I've been singing mainly English Traditional songs, unaccompanied, for years. I enjoy it and, for me, singing represents a creative outlet and an opportunity to express my passion for English folk songs. Perhaps my proudest moment was when Fred Jordan told me that he had enjoyed listening to me sing.

Curiously, although I seem to be able to hold a tune on my own, I find it difficult to sing in tune with other people (I'm pretty convinced that I invariably sing flat in choruses); I just can't seem to relate what the others are doing to what I'm trying to do - does anyone else have this problem?

I would love to be able to accompany myself on an instrument - but playing an instrument has always seemed far too difficult. I suspect that if I put in hundreds of hours of practice I might eventually get there but I just don't appear to have any sort of natural 'flair' for it as some others seem to do.

On Mudcat I like the factual threads which give information about the origins of songs etc. (I too miss Malcolm Douglas). I also like the 'combative' threads - like the 'definitions' ones, for example. There's nothing like a good scrap - as long as it doesn't get too personal, of course. Some people seem to take an enormous amount of 'umbrage'about these and seem to get very upset if anyone challenges their opinions or disagrees with them - but that's the nature of a debate in a public forum. I've never been particularly upset by anything that I've read on Mudcat. I've sometimes been rendered a little weary by people who thoughtlessly spout received wisdom perhaps ( e.g."All music's folk music - ain't heard ho hoss ... etc., etc.) but nothing worse than that.