Some time ago I posted this as a tribute to Ken Stubbs the folklore and song collector. It expalins some of it
Ken was a great inspiration to me. He lived 4 houses away and I was a friend of his children when I was young. It was in his house that I first realised the importance of, and heard, many of the singers he recorded. It was in his house that I first saw a CND sign and banner and he took time to explain to a young child, as I was then, the importance of what he believed. It was with this, and the same message from my father, that I went into the world with the expectation that it was part of my job as a human being to stand up for what I believed in and to stand up for others. So, what do I do now? I am a trade union officer standing up for others and in what I believe. Ken always encouraged me to sing and helped me to remember snatches of tunes. I moved away in 1970 and lost contact. Last year at Bideford Festival as I came off stage a gentleman with long white hair, sitting on the front row, caught my arm and said, 'Did you used to live in Lingfield?' When I said yes he just replied, 'I'm Ken Stubbs'. As part of the performance I had given credit to the people I had learned the songs from and one of them was Ken.
And the rest? I had an 'aunt' from whom Ken had collected songs and who I heard playing and singing.
Both my parents played and sang, my mum played a Hohner 3 row and the first tune I remember was 'Johnny Todd'. She also played a zither. Osmosis I suppose.