Good Evening
Maybe I did not choose my words particularly well regarding the support of the tradition and for that I apologise.
We seem, as a group of people extremely reticent in promoting our folk traditions and through this we do leave it open for the dragging knuckles strain of Brits.
A small story, recently I was touring Hungary with a team of step dancers performing clog from the north east, as I sing I was asked to sing and call a few dances. There were teams from a number of Eastern European countries and France, all extremely fine dancers. There were a number of comments from the other teams to the effect that they did not know that the English had traditions of dance and song, when we performed people of all ages came out and watched.
The last time I danced in London at Westminster Morris Day of Dance, we were dancing outside Westminster Abbey, I was chatting to some of the tourists, then I met a family from the midlands, they asked `what is this?'..., they had never seen morris!
Only by reclaiming our traditions with support from Government will we get rid of this cancer in our society.

Now I dare say that somewhere in the above someone will take exception
I have broad shoulders, I'm a folky :)

Tim