There is room for all types of folk - I go to the occasional singaround or session but the quality is variable with, it has to be said, a few people who will never be able to sing or play well - I don't mind that in that context but I prefer to pay money and see good quality amateurs or professionals - I am just pleased that we have such a wealth of talent and lots of young people who want to get involved in the music that I love.

I also love it when people take folk music in new directions, whether that be by introducing electronica or orchestras into folk - as an example Jim Moray has done both and is one of the artists I admire most. There is room for it all as far as I am concerned and people who try to limit, or who complain about, experimentation and new initiatives should, quite frankly, be more open minded (you don't have to like it but don't complain about it). Fortunately thanks to the efforts of younger artists and some wiser older ones the negative and cliched attitude to folk in the wider community is, I think, changing slowly and long may it continue. We need young people to get involved and be encouraged.