I hope IB is still looking in. I really want to go for a drink with him sometime.

Hi Ruth - I've been instructed to keep an eye on pertinent developments as and when they occur & am assured that a drink would be well in order. IB and the missus are often over in Newcastle, generally on the first Saturday, thus coinciding family visits with a trip to Joe Crane's Come-All-Ye at The Cumberland Arms in Byker - one of the finest sings in the North East, in one of the last remaining traditional pubs wherein singers young and old gladly celebrate in the traditional manner, accompanied, unaccompanied, or otherwise. And we're assured it's a WAV free zone on account of that particular personage preferring to listen to folk radio (whatever the hell that might be) than actually partake of a living, breathing singaround - so no fears there Dave (Bridge). Good beer, no mead, and the only sign of daft Davey is his pathetic promotional poster on the noticeboard bearing his Jack-boot stamp on the face of human freedom directing you to his FREE WEBSITE which openly promotes racial hatred and intolerance with such slogans as:

English culture is taking a hammering and, when people lose their own culture, society suffers.

And talking openly promoting racial hatred and intolerance (or is it just a case of puerile attention seeking at this stage? Either way it garners no sympathy in this camp), we have the following little piece of total(itarian) crap:

whether there should be a Scottish pipes comp within the borders of England is another matter.

Ominous stuff! No doubt WAV has plans to sort out that little aberration once his Glorious World Reich Dictatorship is in order (sorry, a stronger UN with greater powers of regulation) and all nations are ethnically & culturally cleansed of such noxious pollutants.

And for those caught up in the recorder hullabaloo a while back, our thanks to Jack Campin for his fascinating information, none of which, of course, supports WAVs insane idea of the recorder as a Traditional English Folk Flute. But as Pip points out a little way above unless the evidence doesn't support him, in which case he's right and the evidence is wrong.

To close, here's a picture taken by IB whilst out and about in Liverpool yesterday. These are young traditional English folk dancing their traditional English folk dance. Well, as traditional as Morris anyway, certainly as far as these guys are concerned.   

Liverpool Dancers, 24th September 2008