I'm not folkie bashing, Jim - I'm just coming from somewhere different that's all. I acknowledge the revival, just as I'll criticise it, but I'm not really a part of it - at 50 I'm way too young. Behind the times, eh? What times are those, I wonder? I'm in my own time, as are we all; the rest is down to a wider zeitgeist which isn't really for me to say. Nor you if it comes to that, even though you seem to have it all sewn up quite tidily, as long as you can keep on petitioning to exclude anyone who doesn't fit in with your inverted criteria on who, or who can not, be a ballad singer. My criteria is simple - as ballad singer can be anyone with the passion, dedication & inspiration to research, learn, set and sing ballads. How they sing them is not an issue; what is an issue is that they don't tell anyone else they're doing it wrong.

I have not told anybody what is right or wrong (I know it is a waste of time asking you to point out where I have - we've been here before as well)

Here's a few...

you emphasise what went wrong with traditional songs and especially ballad singing in the hands of groups like Steeleye/The Watersons/YT/et al by transforming them from pieces of narrative into pleasant sounds.

As the old blues singer in 'Round Midnight' said, "Your notes are fine, but where's your story?"

good ballad singing it is not.

Our ballads are stories with tunes; your singing does not reflect this.

Enough said.