Having read all of the above replies & responses, I have to say that I don"t know what all the fuss is about !!
Last year at Sidmouth , the "season ticket " for the childrens' events SOLD OUT very quickly !!There seem to be more & more children going to ,and performing at, Sidmouth, than ever before , which I find very encouraging (as long as they don"t get their hands on a birdie-whistle ! )
Folkie Dave ---Yes, I went to IVDIF at Exeter in 2004--I was in the ceilidh -band that played all Sunday afternoon, and it was GREAT to see so many young people enjoying the music & the dancing, people like Zoe ( Hello Zoe !! ) who was working her socks off at the Ham marquee last August !! My God, I wish I was her age again !!
If anyone likes to look on the Miskin website, and browse through the photos taken in the last 3 or 4 years, they will find much evidence of young people, some VERY young, in fact, taking part in all manner of folk , and folk-related , activities , under the watchful eye of "Jan " ( and her van !), and some very good budding young musical performers, too. In fact, if too many young people got to be interested in Miskin, there wouldn"t be enough room for everyone else !
The Irish musicians that I know, when they are not performing with their various bands, exhibit a markedly un-mercenary love for their music, and will happily play for hours on end on a monday night in Slough, for a pint or two and a bit of chicken. And if Tom King didn"t lay that on, they"d STILL play for the love of it, because that"s what they are like. So there !
Those of us that have been lucky enough, over the last few years, to become acquainted with the traditional music "scene" of Canada & Cape Breton, courtesy of La Bottine Souriante , Slainte M" Hath, Les Chauffeurs a Pieds, et al, are now well aware of how vibrant & "alive & Kicking " that scene is !!
   So on the whole, I don"t think there"s much to complain about, really, do you ?? I"d say the future for folk and folk traditions in this country looks to be in good hands !