In defence of the Doyle family, I met Simon and his family for the first time at Whitby 2012. I was impressed, not only by the sheer talent of Simon and his girls who accompanied him on stage, but by the quiet and mannerly way they went about their business. Over the course of the week, I met them time and time again, not only those who performed, but the rest of the family too. They were unfailingly polite and friendly to myself and Elizabeth Stewart on every occasion. Lovely people, and I look forward to meeting Simon and family again one of these days.

As for being "duds" sorry Jack, but you must have got out of bed on the wrong side that day. The two boys playing the pipes, as already mentioned by "Selby" were great, and to my surpise Winnie-Marie, who plays banjo onstage, showed her versatility by taking a turn on the pipes too. As for your remark about "Posing and patriachal control-freakery," I saw neither posing nor control-freakery. Traveller families are naturally close, and if modest, well mannered, and slightly shy of strangers children, are seen as control-freakery, then there is something wrong with the way we see the world these days.