Okay people, thanks for your well-meaning support, I'm flattered but it's unneccessary - I'm a big boy, I can tie my shoes myself, go to the lavatory on my own, write in joined-up letters, and it's counter-productive to continue the invective when I'm trying to conduct a conversation in a civilised manner. Genuinely no offence intended to anyone I know, or even those I don't.

"I have piles of largely unsolicited, unplayed stuff."

Yep, I expected that, that's why I asked out of politeness if you would like me to send it.

"If an mp3 from John Blanks turns up it might get played, eventually"

Yep, I expected that, that's why I asked out of politeness if you would like me to send it.

"It's entirely counter-productive for a gang of mates of a hitherto unknown (to me) artist to leap up and down shrieking 'you've got to hear xxx who is miles better than . . .'
That's how many CDs end up as bird scarers among the runner beans."

Yep, I expected that, that's why I asked out of politeness if you would like me to send it.

Yep, I'm pretty-much unheard-of outside Lincolnshire, some of Notts., and a bit of South Yorkshire, and I'm just a guy who likes to sing and play, and who has been fortunate enough to be appreciated by the members of most of the clubs I've played in. I have no pretentions to 'stardom' (shit, inverted commas - you've got me doing it now!), I eschewed my opportunities for stardom (with a couple of bands who had a number of chart 'hits' in the UK and Europe in the 60's) in favour of higher education and training as an accountant (my first bad decision in a chain of them). My only aim is to sing and play the songs I love to anyone who can take pleasure from them.

In fact, these people are not my 'gang of mates'. They're people, some of whom I'm privileged to know and run into fairly frequently at clubs in my area, who have presumably enjoyed my performances. Their decalarations of undying loyalty are unsolicited - however, they are very, very much appreciated.

I offered you a copy of my singing of 'Annachie Gordon' as a response to a clear jibe, to your obvious inference that it would be of a quality which you would find unacceptable at worst, or barely tolerable at best. Nothing more, nothing less. As I said earlier, I can't please everyone, and I won't try, but I prefer constructive criticism based on substantive judgment, to put-downs based on......what? Willie-hatred? Penis-envy? It wasn't I who mentioned my singing of the song in the first place remember.

I've tried to open a door for a reasonable conversation, in civilised terms and without inter-sex negativity, but I sense that I'm urinating into the airflow.

I'm gone.