To enlarge on the second of Tootler's points, I seem to recall the sleeve notes of "The wild hills of Wannie" (it was nicked ages ago so I can't verify it) as describing the NSP music as peas being stripped from a pod, referring specifically to the staccato separation caused by the chanter design.

With reference to the popularity of the English in the 60s & 70s, I think I've posted elswhere the (possibly deluded) belief that the alleged superiority of the English was so entrenched in Britain that John Kirkpatrick included a Bach piece on 'Jump at the sun" to demonstrate the folly of such a belief.

Certainly, the notion that English was superior to Anglo was partly behind the behaviour of the elderly gentleman in my first story in this thread. Duets were not widely known in the Australian folk scene at the time, as Bob Bolton has also commented, although they were common enough in the Salvation Army out here. And Ralphie would probably know that Geoff Wooff brought several duets to Australia when he emigrated here, with his English. And his Northumbrian Small Pipes. Another thread mentioned Geoff now lives in France so yo'all will probably see him before I do.

Cheers, Rowan