It's a good question. I don't think it's a matter of whether you're ashamed of it, it's about prospective employers' preconceptions and possible prejudices. I'm not ashamed of my age, but I never put it or my date of birth on my CV or job applications unless I think it would be a positive advantage.

As a writer by profession, I do put "writing songs and performing as part of a folk duo" down.

Once during an interview someone said that I had a good presentation voice and asked if I had had any acting training. I said no but I was an amateur folk singer and they seemed to think that was a good answer.

A good piece of advice that a career consultant once gave me was to research each prospective employer and make sure that your CV fitted as exactly as possible the employer's business and the requirements stated in the job description. Obvious, really, but it's amazing how many people don't do it.

Maybe 'folk singer' should go in the section 'do you have any disabilities?' Or perhaps the answer to that should be, 'yes, I can't play like Martin Simpson'.