I had been thinking about Bob quite a bit over the last few weeks since I was told that the South Shields Folk Club had been forced to change venues (to the club house on The Jack Clarke Park) as The Customs House wanted to charge an increased rent of £80 per session for the venue. Although I had moved away by the time when Bob and Fred Brierley’s initial involvement with the Customs House began, and all the physical work that it involved, I was acutely aware that the object of the venue was a home for the amateur stage be it folk, blues, jazz, C&W, drama etc. This was all before the big boys stepped in at a later date. What little I know of the present situation shows it to be totally in contrast to the initial conception of The Customs House and we would have seen the other side of Bob had he been around today.