Brian Peters

Both Tom and I understand that the material came from somewhere else before the pros got hold of it

Well, perhaps I'm being oversensitive but that's not the feeling I was getting. I felt Tom was claiming some sort of ownership by the professionals of what is, after all, our national heritage.

Now back to the thread topic (which was....?).

I think that what we think of ourselves is more important than the flippant remarks of a Tory ex-MP. We can't sell ourselves to a wider audience if we don't believe in the value of what we've got. Some on this list seem to have a poor regard for folk music.