I did promise myself that I wouldn't allow myself to be baited, but I'm going to break the habit of a lifetime and surrender to temptation.

You see, Countess, you're at it again!

"I'm sure your rendition of Annachie Gordon is 'very nice'."

I didn't make any claims about it, other than to make factual statements about how I came to love and learn a particular version (and I absolutely will NOT get drawn into arguments about 'versions', their validity, right to exist or whatever!), and how I introduce it. Whether, in your opinion, or anyone else's for that matter, it's 'very nice' or not is of no consequence to me - I love the song, I take utmost pleasure from performing it, and I believe in the validity of message it gives out. That message may have been missed by some of the audience - we are all human beings, of varying mental capacity, and it ill-behoves the intellectual to speak in a way which attempts to vilify and demean the less-intellectually-gifted - but it certainly was not missed by the two young men who requested the song, for whom I sang it, and who described the way in which a group of their York University student-colleagues, both male and female, had been moved to tears on hearing it.

The points you make are frequently correct in substance, and I would happily agree with you over much of what you say but, sadly, the impact of much of the real meat of your posts is lost in the face of your constant generalisations about things of which you clearly have no knowledge or experience - perfect examples being your statements about Lincolnshire and it's male population, when you then admit that you've never been there! How can you possibly make these outrageous statements of 'fact' when they are, in truth, just your ill-informed opinions? You demand respect from a specific section of society, whilst insulting and abusing those very same people!

Not all men are neanderthals. The majority aren't - they are like I try to be, kind, generous, considerate and loving husbands, fathers, friends and colleagues. Just like most women.

And just as there are SOME vile, ignorant, pugnacious and rapacious men, logic and some personal experience has taught me that they are mirrored in a similar small percentage of the female population - every family will have its black sheep after all. The evidence from this thread is that you, dear lady, fall into that latter small category, and that's very sad. Prove to us that it's not true. Please don't let me down.
JB