Thanks to Jerry for keeping this thread going. I liked Jim's reported comments on "more launches than Cammell Lairds", although as I live in Wirral I have to observe that the glory days of the shipbuilders are long over, and the business is now entirely shiprepairing. The yard has however been sold and restored so often that I think I can confidently say it has seen more Revivals than the folk tradition!

One of Joe Holmes's songs that I've always enjoyed is 'Dick the Dasher', who I think must have been a close relative of the 'Whitby Tailor' in John Greaves's song. I'm sure I've seen a broadside copy of 'Dick the Dasher' in Liverpool Library, but as their collection is now in store while the main library is being renovated I can't easily check this. The song itself mentions that famous Liverpool institution, Paddy's Market. Does anyone know more about the origins of the song? Is it a Liverpool song?

Matthew