I expect they thought the Sobel just looked nice! They are beautifully made, and I'm not really sure why leaving one in shot should be thought of as naughty anyway. Actually I'm 99.99% sure Phil did in fact play it.

I guess I'm easy to please - in that, for me, the fascination of watching skilled musicians actually playing, thus making it easier to unpick the arrangements, easily trumps any personal preferences in terms of the types of music I'd normally merely listen to. I'll happily watch anything from chamber music to heavy metal - I just love seeing clearly what those nimble fingers are doing.

I'm surprised that the show draws such a lot of flack here though. Certainly I've noticed no major change in terms of editorial policy since day one. The mix is about the same as ever (fewer big country stars than in the early days, of course) and Jerry Douglas - always the epitome of taste - plays about as much as he always has.

Perhaps we mainly remember the tracks we enjoyed, so tend to think that in the old days there was more of whichever type of music it is we prefer?

The location has changed, of course, but the music seems very much the same as ever to me.

Browne and McGoldrick did a stunning mirror-image pipes duet a while back. Sheer class.

TB