to remember the Old Laundry is up there with the best.

The Lindsays string quartet; top drawer comedian Griff Rhys Jones; and Alan Ayckbourn graced this year's Fifth Autumn bash.

Green-fingered BBC's gardening guru Pippa Greenwood cast her expert eye over a few problem plants during her One Woman's Gardeners' Question Time.

Stand-up comedian Jeremy Hardy, winner of the Edinburgh Festival's coveted Perrier Award, provided a laughter-filled evening and Elizabeth Gaskell's passionate tale of love, murder, poverty and injustice - Mary Barton - was brought to life by the excellent NTC Theatre Company.

The Bowness theatre's manager Hilary Pezet recalled a few of her own memorable moments: "An image that will always stick in my mind from this year's festival would be the Watermill Theatre's production of Carmen.

"Ten performances standing on ammunition boxes blasting out Toreador.

A hairs on the back of the neck moment, which is always my sign for good theatre.

"Other highlights were our normally well-behaved audience writing the rudest limericks ever during an hilarious evening with Griff Rhys Jones.

"There were many moments of theatre magic, from the spellbinding Guy Masterton's Under Milk Wood, to the rousing Japanese drumming of Mugenkyo.

"It was a wonderful festival.

Unfortunately, this makes our job even harder for next year.

But we're working on it".