"little or nothing "....."One theory".....more obfuscation than a Bradford Lawyer!

I'm quoting from the article that you provided a link to.

No, that would be the award winning Black and White Minstrel Show, which was extremely popular back in the day, running for some 20 years on TV, and featuring a Vaudiville stage act of operatic trained singers performing Calypsos, Negro Spirituals, show tunes ,Country and Western, with a sprinkling of dancing and comedy.

Negro was the word you were alluding to?

With an estimated peak viewing figure of 18 million over a 20 year run, I would suggest that once again FA you are spectacularly confused.

And 300,000 people attended, with many millions watching on TV, the inauguration of George W Bush.

It would look very dated now to most of the population. It ran its course – there's no need to try and rewrite history and pretend that it wasn't popular, but tastes change, and I very much doubt that the music performed would make for high viewing figures if shown now at prime time on a Saturday evening or that many viewers would think that the blacking up was anything other, at best, an anachronism.

But given that nobody has any concrete proof of why the morris dancers in the story black up, and given that it may well not be anything whatsoever to do with race – and certainly there seem to be no suggestions that it has links to slavery etc – then it's an entirely different matter.

Estimated? OK...

How many of them lament the end of the show? Did you ask all of them?

It was popular – of that there should be no doubt. And I would suggest that, for many viewers, it wasn't a racist thing, but about the musical performances, which were pretty good. And I'd equally suspect that for many viewers they didn't even realise the history of minstrel shows etc.

But on the popularity, it was also an era when there were just three TV channels.

Two channels mainly.

Even when BBC2 was introduced most TV sets couldn't receive it without at least a new aerial, our old TV didn't allow you to retune it so we didn't see BBC2 for ages, my dad just told us it was only for universities and posh people so we weren't that bothered until he found out about Pot Black

And out from under the bridge he crawls. So that appears to be 2 who lament it? Can you name any more?

Indeed. It was of its time and appealed to my parents generation, who themselves were into amateur dramatics and sung in the Church Choir. In truth, it was possibly 15 years past its sell by date before its 20 year run on TV, but I can't help wonder what a present day Producer would give to achieve those sort of weekly figures.

Selective! It goes on to say nothing to do with race ....one theory the idea was brought from Cornwall .... where people had experience of dark skinned Moors. So nothing to do with race!

Of course the dancers should be free to maintain their "tradition."

Of course the Council shouldn't wasting time and money on this, After all, I wonder how many people have been seriously injured at the event over the last 150 years or so?

[iDaily Mail[/i reporting, eh?

That has been added since I read that link this morning.