Think about how much worse it could have been. When Jim Lloyd retired at the same time as his wife Frances Line retired as Radio 2 controller, it's on the record that the BBC had a final short list of two for the replacement: Smooth Operations with Mike Harding as presenter, and the existing BBC Pebble Mill team with Ian Anderson as presenter, who had just finished a 12 year run on the BBC World Service. People who read Folk Roots or have encountered Anderson's bizarre "Rough Guide To English Folk" CD will know how lucky we are to have avoided that alternative.

It's lucky that Mr Folk Roots hasn't been heard of for years, but I think they should give it now to somebody like Sam Lee who knows everything about folk instead of another ancient northerner.