The most interesting feature of current controversy is pointed up very well by the recent Folk Hibernia programme, and how different it was from Folk Britannia. What we are seeing now, in the Lakeman business, is the folk establishment in England having a good go at pushing the latest great young white hope on a largely indifferent public. Not an indifferent folk scene, they are quite happy: it is the public who are disengaged. Folk Hibernia, naturally, concentrated on the aspects of Irish folk that entered Irish culture centre stage. The list is as long as your arm. Go into any pub in Ireland, and you can chat about Chrity Moore, the Chieftains, Planxty, River Dance, Enya, Sean Keane, the Fyreys...take you pick. people will know what you are ytalking about. Pop into the Pig and Whistle in Lowere Snoring, Borsetshire, and try to chat about McColl, Rusby, Nic Jones, Seth lakeman, Waterson/Carthy: I dont think your conversation, on average, is going to be very informed. The Smooth Ops/Radio 2 approach to this is to play Lakeman and Rusby tracks. Whether this will turn the great British public onto folksong remains to be seen. The incontrovertible fact is that the British public know the Wild Rover, the Black Velvet Band, as I think was observed earlier in this thread. And the reason they know them is that the Dubliners sang them, and sang them very well. Maybe Seth Lakeman will get himself to the position of an icon of English cutlure, maybe he won't. But he's certainly nort there yet. And I can't see that Smooth Ops ludicrous shenanigans are going to get him there faster, rather the reverse I would gues ()though they do say any publicity is good publicity).