My comment still stands, in that:-
1. the statement about the falling attendance is a statement of fact. Attendance was falling, and the committee, of which I was a member, had several meetings to discuss the way forward. I have made no statement implying blame for this fact.

2. I felt, and suggested, that part of the problem was the Folk club appellation. It is true that public perception of what a folk club is, has been skewed, and proves to be a stumbling block when trying to increase attendance. Uninformed young people see folk as pertaining to their parents, not to their age group. Again no suggestion was ever made that traditionalism/purism were culpable. The term Acoustic Music does seem to be less off putting to youngsters, so I suppose I am responsible for saying that the name might be to blame, but not, repeat NOT, the people organising the club.

3. As you well know, I stood down from the committee and went my own way, later being co-opted back by those who took over when you retired from organising.

4. The club is now operating pretty much on the lines I suggested, and is slowly building up, but has a long way to go yet, a point I have made in several posts on mudcat, so I am not exactly crowing about a runaway success.

5. looking back at my posts, there IS one thing that I should have said, and did not, for which I unreservedly apologise. I should have made it clear that you and Jacqui also ran an inclusive club where all were welcome, and that my misgivings were entirely related to the name issue. This, however, hardly equates to the "several instances of AGBs blaming traditionalists for all the ills of the folk scene in general" which you claimed could be seen in my posts.

Given that we both have the same goal, preservation of the tradition, but have different ideas on how to attain it, I think that this was an unwarranted personal slur, which tends toward the boot being on the other foot. You will forgive me if I continue to believe that I am not the problem, but may be a very small part of the solution if, as I hope, I can expose young people to traditional folk music, as part of a broader whole.

Don T