Er, yes Diane ... as I just said. And what's to me is sad is not that she doesn't read Mudcat, which as you say is fair enough, but that she's not actually researched the origins of the song anywhere at all.

Robert Anderson's book of Cumberland Ballads was actually first printed in 1805 and went through numerous editions, published in numerous places,right through the 19th century and into 20th. And Bert Lloyd's 'Recruited Collier' has been in various publications, albeit accredited, allegedly, to collier Jim Huxtable of Workington.

The article referred to in the Mudcat thread was 'A L Lloyd and Reynardine: authenticity and authorship in the afterlife of a British broadside ballad',by Stephen D. Winick in Folklore, Dec 2004

Sue