I count myself so privileged to have been in Norman's English class in Rutherglen Academy in my first year at secondary school in 1956 -- and to have still been in his class when he proposed the Ballads Club in 1957. This was a real breakthrough in bringing young people in to traditional music - in the widest sense - and had IMO a real influence in producing singers for the future.
But none of this would have been possible without Norman's wife Janey behind him!

Janey was the unseen support, and the acknowledged organiser of all sorts of events in Glasgow (concerts by Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Cisco Houston, Flora MacNeil, Jeannie Robertson etc.).

She was a great hostess, a generous friend (both personally and artistically) and a great sounding board on all cultural matters, because she was always in tune.

But more than all of that, she was a concerned individual -- caring for all her friends, regardless of their backgrounds. She had an instinctive sympathy for the disadvantaged and the underprivileged, and worked tirelessly for a better future for people like these.

I count myself fortunate to have been a friend!

Anne Neilson.