I was sitting on the quay this afternoon at Weymouth listening to a group of shanty men give a really nice concert. I couldn't help thinking about all this doom and gloom about English trad folk in the clubs.

I don't remember all these shanty crews in the old days. thats a comparatively recent development that surely gives the lie to all these dire pronouncements . you should get another informant about English folk clubs Jim.

After the shanty men - there was a group called Kadia, a young trio doing mainly trad material. there are a lot of young people getting involved nowadays.

i think what attracts them is that instantly they do trad - they become part of something big. in comparison the singer / songwriter is very isolated and adrift in a very competitive field.