" ... and a certain something I have no hesitation in calling Cultural Autism which many Folkies and Traddies (myself included) suffer from to a greater or lesser extent.

One clear manifestation of this autism is a fear of change and a need for clearly defined boundaries; a lack of personal security and a deep seated need for belonging which exists, paradoxically, alongside ones status as a resolute outsider."

I prefer the word 'alienated' to 'autism'. I find myself alienated with respect to much modern, popular culture - which seems shallow and lacking in 'texture' to me. And I have been thus alienated since childhood. I distinctly remember, in the mid 1950s, my younger self's delight in the English traditional songs that we learned at school and my antipathy towards the alien rock-'n'-roll which was just beginning to flood our culture. My main motivation for contributing to threads such as this is to argue against the replacement of traditional-type music by rock-based 'pap'.

As for "fear of change" - yes, I'm terrified of change - I freely admit it. And that's because of the havoc that I've seen wrought on the world by uncontrolled, unregulated change in my lifetime. I think that, from now on, it should be the duty of every responsible citizen to resist change with all of their might!