Oops.
What I was going to say is directed at WLD-I'm not part of any exclusive clique. No-one I know would refuse to know you if you came up and shook our hands.
What I am part of is a family, a musical one, and I can't help that. I can't help that my family has worked since the turn of the last century (my grandparents on my Dad's side were casually involved in the earlier folk revival) to broaden the musical gene pool of this scene and study and practise the music. The reason they are well-known is because they are good at what they do and believe in inclusivity, in the ability of anyone that wants to take up the music as a hobby or a profession-they have helped lots of people to do that, whether through their research , workshops, or just making records of previously obscure or forgotten material that can be returned to the community.
   That's how we do it, and yes I have a head-start, and I am extremely lucky for that, but I do not place any value in it over anyone else's level of involvement beyond seeing it as an opportunity to open more doors. Some people have a problem with that, some don't care, some will be flattering to me and mine, which is lovely as long as they can drop it at some point and still want to have a good fight with me afterwards! I don't expect people to agree with me. That's no fun at all...
I was brought up by my folks to believe that the folk scene is all about inclusivity. Bless them, idealists, they were wrong. They know. Most people don't like to think about this, but the folk scene is a music industry and as such is as vulnerable to fads, crazes and cultural dead-ends as any other scene.
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