I suppose that, at the end of the day, it's all about freedom to be who we are, and to accept that people are not standardised with an ISO spec. and that it takes all sorts to make the world. Or do we want a world where blinkered bigots rule the roost, where the folkscene is basically a closed shop open only to bonafide card-carrying heteros, possibly with the correct political allegiance as an additional limitation? I regard myself as a musician, the TG aspect is merely a quirk of fate which I have to deal with.

Al: if you're not really aware of any TG folkies then that's great! That's how it should be, in an ideal world we should be remembered for our music and not because we're somewhere on some LGBT scale, look like a double for Frankenstein's monster, or whatever. Then again, I can think of musicians who've lost bookings because of their political sympathies, real or imagined.

I'm only rude to those who I feel that, in a given situation, deserve it!

So, I'm off to adapt my repertoire to my changed circumstances, after all, standing on stage wearing a mini-skirt and belting out "Little Sally Racket" might be just a little incongruous!