Mally came to a Bude Folk Festival in the early nineties and I bought a B/C box off him. I seem to remember that we had Waterson/Carthy, Eliza and Nancy Kerr, Dave Burland and Coope, Boyes and Simpson. A few weeks later, after I'd found I couldn't get on with it, he was gracious enough to let me swap it for an Erica D/G job. He was an ace player of Irish tunes on the D/G box as he proved in the festival sessions in the Brendon. I bought his Absolute Beginners book and, though I got the knack of playing both sides, my bellows technique never got beyond the elephantine. That box still languishes on top of our spare room wardrobe...

I've stuck to the harmonica since then. I dabbled with a bodhran for a time but I saw the light. I should have been jailed for that of course but I got away with it. If you play the diatonic harmonica you have to change things a bit to get them to fit your axe. That's either me applying the folk process or me pissing around. Take your pick... :-)