In a current discussion on the BBC4 "Folk Britannia" series, I suggested that the archives of the BBC should be turned over to Reg hall as he was the boy to make programmes on British folk, so I'll repeat it here. Reg hall probably knows more about the subject than anyone, for the simple reason that he took the trouble to raoam and , to look and to listen, and to play with the oldtimers. And after that he thought about it: a lot. Unlike the majority of revivalists, who seemed to think that a flick through the "Penguin Book of English Folksongs" and "Marrowbones", and aalisten toa couple of LPs was all the grounding you needed. That was, of course, all the grounding certain intuitive geniuses needed, but ordinary mortals would have done better to follow the Reg Hall/Mervyn Plunkett model, and actally going out into the dangerous badlands and seeing actual folk musicians playing and singing actual folk muscians in actual pubs. I have met loads have folkies who have never, literally never, seen a traditional folk musician in context.
    Reg hall has done so much that it's difficult to know what to say about him. Perhaps his most influential single act was playing on, and recording, the "English Country Music" record: I'll try to a link to   an article about it. There have been other vast achievements (not least of which is playing the melodeon rather well). All around, a hugely important figure in the British folk scene. A great pity more people didn't follow his example and go back to basics from time to time.