'How on earth would that help get the activities of TSF to the general public Steve?'(JC)
Sorry, Jim. I misunderstood your request. As for general public access, as I stated earlier, all of our meetings and activities are open to everyone. Unfortunately our funds won't stretch to a massive advertising campaign with TV adverts etc., and there is an element of truth in what Richard has to say. Can you imagine the general public wanting to leave their TVs, i-pads, pap music to listen to what we have to offer? We do our best by running free concerts on a regular basis with good quality artists and organising a largely free folk festival.

'What is wrong with putting your activities up on your website in one form or another as debating topics and invite people to participate?' (JC) What a good idea! Perhaps you'd like to suggest it on our mediated public forum, 'Tradsong'.

'Uninitiated' (SG). Yes, I see what you mean. Thanks for not putting too much spin on it. Of course newcomers must stand on one leg and recite Tamlin backwards whilst dancing a morris jig.

'The greatest failure of the revival was that we failed to get over the importance of folk song, not just for the general public but to the world in general.'(JC) I have a considerable measure of agreement here. The old fogies like you and me failed to attract younger members when we had the chance. Some of us buried our heads in the sand and didn't read the writing on the wall and others buggered off to other climes. Perhaps our adherence to '54' put a lot of them off. There has been a certain measure of success achieved, however, by making folk music a little more like the sort of music that IS popular, no matter how unpalatable that might be to us.

'If we don't take our art seriously we can't expect anybody else to'.(JC) Quite, but not moving on is preventing academia taking our subject seriously. Looking at it in romantic terms is not going to help our cause. We need to be realistic and honest.(IMO)
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I think the claims being made here are likely to worsen and confuse things rather than clarify them' (JC) Confuse who? British researchers seem quite happy with the way things are going. If not they need to speak up.

'sprung on us'(JC) We've been discussing this for quite some time now. Vic reckons 5 years. I gave you plenty of warning.

'Folk song, as far as I am concerned is, or should be a national treasure'. (JC) Absolutely! Which is perhaps why in the last 15 years the BL has placed many audio collections online, the EFDSS has had hundreds of thousands of pounds for placing as many of the mss online, the Carpenter collection has been funded, etc.