IB, I've not met him, but I'm perfectly happy to accept your statement that WAV is an OK guy. I'm also prepared to accept that he means well and that he's not intentionally racist. His concerns that English culture doesn't get the attention it merits are shared by many, of all political persuasions.

However his idea of what constitutes "good English culture" is quite simply mistaken. Many better-informed people have tried to put him straight, but he ignores them. His solution to the problem, that everyone should restrict themselves to their own culture (whatever that means), is cultural apartheid.

What you see as the "quiet dignity" of his replies, I see as a constant repetition of unsupported dogma. If WAV would only enter into a proper debate and discuss his arguments in reasoned manner, as one should expect from someone with a BA in Humanities, then we might still disagree with him but we might respect his arguments more. Instead we have heard no actual arguments fom him, simply bald and occasionally incomprehenible slogans.

I think it is frustration more than anything else that drives people to abuse and personal attacks - I may have been guilty of this myself on occasion, in which case I apologise.

The point has been made repeatedly to WAV, that as a relative novice in the world of folk he knows little about it and his conclusions are incorrect. His refusal to recognise this and accept well-meant advice from those with a lifetime's experience and knowledge to me suggests arrogance rather than quiet dignity.

WAV is an attention seeker. We should know better than to feed the trolls. But when someone puts forward views which are so utterly wrong and which might even bring folk music into disrepute, as Eliza has argued, it is difficult to remain silent