Just come off the phone to Derek. He's 84 now, and housebound.   But he and Jeannie seem to be in good spirits.

He's just had a stairlift put in, and this has been very liberating for him.

H's still in touch with Noel Murphy, Vin Garbutt and other big hitters from that period of the folk revival. he seemed very pleased to hear a voice from the old days and I am sure he would be glad to hear from you.

He talked with sadness of the friends from that time no longer with us because of the booze. i agreed saying it was the heroin of our generation

He's still an avid reader with a very active mind. A very great man of folk music, who taught us all so much. His repertoire ranged from the songs of the Copper family, to the great singer songwriters, world music and music hall. A great raconteur - his presentation was claimed as an influence by all the major comics coming out of the folk clubs - Billy Connolly, Jasper, Mike Harding etc.