Jim ~ The fisticuffs were scarcely 'youthful'. Ewan was surely in his 40s before he abandoned the theatre in favour of folk ~~ to the expressed contempt, as has been mentioned, of Joan Littlewood; & also, as he mentions in "Journeyman" & I cited in my review, of Hugh MacDiarmid and Louis MacNeice. And Dominic and Hamish were hardly in the first flower of youth either,

Bob Davenport was much younger, mind: certainly one of the finest examples ever of the dangers of over-indulgence in the demon rum. {Drift-alert: One of my fave quotes from Damon Runyon: "Her parents often warn her of the perils of the Demon Rum, and indeed rum is very terrible stuff, except in cocktails"}.

I agree that all that about the Elliotts is most fascinating, enlightening and germane; and would thank Vic sincerely for his having drawn attention to those excellent extracts from what is clearly a most distinguished book, previously unknown to me, by Pete Wood.

~Michael~