Well, on the face of it, it looks to me like Ruth, an immigrant from America (shudder shudder), is doing far more in the way of active, tangible things to promote appreciation of English folk music that David is. In fact, David's approach, which involves putting singers into a cultural straitjacket and dictating to them what songs they are allowed and not allowed to sing, strikes me as consistent with his other nazionalistic pronouncements.

Considering that a significant portion of folk song springs from peoples' resistance to oppression by those in power—protest songs, in fact, and often antinationalistic—attempting to cast folk music into some sort of nationalistic mold eradicates much of its very character. If he wants to ban songs, how long will it be before he wants to ban books? Movies? Television shows? What people should be allowed to say?

So despite all your degrees and certificates, David, you still haven't been able to find a job. Blaming this on immigrants makes for a very easy excuse (one which I've heard before).

But perhaps there are other reasons you haven't been able to find a job.

Don Firth