Thanks for the long and thoughtful comment, Snuffy. I'll take issue on one minor point -

I find it ironic that Border dancers get slammed on here for denying that there is any connection with Minstrels. And at the same time they are slammed for "gleefully" publishing information showing that there undoubtedly was a connection between "Niggering" and the minstrels. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

It's more a case of "damned if you celebrate and damned if you try and ignore".

You say that you're

am engaged in trying to extricate both Border and Mumming and St George's day and the flag from the pool of ignorance in which many well-meaning but ill-informed liberals dwell

and I've got a lot of sympathy with that position. All I'd say is, let Border be Border, and let traditional be traditional. If there's a history of blacked-up faces in a particular area, then it's part of the tradition in that area. Equally, if there's a tradition of yellow faces and red wigs in a particular area, then that's part of the tradition in that area. But if the local tradition is bog-standard Cotswold - or if there is no local tradition, as far as anyone can tell - then there's no particular reason for blacking up, and there's absolutely no reason for insisting on blacking up.