Is Nadia Cattouse alive or not? On the one hand, Pete (27.1.03) says that Steve Benbow told him she died 5 years ago. Yet the following posting appeared on 23rd May 2002:

Subject: RE: NADIA CATTOUSE - whatever happened to?
From: GUEST,ctgwdon@aol.com - PM
Date: 23 May 02 - 10:20 AM

I see her occassionally in Wimbledon. I recognised her althought the last time I saw her was on TV in the 60's. She was a little flattered to be recognised. We chatted about her time with Carthy and she spoke with great fondness about Sidney Carter. A lovely lady. I believe she
released "Port Mahon" as a single, but maybe it was Julie Felix!

So she is either alive but well into her eighties, or dead. The photo on the sleeves of the 2 records which I mentioned is a little dark and it is hard to determine the age of the woman (who appears to be fairly short haired); in any case it may not have been a recent photograph.

Of course it is not unknown for folk musicians to be "Twained" (a la Mark Twain, rumours of whose death was "greatly exaggerated"). Dave Swarbrick, fiddler with Fairport Convention, whose death was erroneously announced in the Daily Telepgraph some years ago (he was ill, but recovered). I also saw on the Internet (?Mudcat) where another folk singer was twice erroneosuly reported as dying, though I can't remember the name; I think it MIGHT have appeared in the thread to do with the the song "I'm a man you don't meet every day" but it could have been another folk music forum.

I am also reminded of a letter receved by the late Field Marshall (later Lord) Bernard Montgomery of El Alamein:

"Dear Sir, I thought you were dead. My father says you are still alive but will die soon."

Or the following, attributed to Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who is credited with inventing "spoonerisms" (the verbal equivalent of "transposition errors").
"Tell me, was it you or your brother who was killed during the war?"

Interested to hear (if I understand "Sheila", 25.1.2003) that it was Cyril Tawney who sang the song

"There are no lights upon our Christmas Tree
We must not spoil the Telly-Vee
No party games, no mistletoe
Just whistle Wenceslas and out (?or off) you go"