Ewan and Peggy's contract once stated that the accomodation they were given had to be conducive with their carrying out their voice and relaxation exercises - a basic part of the work we did in the Critics Group
They had received complaints from hotel staff and guests because of the "strange noises"
A story told in Des Gerihy's biography of Luke Kelly illustrates this
Luke (then a Critics Group member) stayed with friends of E and P in Grimsby when he did a booking there
He went for a shower and shortly after the couple heard strange noises coming from the bathroom
They ran upstairs and were unable to get Luke to hear them (Tom was then a major surgeon and was woried Luke ws having a fir)
They broke the bathroom door down to find Luke, starkers in the shower, doing his vowel exercises

E and P felt as I did and many of us did about EFDSS we loved what it stood for but hated what it did - or didn't do - honouring people for their services to the music we loved had a big tick next to it

I coudldn't get on with the bureaucracy and detachment to folk song so I resigned from EFDSS, but when I was asked, I gave over a week of my time to puting the BBC acetate discs on tape so they wouldn't be damaged by constant use
I was self-employed at the time and 'them upstairs' wouldn't pay for it so I did it free for for Barbara Newlyn the lovely librarian
They wouldn't even allow me to park on the premises

I did months of electrical work for less than half I would have charged my other customers when they had to meet the conditions of a safety check
I did it for my dear late friends, Nibs and Jean Mathews
My partner Pat Mackenzie more or less wrote the speech given by Nibs when they honoured Ewan and Peg by the way
   
I often think that those who set out attempting to denigrate their fellow-enthusiasts and performers invariably end up only denigrating themselves
Just a thought
Jim Carroll