And well put.

You miss the point though. My observation was the parochial assumption of many that their Thursday night activity denotes folk. These threads are full of people whose goldfish bowls have greasy glass

Folk and acoustic roots is one of the most thriving musical entertainment genres out there right now. And still we see people getting precious and thinking a hobby that is dying out at the same rate as those doing it is the be all and end all.

I listened to someone singing a Seth Lakeman song a few months ago. Chatting later, they thought a) it was traditional and b) they had never heard of Seth, but had got the words and tune from someone who sings it.

My point? Earlier in the night they had been moaning about open mic nights and how folk music was dying at pub level and dead at professional level.

I use traditional influences in my own work, as do many others. Including the originators of many traditional songs. It's all entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less. It belongs to nobody and everybody.