Glueman:
the historical fussiness, the personalities who valourise that priggery, the self-appointed hierarchies, the 'real' vs unreal kneejerks, the fucking endless footnotes, the introductions, the general mistrust of youth or physical attractiveness, the mistrust of anyone who isn't them, the hale-fellow bullshit, the time-served idiocy, the folkier than thou arseholery, people who want to flood other people's discussion real or virtual because they might not be at the centre, the high priests and cardinals who want to turn a common currency into a religion and the intellectual prissiness that replaced folk's human warmth long ago.

Is this supposed to be a picture of a folk revival then? And which folk "revival" is being talked about? Is this supposed to be a picture of the folk world? Lord knows I don't get out and about more than 3 or 4 times a week these days to join in whatever gathering is going on in my area (or to play at a gig), but I haven't met any of this.

I was at a local pub singaround on Monday night. Around 16 people sitting or standing, plus onlookers and other locals. There was a lot of singing - and some of that from Johnny Collins's repertoire (in tribute) by many there who had known him. And what glorious singing it was! I - who don't include this stuff in my own repertoire - sang myself hoarse as we raised the roof. Then there were the instruments - concertinas, guitars, fiddle, banjos, mandolins, accordion - sometimes solo, sometimes in duets and trios, sometimes all at once - on jazz tunes, a blues or two, some old-time music. But, most of all, there was immense humour, backchat, rude comments and jokes, plenty of beer drinking (including some of the best-kept pints of Adnams Broadside I've drunk outside Southwold) - interspersed with some excellent, free spicy snacks from the Nepalese landlord.

What more could I have asked for? Well, to do it all again - which we're going to do tomorrow night when the Broadwood Morris will alternate dances with a local Appalachian clog team in the pub car park, followed by a session in the bar.

I don't recognise any of the tedious things you cite in the experiences I've had in folk clubs, singarounds and sessions - but perhaps I don't get out enough...