Oh hell I should not have ignored this thread as a vapid witticism. There is much of substance here and I don't know in what order to treat it.

First, Kudos.

Kitty, great crack about Wat Tyler. My local hero, the man from Dartford, lured into a trap under flag of truce and murdered.

Mr Red - right on. Both on Beeb and the land of the one-legged flautist. Don't go above the parapet.

Gene - we often see things in the different directions, but yes, bring folk out of the box. Arrange it. Rock it. Electrify it. Ram it up the arse of the ignorami that this is the primordial soup from which they evolved (or maybe in sone cases devolved). But remember what is folk and what is not.

Poppagator – 20th, 0526 – exactly right.

Second, Brickbats/

Perhaps top of the list. Dick Greenhaus (and Shimrod): rather to my surprise, not among the usual suspects). Folk music is not simply (indeed perhaps not mostly) a matter of performance. It is not about vapid entertainment. It is not about the faking of sincerity. It is not about how WELL you can play it. Go back, and consider what the folk arts are. Slick (apart from maybe Grace Slick) we don't need. Got enough politicians to do that.

I am ignoring 99 bottles of beer(s) but reserve the right to return.

Close – Gene on walkthrough. Two stories. Two Hells Angels tried to ride through (mumble mumble) Morris. They found that longswords or border sticks will stop bike wheels, and they were outnumbered about 50:2. Second, a "yoof" (this is a young person with no education) tried to walk through Bishop Gundulf at Broadstairs last year. Val, the squire, lifted his beer and drank it in one. Never did I see a yoof look so scared of a woman before.

WLD – you know better. The expression "folk music" has been defined authoritatively. For some reason, although you do not like folk music, you want to call the music you play (and play so well) "folk music. You would not, I am sure be so disrespectful of a guitar. Try it on mine and we WILL fall out, no matter how tall you are. And, as you know perfectly well "Roll Over Beethoven" is Chuck Berry, not Brian May.



Third, synthesis: Why are we critical? Every other bugger shoots at us. We cannot defend ourselves??