On a packed night on Wednesday at the Rivelin Folk Club, a very enthusiastic (but very noisy and very drunk) fellow asked if he could do a song. The MC reluctantly said OK and he asked if he could borrow a guitar - the 1st he asked said "No - you're too drunk", the 2nd just said "Sorry - no" and he moved onto the next. If the drunk was an embarrassment then the hospitality afforded the poor feller was getting even more so, so I stepped forward with my Lowden and handed it over so the show could get back on the road.

He then asked to borrow a pick, and I thought "here goes some more cedar chips off the old block" and crossed my fingers. He proceeded to pick out a blues riff very gently, moving up and down the fretboard to places most folk don't ever go, before starting to sing a few lines he had great difficulty remembering. Now I didn't think his memory was any worse than others who have sung at the club, and I suspect that when sober he could play and sing many under the table, but he was soon whisked off to save further embarrassment. He handed me my guitar back (unharmed) and with a gracious "Thanks very much, that's a lovely guitar, and you're a star for lending it me".

As Thompson sang - "God loves a drunk" - just as well really...