My apologies - once again I have helped to nause up an important thread by rising(sic) to one of Dick's diversions - finished, as far as I'm concerned

I think Vic's earlier suggestion was an excellent one - if we want to discus 'Purism' - the subject of this thread, we should first define what we, as individuals, mean by the term, which has now become one of the most common terms of abuse in what is left of the revival

The clubs I have been involved with have all presented newly-made songs created using traditional forms and have accepted the use of instruments for what are basically unaccompanied singing traditions - nothing particularly 'purist' about that (though I do recognise the right of some clubs to discourage instrumentation should they wish, without believing them to be 'purist' - down the years there have been various reasons to do so in certain circumstances

All the clubs I have ever been involved in have been rooted in traditional song and music - had they not been, I would not have been involved if they hadn't been
They have also established a standard of performance that you did not drop below before you sang before an audience - I believe that should always be a responsibility, particularly to a paying audience (I've never been part of a singaround club - I know that maintaining a standard is difficult there, but I do believe that, with careful MC-ing, a balance between good and not-so-good singing can be arrived at.

Most of the clubs I have had access to workshops where lesser experienced singers can obtain advice and practical assistance, should they wish it.
Sandra Kerr of the Singers Club?Critics Group established the 'London Singers Workshop, which ran for nearly twenty years, did some excellent work and established one of the largest private sound archives in Britain - still in existence and available for use.

What ran though all this work like a thread was a solid link to folk-song proper as documented, collected and researched - that was used as a foundation for anything I have ever been involved in
If that is 'purist' I put my hands put to being a purist      
Jim