Richard, I think the problem is that we force a "Celtic" cultural label on to some types of music, when we have absolutely no idea whatsoever what actual "Celtic" music was. We're talking thousands of years ago, and the point I'm trying to make is that there is a whole array of misconceptions about Celtic origins, history and culture which, when applied to music and the categorisation of music, makes no sense whatsoever. This wouldn't matter a hoot but for the fact that English traditional tunes often get ignored in some corners - as in the Transatlantic Sessions - because they're not "Celtic". Not Celtic therefore not true folk or worth considering.

I've lost count of the number of the times our ceilidh band has been booked with the proviso that the music has to be Irish or Scottish - this from people who have very little knowledge of the music. We play the gigs - and we certainly include some Irish and Scottish tunes in our set - but we also include several English tunes. No-one ever knows the difference and we always go down extremely well. If I played you the A part to the "Dargason" (in Playford) and the A part to the "Irish Washerwoman", you'd be hard put to tell them apart at first. Is one "Celtic" and the other not - or is it that they probably come from similar roots? Who knows - and what does it matter if it's a good tune?