There is a big difference between external mockery by outsiders and poking fun at ourselves from within. Perhaps this is a British thing, although I doubt it. Les is firmly inside the folk camp and has been performing his quirky and occasionally bizarre poems at folk clubs and folk festivals for decades. He is well-known and much-loved on the folk scene, in the UK and elsewhere.

Writing parodies isn't as easy as it looks, you have to retain enough of the original while telling an entirely different story and trying to be humorous. Parodies are only part of Les's output, most are simply poems which play on words or subvert ideas - who else would write about the Titanic from the point of view of a polar bear? He has also written serious poems and songs which have been covered by some of the big names of the folk scene.

As it happens, I don't think this is one of his best, but to regard this as an attack on traditional music and musicians is mistaken. It may be negative, if you choose to look it like that, but it is done with affection, not malice. I acknowledge that this may not be apparent when you read it in isolation, but these are intended to be performed - context is relevant.

I must declare an interest - one of the highlights of my musical career was when the band I was in became the Mrs Ackroyd Band to support Les at Sidmouth Folk Festival in the 1980s. We had a huge amount of fun.

By the way, I also play the concertina.