"I have a vision of Hell, of the same three blokes singing the same songs and playing the same tunes, year on end, in the same pub, congratulating themselves on keeping "the music alive" and doing nothing to encourage anyone to join them.

We complain all the time (here) about lack of exposure, it's exposure that the professionals and organisations like Tradarts are giving the music and thus bringing more people into it."


I won't even dignify this piece of divisive crap with a reply. I simply post it as a prelude to some observations of my own.

It's time to take a long hard look at how others outside of the folk scene see us, and I suspect, for many here it would be an upsetting process.

OF COURSE we should all be outraged by funding cuts, and doing everything we can (within the law,.... but I'm open to argument on that) to fight them.

WHAT THE HELL does it matter whether our contribution is in pubs, clubs, or organising concerts. WE are supposed to be devotees of the folk arts.

WHAT DO WE DO when something like this occurs? We piss and moan about which part of Folk Arts will reap the benefits if we fight, and we start slagging off all who don't fit in our own little sector.

FOR GOD'S SAKE WAKE UP and see what that says about how seriously our opinions should be regarded.

The pubs and clubs are needed, because they are the affordable breeding ground for the next generation, who will have to live with the results of what we do now.

The village halls and working men's clubs, and yes, the church halls too are necessary for the inclusive community spirit they can add to the way people see folk music.

The concert halls are needed most of all, because they supply the only way in which artists who have served their apprenticeship might have just the teeniest chance of making a living.

What I am saying, I guess, is this STOP LOOKING FOR THE ENEMY ON MUDCAT, and start fighting the real enemy. we ALL know where to find HIM.......

WHITEHALL!

Otherwise we ALL lose EVERYTHING.

Don T.