Bob, I agree with a lot of what you say.

However IMHO it is not as simple as that.

No-one as far as I know has offered a note of criticism of Seth Lakeman.

The criticism of the BBC Folk Awards (as organised by Smooth Operations) is that the process is not as transparent as it could be. And I for one can see an argument for an anonymous panel of 150 folk luminaries remaining anonymous so they are not subject to pressure so my argument is not there.

Who elects/chooses this panel and do they have any vested interest in the results? I have been around the folk world for a long time and I would find it extremely difficult to choose 150 people who would not have at least some interest in the outcome.

And as far as the "White Hare" track is concerned how come no-one - but no-one - out of 150 people supposedly well connected in the folk world - recognised this as a newly-written song and therefore not eligible for the category in which it is now one of the final contenders.

And how come the category gets re-defined by John Leonard when challenged? It is hard to define traditional music and no-one would disagree with that. But for certain, no recently written song would be included in any definition I have ever come across.

The BBC Folk Awards have the stated objective of gaining wider recognition and publicity for folk music. Is this lack of transparency the best way to do it?