Jim Carroll

You mean roll over and agree with your somewhat dodgy contention that folk singing requires no standard (apart from the desire to perform) before being rolled out before an audience, paying or otherwise?

What am I supposed to do, Jim, when you don't seem to have taken on a word I've said?

We don't roll singers out before an audience, we give members of the audience opportunities to perform. We don't say folk singing requires no standard, we say that we trust our floor singers to share our love of the music and set the standards for themselves. We try to lead by example; our own to the best of our abilities and that of the guests we book so that people will practice because they want to not because of some threat of withdrawal of privileges.

As I have said, "We do what we do and we find that it works." You seem to concede this when you say -

"I have no doubt whatever that there are clubs where the standards are high enough not to give the impression that folk singing is artless and inept; nor do I hesitate, on the basis of what I've heard, to include your club among the better ones,"

Rather bizarrely, you then seem to try and blame our policy at The Lewes Arms for poor standards elsewhere.

If we are to try and raise the public perception of folk music, the first step is to start believing in it ourselves. A while ago, people got up in arms about some stupid remarks by Matthew Parish. Who cares? It's those who rubbish our music from within that are the greater danger.