One of my earliest memories of Diz was when during the years that Johnny Wall was still running the Memphis Folk Club in the centre of Leeds, before it moved to the Irish Centre.

Diz and Johnny were great friends and Diz had been staying with Johnny before going on to, I think, Whitby festival. I asked if I could have a lift and he, very kindly, said yes.

The vehicle he drove at the time was a hearse (great fun to watch the reaction of other drivers as we went past - not at the expected speed a hearse travels at). Anyway, it broke down and Diz got underneath it and fixed whatever the problem was. For those of you who aren't famililar with Diz, at the time he was wearing his favorite atire - a white, shiny, long-sleeved T-shirt with a polo neck. Needless to say, it was covered in oil!

Lovely guy, great musician. Last time I saw him play live was at Cleckheaton Folk Festival with Johnny Silvo - saw them twice, as wonderful then as he ever was.

All the best to him.