With a heavy heart, with apologies to other users of this forum, and with the promise that this will positively my last posting to this thread, allow me to deal with the points made in the latest posting to this thread by Dick Miles. Again, I do not wish to raise the temperature of the debate to the level of insult, so I will endeavour to be factual.

Dick’s posting is a defence of his long-term friend, Joe Stead. That is admirable. I have probably known Joe longer than Dick; I met him in 1964 when I was at college in South-East London and he came each week to have banjo lessons from a fellow student that I shared with. I liked Joe, went to folk clubs with him, and have always wished him well. I still send him my folk club circular and he still sends me his Ramblings. I have no wish to think badly of an old friend but some of his statements in recent Ramblings have caused me concern and the one that I have quoted above I would consider indefensible as I have already stated. Now Dick says:-

I think you have misinterpreted what he is trying to say,which is that there could be a problem in his area which needs to be adressed.

I would really like to believe that you are right, Dick. I invited you above to put my quotation from Joe in a better light by placing it in a different context. You have not done this but merely repeat the accusation that I have “misinterpretedâ€쳌 Joe.

Now, sadly, I must add further evidence of what I take to be Joe Stead’s intention in making the statement which I quoted from him above. Dick, you will have seen this, because like me, he receives Joe’s Ramblings.

Below the statement that I quoted, Joe goes on to say in the same email

please do take a snifty at …..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU

What is your opinion of that video that Joe advocates, Dick? To your mind does that that video represent a fair and balanced look the world or does it strike you as being the rantings of an extreme white supremacist group? Or is this another example of me being “selectiveâ€쳌 or “misrepresentingâ€쳌 Joe?

That is the main thrust of my concerns but just for the record.
Dick says
â€쳌it is a complete over reaction to call him a racist,and to compare him to Bernard Manning

….And you will be able to quote where I have made this comparison.

Dick says
â€쳌do you have more knowledge of the local situation than himâ€쳌

No, Dick, like most of us, I only know my own local situation. I do know, however, that I get on very well with the people whose garden backs on to mine, and they - to use one of Joe’s phrases - run a corner shop.

Like you, Dick, I live in a different country from the one that I was born in. I wish that everyone that moves to England is made as welcome here as I was.