Al, we are on a different planet. Clearly you have not been involved in protesting about the closure of local radio folk shows. Including your area. The very antithesis of getting airplay on local radio.

Village hall tours? No idea how they work. My friend lives in a village and they have never had a folk tour - though they do get other acts.

Village Hall Tours are big in Scotland of course but they employ mainly Scottish artists. The Arts Council there does give money for folk music not like England.

Mike Harding? Well Mike recently played a relatively unknown young singer song writer called Lucy Ward from Derby so he is hardly ignoring new talent. I played an interview with her well over a year ago.

And since you have mentioned Christy Moore a couple of times - at his last gig in Sheffield he mentioned that Malcolm Fox - who ran a folk club in Sheffield kept on booking him when he couldn't get a gig in Dublin. I suspect he could say the same about the two folk clubs in Hull one of which I was involved in. We booked him when he couldn't get gigs in Dublin too.

And neither of those folk clubs got a public subsidy either.

So Tony and Una are making a living now - and just need recognition.

I know which feeds the family.