Oh, we DO need Folk. No doubt about that in my mind. We need a term that recognises the melodic quality and universal truths about human experience which are a) Encapsulated in those traditional (ie. without known author) songs which have survived to be sung to the present day AND b) Given added resonance through the contribution of those contemporary songwriters worthy of assuming the mantle.

The concept will wither if confined solely to one or the other. The term Folk is vital in order to illustrate the thread which links our past with our present. That's why this debate, to me, is far from purely theoretical. It's OUR music; it doesn't belong to any one cultural or socio-economic sub-group; and as such it must be recognised for what it is, and championed.

(BTW, the EFDSS do some great work, and I won't hear a word said against them. Then again I may be a tad biased...)