To be honest Fred i was only following this thread to see how long it would be before someone tuned 'nasty' on The Unthanks. Not a very laudable activity on my part.

As for folklorists, it seems anybody can be one and say anything they like with out the bother of much evidence or even semi-serious research. Is that the legacy of Bert Lloyd? He was an immense character, who was easily a force for good , and has been explored in depth here and elaswhere, but he was never short of a hypothesis, theory or some connecting ideas between aspects of 'folklore' that were in all probability inconnected.

Wassail, as somebody used to say

Les