Hi Jerry,

I agree absolutely with your comments on Lonnie - he is "The man without whom ...". Last time I saw him in concert (a year before his death), he was still giving the audience absolutely everything, as he had been doing for the previous half-century. His perpetual zest and enthusiasm, more than any of his other virtues, have influenced me hugely over the years.

Another performer with a similar power to communicate was Alex Campbell. Whether he was singing for toddlers or for senior citizens, for hard-core folkies or for people who neither knew nor cared about folk music, Alex could always manage to find a way of capturing their attention without compromising the integrity of his music.

Finally, I'd like to praise one more great performer: one who has the ability to make each individual in an audience of thousands feel as though they are sitting by a fireside having a one-to-one chat with him - Pete Seeger.

These three heroes all influenced my (limited and amateurish) efforts as an entertainer - but they also had a far more profound impact on my professional career as a college lecturer. It was mainly from them that I learned how to communicate effectively with students, and I still owe them for it.

Wassail!