Like others, I was deeply disappointed. Ake and the Admiral and punkfolkrocker made most of my points (except I thought Kathryn saved nothing, ake, she was full of duff notes and out of her range most of the time). Eliza herself is always good, and June Tabor is my favourite female voice, yet even the latter did not shine on the night. Why indeed was it such a "flat" event, with so much promise available?

The selection of participants is one reason - but the selection of material was equally to blame, I thought. At least on the parts that were televised, 90% of the songs were slow, dirge-like, there was no fire to the performances, there was too much "breathiness" in the voices and too much introspection. By song No 4 I was tempted to switch off, but persevered only to hear more agonisingly inappropriate material, like the false "girls out on the town" camaraderie of that Bing Crosby number (what were they thinking!). Was that the best of what the Daughters of Albion had to offer over 60 years of singing and songwriting? Countess Richard would find me in agreement for once with her "snigger/snogger" comments. The only one with real fire on the night IMHO was Sheila Chandra (if I have the name right).

I wonder what the producer was thinking when he put this together. Vashti's appearance was inexplicable to me (on the strength of one album years ago and a new one just out, with 30 years of self-imposed absence, what precisely were her credentials?). Ditto for Lou - I am all for experimentation, but I heard little of it on the night, I heard plenty of navelgazing though).

Could any one of us do better? for once I'd say, hell, yes! My "dream team" would have Eliza anchoring, an appearance by Norma, June of course, but then I'd bring up Maddy for one on her own and one as "silly sisters" with June, I'd have either the Threllfalls or the Witches of Elswick, Maggie Boyle, Jane Russel do her "farewell" song and Kate Rusby for a northeastern flavour (or even better - Anni Fentiman!). And that would leave still on the bench Bill Jones (whetever you think of her, she has some cracking arrangements and wrote one or two great songs).

As it was, the programme would have gained few, if any, converts to the delights of folk music of any sort. Shame; an opportunity lost, the navelgazing stereotype reinforced, important performers put into impossible and embarassing situations and in my book the first time ever that Eliza was involved in something that I could not applaud - I am sorry for her too, as she was probably tied hand and foot by the production team (I heard some very interesting stories about last week's concert) and I hope this becomes a lesson for us all to learn from.