Sorry Joe
I have tried to giv my opinion of the state of the Revival - that fact I feel myself to do so from the point of someone who was there a few years after it began makes it difficult to do so without referring back to how it was - even a couple of decades ago
I think the fact that there are people around who regard Walter Pardon, one of the last of our great benefactors in supplying us with our repertoires as an embarrassing poor singer and the Travellers who supplied us with a large and important part of our repertoire and gave us hours op pleasure at our clubs as "thieves and poachers", while so many stand by in silence (with a few notable exceptions) and allow this to happen, says everything that needs to be said about the state of folk music in the UK today.
Somewhere along the way the folk scene has lost its way and forgotten why we came together in the first place.
Many of us became involved not only to sing and listen to the songs but to try to put them into our lives by researching them aand passing them on to those following us in the hope they would get as much out of them as we did
Now we can't even discuss between ourselves what we are passing on and why - it is virtually impossible to discuss these subjects without screaming at each other - as for those we used to look up to with respect - this last distasteful episode has summed that up pretty well

If I have come away with anything, it is the impression that it is a total waste of time trying to drum up any British/English interest in all those recordings we have made of all those wonderful, knowledgeable, talented and generous people - I might just as well weigh them down and throw them in the Shannon

I won't do this of course - they are far to precious to be wasted because some people today just don't care
It's been shown over hear that youngsters can surprise you and take up the baton when you least expect it
I live in the hope that what has gone on here is not representative of the rest of the scene

My thanks Brian - I really needed your blast of intelligent dedication

WHAT DO YOU THINK MARY ?
Jim Carroll