I was 19 when I heard June Tabor and Maddy Prior - they and an early Christy Moore cassette first brought me to folk. This was in the late 80s - not part of the folk revival, when this music was particularly fashionable, but I still knew it was good.

Let's not underestimate "young people" - they are as disparate a group, with as diverse tastes, as old people.

Personally, I don't have a problem with Seth Laeman or his success - the only issue I ever had was with his song being nominated in a category for which it clearly was not eligible. But as an artist, good luck to him.

Kate Rusby I was a fan of for a long time, but I didn't buy her last couple of CDs because what I heard of them was so stylistically similar to the others she'd made. Nothing against her - again, lovely and talented girl, there's a very big market for what she does, and all the best to her. I just got a bit bored.

Now, artistically someone like Eliza Carthy interests me far more than ether Seth or Kate at this point in all of their respective careers. Eliza has taken risks - some ventures have been more successful than others. But she has balls, and the music she makes manages to be both exciting, innovative, and rooted in the tradition. Look at her collaboration with Salsa Celtica on The Grey Gallito - inspired.

I understand she's currently working on a CD of original material (as she did previously with Angels and Cigarettes). I may like it, I may not; but I admire her for experimenting artistically without selling out, and while remaining one of the most exciting artists in any genre.

And if there is a discussion about that CD eventually, I may well say that I personally don't like it, that it's not to my taste. This is not "unsupportive", nor should it be seen as a personal attack on the artist; criticism and debate are healthy. It's when we are told we MUST like something, or that we are not allowed to enter into debate or criticism of any kind without being branded "moaning minnies" or subjected to some outdated stereotype about tankards and Aran jumpers, that people get pissed off and express more extreme views about some artists than they probably actually hold.

So yeah, there's room for everybody - and I have just as much right to discuss the things I DON'T like as someone else has to discuss the things they do.