Thank you, Jim.
I'm glad I found the courage to post on mudcat.

It's great to exchange thoughts and learn something from other like minded people.
I don't know anybody (outside of mudcat) who has even the slightest interest in traditional music, except my father.

It takes time to appreciate ballad singing, many people have short attention spans nowadays, maybe that's the reason it's not very popular anymore.
I play field recordings to my friends and family from time to time, but they prefer the "fancy" modern sounding stuff over singing in the old style, if they even like folk music at all.

They do like the stories of the ballads, though, when I explain them to them.
My dad also likes it when I play him the "original" versions of songs he knows from the Dubliners, Clancy Brothers, Martin Carthy, Steeleye Span and whatnot.

I don't mean to discredit these performers, but we tend to forget the people who gave this music to us so generously.
Without Tom Lenihan, Nora Cleary, Jeannie Robertson, Duncan Williamson, Walter Pardon, Sam Larner and all the others there would be no folk music.

My hat's off to people like you, Jim, for going out and recording the men and women who grew up with traditional music and for allowing us to get an insight into their culture and way of living which has disappeared forever. (And for sharing the fruits of your work with us all)