Heartfelt thank you Mike and apologies to Les.
Thread drifts of this sort as an inevitable as "it's going to rain tomorrow" here in Clare.
Elsewhere, somebody (is it you?) has asked that performers appearing in concerts should promote folk clubs - were I a performer in such a position I would be very hard pushed to think of many clubs I would be prepared to promote nowadays.
I cut my research-interest teeth on the club scene, as did many other researchers I know - for a long time the clubs served both worlds of knowledge and pleasure - sadly, the last place I would send somebody who wishes to learn about folksong to is a randomly selected club - (Ken Hall's and Peta Webb's 'Musical Traditions Club' would be high on the small list of clubs I would recommend btw Jim - it's still possible to hear folksongs well sung there)
I would agree with 'The Empress of Russia' - with the added rider that it presented good folk music during the visits I made to it.
As I've said elsewhere, 'prescriptive' has become an abusive 'get-out-of-jail card for clubs who have no interest in the promoting folk music - as equally inaccurate and unpleasant as 'purist' or 'finger-in-ear' or 'folk police/fascist'.
"Sam Cooke, Homer & Jethro & Guy Mitchell"
Wonder which of those you consider folk - and why - we are discussing what constitutes folk, not what we as individuals listen to or sing.
Unless anybody has anything new to add, that's me done.
Sorry again Les.
Jim Carroll