I don't know who this odious little shite is, and I don't particularly care. Nor am I particularly bothered about the fact that he is too much of a coward to come out from behind a female pseudonym. And I am certainly not interested in what sort of sick, perverted pleasure he gets from these ludicrous attacks. All I know is that he is a certifiable lunatic, fit only for the straightjacket.

However, he, she or shite has publicly called me a liar, and accused me of attempting to further my own reputation at the expense of the singer I was writing about. Those two statements are libellous. Anyone who has taken the trouble to read my "respective" review - of The Songs of Elizabeth Cronin - will know perfectly well that I spent a good half of that review discussing the merits of Elizabeth Cronin's singing, and of her songs. A large part of the rest of it was spent bemoaning the fact that the book's editor ignored the singer, at the expense of the songs.

Yours Sincerely,

Fred McCormick. Who needs absolutely no anonymity.

PS. Don't bother retaliating with threats of libel over my calling you a certifiable lunatic. The proof lies in your apparently endless trail of drivellous submissions to this board. There is enough material in them for an entire conference.

Why is my or your identity important - you are a thug, (well - probably not in practical terms; people who make your sort of threats seldom emerge from beneath their anoraks long enough to do any real damage) I don't wish to encourage you anywhere near me - end of story.
You have consistently refused to answer my questions, you have evaded owning up to your own mistakes, you haven't apologised for mis-identifying Tom Munnely and William Kennedy (who next, Harvey the invisible six-foot rabbit?)
You have lied about your review, as did your mentor McCormick, when you both claimed you had discussed the singers and their songs in your respective reviews.
Worst of all, you have both attempted to make some sort of a reputation for yourselves at the expense of traditional performers. You have managed to gain a reputation, but not the one you wished for.
As you say, there is little point in continuing this.
Thank you, and thanks to Malcolm Douglas for the opportunity to put the record straight - I should have spoken out at the time
Game, set and match (is that the term?)