Hello all - I'm not a relative, and I only have sketchy details at this point, but yesterday I learned that very sadly, Don Bilston passed away on 19th November this year. As I don't know much about Don's life I wouldn't call this an obituary, but I didn't know where else to post it.

There's a back story: I became aware of Don's music accidentally, after hearing Pete Coe sing 'Fireman's Song' on YouTube . I regularly attend sing-around folk sessions at my local pub in central Birmingham, and we've been going for four years. We're not really a folk club, and our sessions are informal to say the least.

Although we don't publicise ourselves too heavily, we find that people drift in and out of our gatherings as they move around the country, and we seem to have developed a local reputation for providing a safe space to 'have a go', based on goodwill and encouragement. It's always great to hear people phone up the pub and ask after us: usually with a view to performing. Often, for the first time.

Last night two women turned up, curious about our sessions. One of them is related to Don, and she told me the news. They promised to attend our next session, and we'll have a crack at singing the 'Fireman's Song', and maybe learn a few more as we go along. While I hate being the barer of bad news, this is also an opportunity to learn more about Don's life and times.