My wholly admirable daughter, when she was about 5, was told by a girl friend with one of those squeaky voices "Rachel, your voice is awful".

Rachel is now 23, can knock down the walls of Jericho over 3 octaves, and has led two bands. Her first, called "Torniquet" (not the Spanish god-rock band) was voted "best band ever to play here" in a pub that has had Deep Purple, Whitesnake, and Madness, amongst others.

Her friend is married to a man who left her for 6 months, pregnant, and waiting for a council flat.

Keep singing. I hate my voice, but a professional said to me in a pub the other night "Well sung" - and it was an unaccompanied song too.