Dick, reading through these recent posts - in spite of your protestations and congratulations - I detect just a touch of the curmudgeon in your comments.

Why can't we - for once - just accept that Ian has done a wonderful job with the fRoots magazine. He's ploughed his own furrow, through thick and thin, and brought his own perspective to the world of folk music and to world music. Awards are fickle things - they resound for a year and are then forgotten in the heat and excitement of the next year's award. But for one short year, Ian can celebrate decades of hard work, dedication, persistence, etc. with a simple piece of publicity. And, if the award and its publicity helps fRoots to sell a few more copies, make a bit more of an impact in the music world, reach the consciousness of a few more ignorant people - then let it flourish!

Who the devil cares whether WOMEX is a key player in the music game? Who the devil cares whether it's media hype or faux publicity or what? Who cares whether it's part of a music publicity machine? Forget the rhetoric. Stop the nitpicking. Let's, for once, just be happy that a hard-working guy and his team in the folk/world music business has been recognised and celebrated.