Some of us however might still be able to tell the difference between Brenda and Brendan.

I think Al and I have different concerns. I feel that Folk 21 is primarily there to benefit aspiring young-ish professional (or semi-professional) performers hunting for the acclaim and gravy train that are not there, and that fRoots does English folk (1954 definition) music and song a disservice by concentrating excessively on "world" music. My two big worries about folk21 are that dreaded word "relevance" and the rule (about which I did not at first know) that you have to have 6 paid gigs under your belt to be eligible. Both seem to take the "community" (1954 definition) out of folk.

Al disapproves of the 1954 definition but appears to feel that Folk21 is a prisoner of his version of the folk police who today (he thinks) repress genuine working class culture: the opponents of what gets played in working men's clubs and sung on the football terraces - and that fRoots are or are emanations of that version of the folk police. At least I think that is what he thinks.