All this talk of concertina accompaniment and not one mention of Peter Bellamy, who used an anglo with custom drones, or so I'm told; certainly when I had the honour of rigging up some microphones for him at what was quite possibly his last ever gig (Durham Folk Party, July 1991) he referred to his instrument as an anglo. The gig was, as ever, an absolute blinder; although I missed the first quarter of an hour or so running round the pub singarounds in an attempt to raise an audience...

Last week I sang his later reworking of 'The Robber's Song' from The Tansports (recorded as 'Abe Carmen' on his 1985 EFDSS album 'Second Wind') for which I accompanied myself using a 'toy' accordion as a 'surrogate concertina'. Raised a few eyebrows at the local folk club, but it sounded just fine to my weary old ears - & until I get my anglo (+ custom drones) fund up & running this will have to suffice!