And where, Mr Drummer, did you get the inspiration for your famous Overseas Hit? For that matter, how did you even become a Folk Musician? Where did you cut your teeth? Where did you learn your craft? And where did your heros and role models get their ideas from? Where did THEIR idols get their inspiration? And where did your audience acquire its taste for this flavour of music?

You owe it ALL to music that was inspired and informed by the tradition. If not you'd be a Pop, Funk, Grunge, Reggae or some Other type of musician. It is ungracious in the extreme of you to want to see the tradition eradicated. (But then I've read your posts in the past so I'm not surprised).

But you can't deny the influence of traditional music, and be taken seriously by anyone. Ever.

Myself; I don't do much trad stuff, and I've been turned down by many trad clubs for that reason. But I don't mind. I recognise the importance of seed-corn and the preservation of a gene bank - and the right of those clubs to favour the music they love.

Now. This class thing - you are just SO wrong. A majority of the pros who work the club circuit and bestride festival stages are of 'working' stock. But in any event you're fighting a battle that became irellevant in the last century, for many reasons.

In folk, the music is everything. It's a meritocracy. People's reastion is based on how well you do it. And market forces cut in when money changes hands - as with anything else. And even more so when it comes to radio.

They'll never play me - but that's not a class-based decision. That's about money, percentages, play-list policy, audience shares and production values. Contacts help, but that's always been the case everywhere. (In the old days it got you a job down the mine too).

As for length of introductions - that's a different matter. Yes, some go on way too long and provide far too much detail. But that's not the issue. The issue is just saying who made the song or tune, and respecting that person or persons' creation.

How can that be a bad - or a class-based - thing?

Look - we have no problem with someone from Cuba starting up a Cuban restaurant if that's what they do best. We wouldn't go in there and demand a curry and complain because the waiters were not Indian, would we?

Traditional - or other - clubs are no different. They've been started, and supported, by people who like a bit of antiquity and historical depth to their music. Nothing wrong with that.

They don't book me or MrDrummer. But only one of us resents it. I wonder why.