Thanks for the Tommy Armstrong info, Tootler.

There's no reason whatsoever why someone living in Maryland shouldn't enjoy the output of a Geordie pit poet, but to sell the songs/poems for $13.85 seems to be an inelegant ripoff to me. (I wonder what the Tommy Armstrong Society would think about it.) And, yes, I guessed the reasoning behind the "beuk" spelling - also rather naff, if you ask me.

Now, if Conrad's a fan of Bobby Thompson (The Little Waster), then I can forgive a lot. I've a couple of CDs of his live performances and they have me in tears of laughter every time I play them. There's a wonderful bit where the air-raid warning sounds when the Little Waster and his wife are in bed. He tells her to get to the air-raid shelter and tells he off when she's fumbling for her false teeth with the immortal phrase, "They're not droppin' pork sandwiches...". Priceless.