Phil, there will definitely be a good proportion of traditional song at the Oxjam folk weekend. But do I take it then, that being the case, it's ok in your eyes to call it a 'folk' weekend.

And Jim, sorry, didn't realise you were using the 'royal' we ;) I think we've got to the stage where we should agree to differ, but hopefully you'll wish me well with the up coming weekend, the object of which is to raise as much money as possible for the work of Oxfam, so hopefully the advertising will work, and we'll get loads of bums on seats :)

Now we're back on first name terms, and at risk of being accused of a major thread drift, I'm planning to do the song 'The 14th of July' (also known as 'The little fighting chance' I believe) with the band. (I know you won't like what we will do with it) But I do like to know a little about the songs I perform, and have been singing this one for about 30 years, having learned it from the singing of Tony Rose (never heard anyone else do it) However, I've struggled to find out anything about the song. It's obviously about a naval battle between the French and the English, but I've been unable to find out which war, where the battle took place, etc. Are you familiar with the song? And if so, can I draw on your expertise and can you tell me anything about it?

John