Folknacious, you've misrepresented what I was saying - or perhaps I expressed myself badly. I was not criticising the musicians who took part in the folk awards, my point was the way so many people who are heavily involved in the British folk scene feel alienated from these awards and from the only national folk radio programme.

The very fact that there are at least two separate threads about the folk awards on Mudcat alone proves my point. The Radio 2 Folk Awards should be attracting the interest and support of everyone who is seriously interested in folk music. Instead there's massive disagreement over how they are run and whether or not they are representative of the British folk scene. Similarly, Mike Harding's show should be essential listening, instead a large number of the very people you would expect to form its core audience never listen to it.