One point that's been touched on but not developed is that a lot of the 50-plus - oh, OK let's say 40-plus - folkies are relatively new to the scene. While there are many who've been involved continuously since the 6os revival, there are also many who've only taken up an instrument or found their voice in middle age. I used to find it a bit worrying that sessions and clubs are so middle-aged, but now that I realise there are still new people coming in, the idea of the "silver session" doesn't fill me with the same despondency.

Instrumental music seems to appeal more than song to the younger people in the UK. There are some strong solo singers, but the idea of singing together in a crowd seems a bit alien to most of the younger folkies, which is a shame.

There have been a couple of strange comments to the effect that you can't find people playing or singing English music in pubs or at weddings nowadays - well, you can in Sussex, and I know you can in other counties too.

And as for weddings and special parties, barn dances are extremely popular in England even among those who don't normally get involved with folk music. The music played is predominantly English dance music, probably with a bit of Irish, Scots and American. The sad thing is that most of the guests won't even realise it was English music they were dancing to, and will tend to assume it was probably Irish.