Sorry Steve - in the middle of a meal so last post was hurried
There's two things about the omission of songs in the book
I can remember where i was when I bought Bert's book as clearly as I can remember what I was doing when Bambi's mother was shot - I was at a CND fundraise in the Free Trade Hall in Manchester
The place was full of non-folkies but the book sold out within an hour because the punters could look at what they were buying
This is not the case - the authors have aimed the book at aficionados and veteran folkies - at a time when the scene desperately needs new blood and brains

Secondly, and most importantly, to my mind
If you are going to radically move the goalposts in term of what folk song is, those not in our particular Freemasons Lodge need to be able to view the repertoire covered to see if such a radical switch of direction is justified.
That isn't even true if you can call yourself 'Two Books Jackson'
I don't remember many 'New Age Folk Songs' being included in the new eition of 'Penguin Book' - I'm sure I would have noticed and been up on my soapbox before now if they had been
Washing up time
Jim