I've been to two of the Lewes Saturday Folk workshops this year - Ben Paley (violin) in March and Martin Carthy in December - and they were both very interesting and instructive.

The interest is actually not only - or necessarily - in the advice and tuition that they offer. It's also in talking to them, chatting informally over lunch and generally getting an insight into their approach to their music.

I'm looking forward to going to a few more in 2011...

Thanks to Valmai and her colleagues for making all of this possible. I think that Lewes (with Valmai, Bryan, Vic and Tina and colleagues at the heart of it) and all the music that flows out of it, is one of the richest and most vibrant areas of the English folk scene. I'm sure there are other equally vibrant areas in other parts of the country - and long may they flourish!